Joo Thye Tan

Finance, Energy, Project Finance, Trade Finance

Joo Thye is a senior partner in Dentons Rodyk’s Finance practice group and Co-Head of the Infrastructure practice. He is experienced in the areas of banking and finance, energy, mining, infrastructure, project finance, restructuring, M&A and direct investment transactions.

He has undertaken complex cross-border projects in emerging markets where project development, execution and borrowing are difficult through the use of structuring, risks transfers and risks mitigation from familiarity with these markets. He has advised on, among others, the development of both traditional and renewable energy power plants and other infrastructure assets, routinely seeing the transaction through from inception to commercial operation. Energy projects undertaken include hydroelectric power, solar power, wind power, gas and coal fired power plants in Asia such as Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Mongolia and China. Through multiple documentations in consortium arrangements—such as sale and purchase agreements (SPAs), shareholders' agreements (SHAs), engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts, fuel supply, operations and maintenance (O&M) arrangements, power purchase agreement, build-operate-transfer (BOT) contracts, implementation agreements and their related financing documents—he has successfully led these projects to financial close.

He has also advised borrowers, banks and financial institutions on a wide range of transactions which include advising on bilateral, club and syndicated loans, refinancing, infrastructure financing (including utilities and both greenfield and brownfield assets), export credit agency (ECA) supported financing and acquisition financing, both within and outside of Singapore, and financing in the energy, trade and commodity sectors.

He is familiar with working with export credit agencies or multilateral agencies through the use of their insurances and guarantees to enhance the bankability of power projects. In particular, he has extensive dealings and a strong relationship with the Chinese Export Credit Agency (Sinosure), a necessary and key player in financing power plants or other infrastructure projects in Asia where a Chinese contractor is involved.

His in-depth understanding of bank credit and risks management issues makes identifying and assessing structural credit risks from both the operation and legal perspective more effective especially relating to borrowers or counterparties from the emerging markets in Asia, and helps to ensure that legal documentation will be executed in a timely manner.

LLB (Hons) National University of Singapore, 1989