About Giles Cooper
Giles has over two decades’ experience advising investors in Vietnam focusing on energy, M&A and infrastructure development work. Giles is cited as a Leading Individual in the Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2021 for Corporate and M&A in Vietnam and also as a Recommended Lawyer for Projects & Energy, Vietnam.
Giles’ experience includes advising:
- Advising an Australian investment group on joint development and proposed acquisition of a 49% stake in a project company developing 2 x 30MW wind power projects in Vietnam.
- Advising a Spanish renewable energy company on multiple M&A projects in wind and solar power sector (total involved capacity around 800MW).
- Advising a Norwegian renewable energy company on a portfolio of corporate-offtake rooftop solar power projects across Vietnam.
- Advising a Japanese renewable energy company on development of an approx. 110MW wind power project in Vietnam.
- Advising a Singapore investor on joint development and acquisition of 2 x 49 MW PV solar projects in Quang Tri province, Vietnam. Work included full regulatory and permitting support, tax and corporate structuring work, preparing EPC and O&M contracts and financing work.
- Acting as lead counsel to Sembcorp Utilities, sponsor of the 225MW gas-fired BOT Myingyan power project. This is a first-of-its-kind project in Myanmar. Work included full advice and support on all project and financing agreements. This project was awarded Project Finance International’s ‘Asia-Pacific Deal of the Year 2017’ and IFLR’s ‘Project Finance Deal of the Year 2018’.
- Acting as lead legal advisor to USAID-funded V-LEEP project to develop and implement a “direct power purchase agreement” (DPPA) pilot project for renewable energy projects. Work involves conducting a legislative gap analysis, developing a legal strategy, recommending a legislative framework, contributing directly to drafting of enabling legislation and accompanying legislative justification and drafting draft template transaction agreements to be used in the program.
- Advising a large international investment group based in Singapore in relation to its proposed full acquisition of a Vietnamese commercial bank under State Bank of Vietnam’s special control.
- Advised a large international investment group based in Singapore in relation to its plan to acquire a majority stake in a Vietnamese private commercial bank.
- Acting for a Danish private equity fund in relation to multiple acquisitions and exits in Vietnam targets (sectors include medical, agriculture, food and beverage and manufacturing).
- Acting for a Singapore incorporated commercial bank, in relation to its plan to acquire up to 100% of the charter capital of a State-owned Commercial Bank in Vietnam which was a private commercial bank in distress acquired by the State Bank of Vietnam for VND0.
- Advised Tien Phong Bank, a leading Vietnamese private commercial bank, in relation to its plan to issue USD200 million Tier 2 high-yield Regulation S international bonds with subsequent listing on Singapore stock exchange (SGX-ST).
- Advising large US mutual fund on participation in a highly structured IPO by a large private Vietnamese commercial bank.
- Advised a Vietnamese State-owned company in connection with reviewing foreign law governed project finance documents for two major maritime infrastructure projects in Northern and Southern Vietnam in view of determining potential liabilities of the company and its subsidiaries.
Giles is qualified to practice law in New Zealand and is registered as a foreign lawyer with the Ministry of Justice in Vietnam. Giles speaks and writes regularly on energy and Vietnam investment matters. Giles is co-Chair of the Vietnam Business Forum’s Governance and Integrity Working Group and a board member of the Vietnam Institute of Directors.