Latest information
Australia India Joint Business Council Summit
Freehills is proud to sponsor the Australia India Joint Business Council Summit to be held in Melbourne on 20 May 2008.The summit is being held along with the Joint Ministerial Commission, which is the forum for the highest level dialogue between Australia and India. The Hon. Mr. Kamal Nath, India’s Minister for Commerce and Industry, will lead a high level business delegation of senior executives from leading Indian companies to meet with the Hon. Mr Simon Crean, Minister of Trade for Australia, and senior Australian company executives.
Over 50 senior executives and government officials will be accompanying Minister Nath to Australia. The delegation includes senior representatives from the mining, infrastructure development, food processing, ICT and education sectors. In addition to this, a number of leading Australian organisations are sending senior executives from India to share insights on recent trade and investment transactions between the two countries.
Philip Christensen, a partner in Freehills’ Brisbane office, will present a paper on investing in mining and resources.
M&A Deal of 2007 – India Business Law Journal
Freehills was pleased to receive this award along with our local partner in Indonesia. The award was for Tata Powers acquisition of PT Kaltim Prima Coal and PT Arutmin Indonesia and demonstrates our commitment to the region and to our client’s success.
The deal for a 30 per cent stake in these assets was for $1.3 billion.
Invest in Australia Conference
Freehills co-hosted a conference in Beijing with 190 PRC delegates consisting of Presidents and Vice Presidents of major corporations in attendance interested in investing in Australia. The event was supported by the PRC National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
The conference was aimed at providing practical information for Chinese businesses actively considering foreign direct investment in Australia. Its objective was to inform top executives of PRC companies on the various regulatory and political issues involved with contemplating investments in Australia in various industry sectors.
Case studies of Chinese companies that have made investments in Australia were presented so as to provide an overview of the social, political and economic landscape that may influence investors’ decision making.
The event was covered by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation with a large media announcement in China and a smaller announcement in Australia.
Growth of Singapore office
Freehills welcomed Simon Taskunas as partner to our Singapore office in January 2008. As his career has progressed, Simon has focused on what is described in the Singapore legal market as corporate real estate—this encompasses acquisition, divestment, development and investment work for multinational real estate corporations. While in Singapore, Simon has also had the opportunity to broaden his skill-set by working on cross-border M&A transactions and infrastructure projects. He has also been exposed to international property funds management work.
In addition we have increased our solicitor numbers reflecting the growth of the Asia practice, further proof of our commitment to the region.