Santiago-based Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos appointed a banking, finance and capital markets lawyer to partner. The new partner, Juan Antonio Parodi, works out of the firm's head office.
In an interview with IFLR1000, Parodi commented on the relatively small size of Chile's capital markets and what he sees as a dependency on foreign investment. “Being inserted in a somewhat politically unstable region, great efforts are necessary to continue to attract foreign investment, which is key for the continuing development of the market,” he said. “The Chilean market success is probably due in part to the existence of clear rules and the willingness to be at par with international standards and to adopt the international experience.”
Parodi acknowledged that the market may need new regulation as new problems arise. “For instance, there is still further implementation of clear corporate governance rules. Chilean companies are generally concentrated by a strong controller. The challenge for these companies is to prove that despite being concentrated, their governance is transparent and oriented towards their stockholders.”
During his tenure at Cariola, Parodi has worked on several notable transactions. For example, he advised Principal Financial Group, an investment management company, in acquiring AFP Cuprum, a pension company, for about $1.2 billion in February 2013. In November 2014, he counseled the consortium of Korea Southern Power Corporation and Samsung in obtaining a $476.6 million loan to finance a gas power plant.
Parodi began working at the firm in 2004 after graduating from Universidad de Chile. He later took time off to work as a foreign attorney at global firm Holland & Knight in Miami and to obtain his Master of Laws from Columbia University in 2010.