Published on 5 October 2021 in Uncategorised

Webinar: Protecting Indian investments in Latin America

Starting in the 21st century, Indian investors began to expand their horizons, flocking the Latin American market in pursuit of attractive economic opportunities.  India now exports more to Central America than to the Central Asian States and more to Brazil and Mexico than to traditional partners, such as Russia, Canada or Egypt.

 

South-to-South investments from India into Latin America have therefore proliferated – especially in the hydrocarbons, pharma, agro-processing, engineering, chemicals and electronics sectors.  Most of those investments use innovative business models developed in the Indian market and replicated in Latin America.  That said, neither Indian investments nor their innovative business models are immune from risks in the Latin American markets.  From outright nationalisations, to mandatory and drastic tax increases, emergency measures implemented to deal with economic crisis, cancellations of concessions, contractual breaches, land disputes with indigenous communities or workers’ takeovers of a plant, the Latin American region is prone to multiple and diverse social, economic and regulatory risks.  The objective of this virtual seminar is to describe how Indian investors can use innovative legal structures and strategies to mitigate those risks.

 

Our speakers for this event were:

 

Marcela Levy, Partner at  Mannheimer, Perez e Lyra Advogados in São Paulo, Brazil. Ms Levy has been recurrently recognised by international publications as a leading young practitioner.  Her practice is dedicated to litigation before state courts and national and international arbitration, having vast experience with the resolution of corporate disputes and controversies in the areas of construction, infrastructure, energy, financial markets, insurance and reinsurance.  Ms Levy has been involved in the firm’s most high profile and international cases, having worked alongside lawyers from the most renowned law firms across the globe.  She holds a law degree from the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-RJ) and an LLM from Columbia University, having joined the litigation practice of the New York-based Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz following graduation.  She is a member of the Brazilian Bar Association, the ICC Brazil Arbitration and Mediation Commission and the Brazilian Arbitration Committee (CBAr). Marcela is also licensed to practice in the State of New York.

 

Antonio De Lisi, Counsel at González Calvillo in Mexico City.  He has over 15 years of experience advising sponsors, investors, financial institutions, State-owned entities and governments in cross-border and domestic transactions with a focus on the energy and infrastructure sectors.  His practice covers cross-border and domestic financing transactions, the representation of private and public sector entities in energy, infrastructure, and project development transactions, including in connection with the structuring of and participation in public tenders for major energy and infrastructure projects, and the representation of clients in joint ventures, asset and stock sales and acquisitions and other strategic investments.  His practice also covers regulatory advice, assistance to clients in certain aspects of dispute proceedings, and experience in other sectors such as tourism, hospitality, and financial services.  Antonio holds an LL.B. with honours from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Columbia Law School in New York City.

 

Gunjan Sharma, Counsel at Volterra Fietta.  Mr Sharma has represented investors and States in investor-State arbitrations and been counsel to clients before numerous US courts.  In addition to his significant litigation experience, Mr Sharma routinely advises companies on complex issues of international law and investment risk.  His experience includes advising Fortune 500 companies on protecting investments in numerous LATAM jurisdictions, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico and Peru, as well as the Caribbean.  Mr Sharma personally represented the interests of a large oil and gas company in discussions with the Mexican authorities and the US Trade Representative during the negotiation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and, thereafter, the USMCA.  He has also advised other States and private companies in regards to complex hydrocarbon negotiations and disputes, including in transboundary negotiations and with respect to unitisation treaties.  Based on the recommendations of his clients and peers, Gunjan has been recognised as a “Rising Star” in public international law, “for sure”, by Legal500 and as a “Rising Star” in Commercial Arbitration by Euromoney.

 

For any queries regarding the content of the webinar, please email Gunjan Sharma at gunjan.sharma@volterrafietta.com.