Seychelles

Malcolm Moller continues to lead Appleby’s Seychelles practice. He does work in both Mauritius and the Seychelles. The firm has three lawyers on the ground in the jurisdiction including, in addition to Moller, corporate specialists Anjana Ramburuth and Juliette Butler.

The office often picks up the Seychelles aspects of the firm’s broader transactions. Some examples from the past 12 months include work for the lenders on a credit facility extended to PT Bumi Resources; advice to CIC Gold Group and CIC Capital on their listings on the LSE; advising the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on a loan to Oil and Gas Systems for the construction of a hot press stamping plant in Sukhodol; and work for United Overseas Bank on a loan provided to PT Nutrifood Indonesia.

Appleby Seychelles provides corporate and financial legal services and is commonly asked to assist with international investment into African and Asian markets. Its lawyers speak French and English.

It advised the Nature Conservancy on a $78 million sovereign debt swap through which the government of the Seychelles would refinance debt to Paris Club members and issue new debt which would fund marine conservation over the following 20 years. As well as financing matters, it also advised on M&A and corporate reorganisations.

Malcolm Moller leads Appleby's practice in the Seychelles and splits his time between Port Victoria and Mauritius. He covers a broad range of areas including general finance, capital markets, corporate and regulatory matters and is supported by associates Juliette Butler and Sharon Smith.

In a similar fashion to its Mauritian office, the firm primarily acts for clients looking to channel investment into emerging jurisdictions in both Africa and Asia. The firm has recently reported an increase in private client and trust work.

Highlight matters from the previous 12 months in the M&A area include acting for Batelco on its acquisition of the Monaco & Islands division of Cable & Wireless Communications, including assets in the Maldives, the Channel Islands, Isle of Man and the Seychelles itself. In addition the firm advised Vanoli Energy on its acquisition of Avana Petroleum; Jindal Steel on its proposed acquisition of Afferro Mining; and Teleflex on its acquisition of LMA International.

In the capital markets area the firm assisted PT Energy Mega Persada and Seychelles subsidiary Enviroco Company on a $600 million bond issue used to refinance a loan.

The only change at Appleby that affects the Seychelles practice is the departure of Phillip Norah to the position of head of legal at Barclays. Norah split his time between Mauritius and Seychelles as does head of department Malcolm Moller.

The firm’s highlights in the last year include advising Afferro Mining on its acquisition by International Mining & Infrastructure. In finance the firm acted for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on the financing provided to Oil and Gas Systems for the construction of a greenfield hot press stamping plant in Russia.

In the capital markets the team advised Bumi Resources on an issues of $700 million senior secured notes by Bumi Investment and $300 million in senior secured notes by Bumi Capital.