Alejandro Rincon Nieto – GC Powerlist
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Europe: Latin America Specialists 2024

Energy and utilities

Alejandro Rincon Nieto

Chief legal officer | Almar Water Solutions

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Europe: Latin America Specialists 2024

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Alejandro Rincon Nieto

Chief legal officer | Almar Water Solutions

Team size: five

LATAM countries your role covers: Chile, Colombia, Peru and Argentina

Could you please share the most significant cases or transactions in the LATAM region that you or your legal team have recently been involved in?

We successfully closed one of the largest water infrastructure deals, not only in Latam but globally, in June 2024 — the Centinela Water Transmission project — which consisted in the acquisition, refurbishment and operation of an existing 150km pipeline, and the design, construction and operation of a new pipeline (of an additional 150km), to deliver seawater to the Centinela mine.

The project involved raising USD$1.3bn in debt, consisting of a tranche of commercial bank debt and another tranche of USPP debt.

The deal involved top counsel both locally (in Chile) and in New York.

What are your organisations plans in the LATAM region over the next 12 months and how will your legal expertise help to achieve these plans?

We are planning to continue developing water projects in Chile, while we look at M&A opportunities in Chile, Colombia and Peru, not only in the water sector, but also in the waste management sector. Obviously, previous experience in similar matters will help a great deal when initially assessing opportunities, and legal risks associated with those. And, of course, having adequate local legal support is key for an in-house legal department, as local knowledge, as otherwise legal risks assessments could not be properly completed.

What specific challenges have you encountered when managing legal issues related to Latin American markets from a European perspective, and how has your team addressed these challenges?

Probably the main challenges come from cultural differences and work practice. In particular, being used to how law firms and governments work in Europe versus how firms and government work in Latam is the biggest challenge. Especially in the way negotiations need to be conducted and how parties and stakeholders behave during such is very different from the way those are handled in Europe. Learning to efficiently manage those differences, so they do not affect delivery times or progress when negotiating key contracts and documents is fundamental if an in house legal department wants to deliver high quality work that is result driven (in the case, close large scale projects in the region).

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