Hong Kong – Stephenson Harwood Advises ICBC Aviation Leasing On Aviation Restructuring Deals.

Law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP has advised ICBC Aviation Leasing on a range of aircraft repossession and airline reorganisation deals, involving more than 17 airlines across 11 jurisdictions.
 

Stephenson Harwood was appointed to represent ICBC Aviation Leasing on a range of matters, which concerned more than 50 aircraft in multiple jurisdictions across the Asia Pacific region – including Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Cyprus, PRC, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
 

The work included advising in relation to AirAsia X's scheme of arrangement in Malaysia, which concluded with the Malaysian court handing down a seminal judgment in favour of the client. The team also represented ICBC Aviation Leasing in the negotiations involved in the rehabilitation process of Thai Airways, and advised in relation to the issues regarding the repossession of engines, which were leased to Tigerair Australia but located in Singapore.
 

“These were an exciting and interesting range of restructuring deals on which to advise ICBC Aviation Leasing,” said Simon Wong, partner, Stephenson Harwood. “Particularly the Malaysian Court’s judgment in relation to AirAsia X, which is significant because it deals with the pertinent issue of whether a scheme of arrangement is regarded as insolvency proceedings for the purpose of the most important international treaty in aviation finance: the Cape Town Treaty.”
 

The Stephenson Harwood team was led by partner Simon Wong, who was supported by associate Louis Ng. Further assistance was provided by partners Ian Benjamin, Jamie Stranger, Paul Phillips, Eloise Matsui, Mark Reed, Gregory Xu and Saugata Mukherjee, senior associate Johnny Champion, associate Ellen Fleming and Virtus Law partner Daryll Ng. The team worked alongside local counsel in the lessees' jurisdictions.