Manoj Purush

Manoj is the managing partner of Reed Smith’s Singapore office, where he focuses his practice on M&A and private equity. He has more than 18 years of transactional experience in most of the South and South East Asian countries, including Singapore, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Lao PDR, and Cambodia.

Manoj focuses on cross-border M&A, private equity, debt and equity restructurings, various forms of foreign direct investment, and numerous other commercial transactions. He also regularly advises multinational corporations on bribery and corruption matters, as well as regional labour and employment issues arising from restructuring and reorganisation, mergers, acquisitions, divestments, and post-acquisition integration.

Experience

Representative matters

Advising a Japanese trading company in relation to its investment in a digital media company with operational assets in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Advising a joint venture between a Japanese trading company and a Japanese private equity fund in relation to its investment in an Indonesian toll road business.

Advising a Japanese MNC in relation to the acquisition of and joint venture arrangements for a pharmaceutical technology company with operations in Europe and Asia.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Advising a joint venture between a Japanese trading company and a Japanese private equity fund in relation to its investment in an Indonesian toll road business.

Advising a Japanese MNC in relation to the acquisition of and joint venture arrangements for a pharmaceutical technology company with operations in Europe and Asia.

Advising Atlantic Navigation Holdings Inc (ANH) on the restructuring of its marine logistics and ship repair and fabrication business and on the S$146 million backdoor listing of the company on the Singapore Catalist (a sponsor-supervised exchange) through the reverse takeover of Fastube Limited. ANH is the first UAE business to be listed on the Singapore Catalist and the challenges to the transaction included restructuring parts of the business in a manner acceptable to the Singapore Exchange while maintaining the local shareholding requirements.

Acting as international and Myanmar counsel to a group of vendors, including Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd. and First Myanmar Investment Company Limited, in relation to the reorganisation and proposed spin-off and listing of their tourism-related assets on the Singapore Exchange through the reverse takeover of Singapore Catalist-listed SHC Capital Asia Limited, to create the first Singapore-listed, Myanmar-focused tourism and hospitality company.

Advising Long Haul Holdings Limited and PT Bakrie & Brothers Tbk (Bakrie Group) on the US$1 billion sale of part of the Bakrie Group interest in London-listed Bumi plc to Borneo Lumbung Energy and Metal.

Advising a European industrial raw products manufacturer on the expansion of its business through the proposed acquisition of a Middle Eastern competitor with assets in various jurisdictions including Bangladesh.

Advising a European multinational corporation in relation to the acquisition of a significant interest in a mining asset in Asia.

Advising Singapore Exchange on its 20 per cent acquisition of the Philippines Dealing System.

Advising American International Group Inc. and Ontario Teachers Pension Plan on the US$1.75 billion acquisition of Shell’s and Bechtel’s interest in 10 power projects located in Europe and Asia.

Advising a European telecommunications company on its bid to acquire a stake in the Indonesian telecommunication company, PT Excelcomindo.

Advising an Asian hotel owner, operator and manager in negotiating the proposed acquisition of a hotel business in India.

Advising a major Japanese trading company in connection with the divestment of its shareholding in a garment manufacturing business in the Philippines.

Advising LSI Corporation in connection with the divestment of its semiconductor assembly, testing and packaging plant in Thailand to STATS CHipPAC.

Advising a U.S. company in connection with the acquisition of two Singapore system standards certification companies with assets in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.

Advising a major international telecommunications company in connection with the acquisition of a group of companies located in Singapore, Australia, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Advising an Indonesian chemical company in connection with the US$95 million acquisition of a petrochemical company in Indonesia.

Advising an Indonesian oil and gas company in its bid for the acquisition of (i) oil and gas assets (under production sharing contracts or PSCs) in the Natuna Sea, North Sumatra (near the Arun gas field), Tungkal in South Sumatra and Jambi in South Sumatra; and (ii) oil and gas assets (under technical assistance contracts or TACs) in Sembakung, Kalimantan and in Tanjung Lontar, Sumatra.

Joint Ventures

Advising a Japanese trading company as part of a joint venture consortium in relation to a successful tender for one of the contract packages for the Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Project.

Advising a Japanese MNC in relation to its investment in an online payment process company.

Advising Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd., a Singapore-listed entity, in relation to Yoma Central (formerly known as the Landmark Project), an integrated real estate development in Myanmar. The Yoma Central development is a collaboration between Yoma Strategic Holdings, The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Ltd., Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi Estates, the International Finance Corporation, the Asian Development Bank, and First Myanmar Investment Company Limited.

Advising a Japanese trading company on an agricultural plant joint venture with a large local company for the production and distribution of fertiliser in Myanmar, involving the establishment of the first fertiliser manufacturing facility in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone.

Advising an international consortium in relation to a bid for the development of the Singapore – Kuala Lumpur High Speed Rail Project.

Advising Yoma Bank Limited on its joint venture with Telenor, which will offer basic financial services through mobile banking in a country where only 6 per cent of the population has a bank account. This was one of the first JVs of its kind in the country’s telecommunications sector and involved using innovative technology to address an initial access need in this frontier market.

Advising Marubeni Corporation on the formation of a 50-50 aircraft engine leasing joint venture with Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd’s aerospace unit. The joint venture, known as Total Engine Asset Management (TEAM), will have an initial leasing portfolio comprising CFM56-3, CFM56-5B and CFM56-7B engines to power narrow-body aircraft such as the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737.

Advising Axia NetMedia Corporation as international counsel in negotiating and establishing OpenNet, a consortium comprising Axia (30 per cent), SingTel (30 per cent), Singapore Press Holdings (25 per cent) and SP Telecommunications (15 per cent), in relation to the Next Generation National Broadband Network of Singapore.

Advising Axia NetMedia Corporation and OpenNet as international counsel in securing rights of access to the existing 10,000-km cable infrastructure of SingTel in connection with OpenNet’s consortium bid to operate the Next Generation National Broadband Network of Singapore.

Advising a Korean shipbuilding company in setting up its ship component manufacturing facilities in the Philippines.

Private Equity

Advising a private equity fund in connection with its investment in a microfinance business in Myanmar.

Advising a private equity fund in connection with its investment in a Myanmar operating asset (a bottling and fabrication facility) via an equity subscription in an offshore holding structure with multiple international shareholders.

Advising a U.S. private equity fund in connection with its investment in an information technology company in India.

Structured Finance and other Corporate

Advising Merrill Lynch in connection with the US$600 million future flow securitisation of the coal export receivables of PT Kaltim Prima Coal and PT Arutmin Indonesia, two subsidiaries of PT Bumi Resources Tbk.

Advising a major Japanese trading company in connection with the enforcement of its rights as creditor in several jurisdictions, including Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and Hong Kong.

Advising a major Japanese trading company in connection with the sale of its non-performing loan exposures in Indonesia, Bangladesh and the Philippines.

Advising a group of Eurobond holders and floating rate note holders whose bonds and notes were guaranteed by an Indonesian toll road operator, in connection with the restructuring of US$60 million of obligations.

Advising a South African MNC in relation to the review of its proposed distribution arrangements in various Asian jurisdictions for potential violations of competition laws.

Regulatory and Dispute Resolution

Routinely advising a number of Japanese clients in relation to the structuring of their investments in emerging jurisdictions to mitigate potential issues arising from breaches of anti-bribery and corruption laws.

Advising the largest creditor of an Indonesian textile company in connection with the restructuring of US$20 million of defaulted secured debt in conjunction with the enforcement of security rights in Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia and Nevada.

Advising a Japanese creditor in connection with the enforcement of security rights in Indonesia and Singapore over an Indonesian textile company in connection with US$25 million of defaulted secured debt.

Advising the largest creditor of an Indonesian textile company in connection with the enforcement of security rights in Indonesia and Singapore, including obtaining Mareva injunctions over bank accounts and assets in Singapore related to US$15 million of defaulted secured debt.

Recognitions

Ranked in Chambers Asia-Pacific for Myanmar: General Business Law, 2021
Ranked in Chambers Global for Myanmar: General Business Law (Expertise Based Abroad) and Singapore Corporate/M&A (Foreign Expertise in Myanmar), 2021