Joseph Lam
Joseph’s practice focuses on energy, power, infrastructure and other projects and the related financings. He is experienced in acting for acquirers, project sponsors, investors, commercial banks and public sector lenders such as ECAs and DFIs in projects. Many of these projects involve complex multi-tranche financing structures consisting of loans from commercial lenders and DFI and ECA backed financing.
Joseph previously practiced for a considerable period in Hong Kong during which time he worked on many transactions related to China and the wider Asian region.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2001
Experience
- Hunton Andrews Kurth (2024 - Present)
- Ernst & Young LLP (2020 - 2021)
- DLA Piper LLP (2012 - 2020)
- King & Wood Mallesons (2006 - 2012)
Membership
- The City of London Solicitors' Company
- The Law Society of Hong Kong
- The Law Society of England and Wales
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) (1996)
- Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL) (1997)
- Master of Laws (LL.M.) (1998)
Education
- University of Hong Kong (1997)
- University College London (1998)
2 Contributions by Joseph Lam
PRACTICE NOTES
Export Credit Agencies: a practitioners' guide to purposes, products, OECD Arrangement, green reforms, key documentation and intercreditor considerations
Exporters aiming to take their goods or services into overseas markets often face significant exposure as they pursue new business. The likelihood of non‑payment in such environments increases where there is elevated:
commercial risk (ie failure to pay by an overseas buyer, the buyer’s insolvency, unilateral breach of contract, non‑performance of the asset, or non‑payment by off‑takers), and
political risk (ie the risk that government action or political circumstances will adversely affect local business and/or international investment)
For certain goods or services, or in particular markets, these risks can materially restrict the availability of commercial financiers; in the absence of Export Credit Agency (ECA) support, many projects may never get off the ground. ECAs step into this gap to help mitigate the commercial and/or political risks inherent in dealing with an overseas business, providing a vital source of financial backing to project developers, exporters or importers with their sights set on distant horizons. Increasingly, ECAs are playing an active role in facilitating national export and trade policies. Trade finance could be vulnerable in times of economic crises...
Banking & Finance
PRACTICE NOTES
Project finance in emerging markets: roles of ECAs, multilaterals and DFIs; eligibility, support instruments, multi-source structures, intercreditor/security terms, and political risk mitigation
Projects are typically financed on a limited recourse basis
In project financings, capital is usually assembled from a combination of sources:
government contributions
senior debt arranged by commercial lenders and/or funds (see Practice Note: Project finance—key finance parties)
equity injected by project sponsors (see Practice Note: Project finance—key project parties—Sponsor)
That said, in some jurisdictions, obtaining senior debt from commercial lenders and/or funds can prove difficult owing to constrained local liquidity and/or actual or perceived political risks (see Practice Note: Project risks and risk allocation—Legal and political risk in a project finance transaction).
In developing markets, this shortfall can be addressed by institutional lenders such as Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) and multilateral or bilateral (national) Development Finance Institutions (DFIs). Alternatively, providers of senior debt may benefit from ECA or DFI support through a guarantee or other insurance coverage.
ECAs are typically involved in overseas projects to champion their domestic industries in the sphere of international trade—for example, where a national industry holds equity in a foreign project, serves as a principal contractor, or supplies project equipment to that venture...
Banking & Finance
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