Adnan, Sundra & Low

Firm Details:
Managing Partner: Deepak Sadasivan
Number of partners: 14
Number of consultants: 2
Number of lawyers: 74
Languages: Bahasa Malaysia, English

Firm Overview:
ADNAN SUNDRA & LOW was established in 1975 and has been consistently ranked as a leading law firm in Malaysia with a reputation for delivering quality and effective legal services and solutions.

Main Areas of Practice:
■ Banking & Finance
■ Capital Markets
■ Islamic Finance
■ Corporate/M&A
■ Real Estate
■ Projects, Energy & Infrastructure

Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Islamic Finance:
The team has advised on local and cross-border banking and finance transactions, inclusive of acquisition finance, corporate finance, project finance, debt restructuring, and the following market-pioneering transactions:
■ The world’s first, and Malaysia’s largest, exchangeable Sukuk
■ The world’s first perpetual sukuk
■ The world’s first Green SRI sukuk
■ Malaysia’s first Islamic stapled securities transaction
■ Malaysia’s first municipal bonds
■ Project financing of the first independent power utility in Malaysia and the first coal-fired independent power plant in Malaysia, also the biggest in Southeast Asia
■ Many significant Malaysian IPOs including Malaysia’s largest IPOs in 2015 and 2017, Asia’s largest IPO in 2012 and Southeast Asia’s largest IPOs in 2009 and 2010
■ Malaysia’ first perpetual sukuk issuance backed by a guarantee
■ Malaysia’s first sukuk issuance to comply with multiple regulatory standards (Securities Commission Malaysia’s Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) Sukuk Framework, the ASEAN Green Bond Standards, the ASEAN Social Bond Standards and the Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles and Sustainability Bond Guidelines) and multiple ratings

Corporate/M&A:
The team advises on a full range of corporate advisory issues. Notable work includes:
■ Establishment of the first Shariah compliant unlisted real estate investment trust (REIT), also the first education REIT in Malaysia
■ Establishment of one of Malaysia’s largest listed REITs, being the first and only stapled security listed on Bursa Malaysia
■ The joint venture between Malaysia’s largest petroleum company and a Saudi-Arabian petroleum company in relation to a USD7 billion investment in a refinery and petrochemical integrated development project in Malaysia
■ The acquisition of the first deepwater semisubmersible floating production system in the Asia Pacific region
■ A global agribusiness and food company’s USD 1 billion acquisition of a majority interest in a specialty fats/edible oils producer from a leading Malaysian plantation group
■ A merger between hypermarket operators creating the third-largest hypermarket operator in Malaysia
■ A number of mergers between Malaysian banking and financial institutions
■ Corporate debt restructuring schemes under section 176 of the Malaysian Companies Act 1965
■ The USD2.13 billion acquisition of an multinational oil and gas company’s oil and gas assets in Malaysia, thus far, the largest oil and gas M&A transaction in Malaysia for 2019, and the largest in Southeast-Asia for the last 5 years
■ The USD10.6 billion acquisition of the British’s largest retailer’s business in Malaysia by Thailand’s conglomerate 

Real Estate:
The real estate practice is premised on ensuring that clients benefit commercially from real estate opportunities and has advised a number of specialist real estate transactions including:
■ The joint development of over 110 acres of land for construction and sale of residential units, retail units, hotels, service apartments, office towers, commercial shops and offices
■ The sale and transfer of iconic national landmark structures in Kuala Lumpur between the holding company and its group real estate investment trust
■ Complex land issues in the listings of significant listed property development companies and palm-oil plantation companies, involving some 350,000 hectares of land held under more than 1,200 titles
■ The sale and purchase of a five-star international hotel and hotel business in Kuala Lumpur

Projects Energy & Infrastructure:
The team has advised on some of the largest and most sophisticated projects including:
■ The proposed Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail Project
■ A foreign joint venture on the Ipoh-Rawang Double Track Rail electrification project
■ The development and financing of a 50MW solar photovoltaic plant in Malaysia
■ The divestment of the largest multi fuel integrated power generating facility (2,420MW), with a transaction value of MYR4.2 billion
■ The delivery of electrical energy and telecommunications from a hydroelectric dam in Sarawak to Peninsular Malaysia by submarine power cables
■ The Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit Project
■ A 2,400MW hydroelectric dam in Sarawak
■ A 2,100 MW Coal-Fired Power Plant
■ The North-South Highway in Peninsular Malaysia
■ The firm has also advised on projects located in Australia, Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Central Asia
■ The 48,000 Refrigeration Ton Central Cooling System for the Tun Razak Exchange (2015); and
■ The 15,000 Refrigeration Ton District Cooling Plant for the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (2014)

Recent Awards & Accolades:
■ Malaysian Law Firm Of The Year: Asian Legal Business Malaysia Law Awards 2016 and 2020
■ West Malaysia Law Firm Of The Year: ALB Malaysia Law Awards 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020
■ National Law Firm Of The Year: International Financial Law Review Asia Awards, 2007, 2014
■ Islamic Finance Law Firm Of The Year: ALB Malaysia Law Awards 2016, 2017 and 2018
■ Malaysia Projects & Project Financing Firm of The Year – Asian-Mena Counsel Awards 2018
■ Malaysia Project Finance Law Firm of The Year – The Asset Triple A Asia Infrastructure Awards 2019 and 2020
■ Client Service Award, Malaysia – AsiaLaw Regional Awards 2019
■ Banking and Financial Services Law Firm of the Year: ALB Malaysia Law Awards 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020
■ Islamic Finance News (IFN) Law Awards 2018 & 2019: ESG, Green, SRI Law Firm of the Year
■ IFN Deals of the Year Awards 2017: Commodity Murabahah Deal of the Year 2017, Equity Deal Of The Year 2017, Structured Finance Deal Of The Year and Project & Infrastructure Deal Of The Year
■ IFN Deals of the Year Awards 2018 – Corporate Finance Deal of the Year 2018, Perpetual Sukuk Deal Of The Year 2018
■ Malaysia Corporate & M&A Firm of The Year – Asian-Mena Counsel Awards 2018
■ Malaysia Capital Markets Firm of The Year – Asian-Mena Counsel Awards 2018
■ Islamic Finance News (IFN) Law Awards 2019 & 2020 – Energy & Natural Resources Law Firm of the Year
■ IFLR Asia-Pacific Awards 2020 – Malaysia Most Innovative Law Firm
■ In-House Community 2019 – Malaysia Capital Markets Firm of the Year – Malaysia Corporate and M&A Firm of the Year – Malaysia Projects & Project Financing Firm of the Year