Shearman & Sterling was recognized by the Financial Times (FT) at the FT Asia-Pacific Innovative Lawyers Awards 2018, held in Hong Kong on June 7. The FT Asia-Pacific Innovative Lawyers Awards and Report 2018 recognizes lawyers, law firms and in-house legal teams in the Asia-Pacific region that are at the forefront of innovation for clients and in their own businesses.  

Shearman & Sterling, named one of the 25 most innovative international law firms overall, was recognized for its role in the following transactions:

• Sirajganj Green Power Plant in Bangladesh - “Standout” in Accessing New Markets and Capital (International). Partner Bill McCormack (Singapore-Project Development & Finance) advised International Finance Corporation (IFC), along with Clifford Capital and CDC Group plc, as the lenders on the financing of the dual-fuel Sirajganj Independent Power Producer (IPP) power project in Bangladesh. This project not only marked the first IPP in recent years to be financed on a limited-recourse basis, but also helped open a market to hedging and offshore investment which had previously been closed because of political and currency risks. 

• PT Paiton Energy $2.75 Billion Debt Refinancing - “Highly Commended” in Managing Complexity & Scale (International). Partners Bill McCormack (Singapore-Project Development & Finance) and Andrew Schleider (Singapore-Capital Markets) advised Indonesian coal power-station operator PT Paiton Energy in its $2.75 billion debt refinancing, which included complex loan and bond arrangements.

• India Solar Power Project - “Commended” in Managing Complexity & Scale (International). Partner Etienne Gelencsér (Tokyo-Project Development & Finance) and his team advised Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Mizuho Bank as lenders and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance on the development and financing of the 350 MW solar power project in Andhra Pradesh, India. 

Commenting on the recognition, Asia Regional Managing Partner Bill McCormack said: “We are pleased that our work has once again been recognized.  Our Asia practice has a long track record of developing innovative and precedent-setting solutions to address our clients’ problems, particularly in frontier markets.  We are committed to investing in continuous improvement to deliver exceptional client service and are well positioned to counsel our clients in this challenging 21st century economy.”