What are the most significant cases or transactions in the Latin America region that you or your legal team has recently been involved in?

With respect to finance transactions, I would highlight the following:

Financing of the Pan-American Highway, Section: Bridge of the Americas – Arraiján in Panamá. This financing’s purpose is the design, construction, and maintenance of a stretch of almost 12 km. This consists of the construction of a highway through areas where the current one ran previously, which will have three lanes in each direction, plus two central lanes that can go in either direction depending on the operating requirements. It will also have 6 new links. It is one of the most important road projects in the country, as it will provide a mobility solution for the residents of the Panamá Oeste province. At present, traffic jams on entering the city by the current route mean that residents are forced to waste almost two hours of their time each way.

We have also worked at the financing of the water treatment plant DWTP SABANITAS II in Panamá. This financing’s purpose is the design, construction and operation and maintenance of a water treatment plant in Colón, Panamá.

Additionally, we syndicated credit agreement granted by a syndicate of five international banks in favor of one of Acciona’s Chilean subsidiaries. The purpose of this credit agreement is to cover general corporate treasury needs in Latin America.

The unusual business environment created by the pandemic has been swiftly followed by the Ukraine crisis, attendant supply chain costs rising and inflation. Are you now putting more emphasis on preparing for the unforeseen and, if so, what does this entail?

Given the recent events and the future uncertainty, we have tried to carry out our activity while also covering these events and being prepared for any unforeseen contingencies that may arise.

Our perspective has totally changed and the agreements, corporate resolutions, and other legal documentation that we draft and negotiate show such new perspective. We tend to be more cautious; we try to cover future contingencies and we do our best to make sure that our contracts cover those that we have already suffered.

In addition, given the difficulties that have arisen from Covid-19 and the Ukranian war and supply chain crisis, we try to mitigate those consequences by, for example, including more flexible clauses with respect to terms (supplies may be delayed and people may be unable to comply with their obligations on time), location (as people may be quarantined) or costs (as they have increased significantly, and it seems they will keep on rising).