White & Case soars high on Indonesia's first telecom satellite
The first of its kind PPP satellite project will serve nearly 45 million people and connect remote areas through fast-speed
White & Case soars high on Indonesia's first telecom satellite The first of its kind PPP satellite project will serve nearly 45 million people and connect remote areas through fast-speed internet Global law firm White & Case LLP along with its exclusive Indonesian association law firm Witara Cakra Advocates (WCA) have advised the lenders on Indonesia's first...
White & Case soars high on Indonesia's first telecom satellite
The first of its kind PPP satellite project will serve nearly 45 million people and connect remote areas through fast-speed internet
Global law firm White & Case LLP along with its exclusive Indonesian association law firm Witara Cakra Advocates (WCA) have advised the lenders on Indonesia's first telecommunication satellite.
The law firm team co-led by Mukund Dhar advised on the financing of the US$540 million Indonesia Government's Multifunction Satellite Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Project.
"This exciting project will harness satellite-based connectivity to bring significant social and economic benefits to remote parts of Indonesia," said White & Case partner Mukund Dhar.
Dhar termed it as "a unique transaction" that demonstrated the "cross-border experience" and "cross-practice capabilities" for financing first-of-their kind major satellites in the telecommunications sector.
Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Informatics (KOMINFO) initiated the Government of Indonesia Multifunctional Satellite PPP Project to provide fast internet access to remote areas of the country. Various government sectors, such as maritime, education, health, agriculture, communication and others would benefit from the satellite-based connectivity as they would have access to a cost-effective technology to address some of the remote locations of Indonesia.
The Project is being executed by PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN), the first private satellite-based telecommunication company in Indonesia, through its subsidiary PT Satelit Nusantara Tiga (SNT). French aerospace manufacturer Thales Alenia Space is constructing the satellite which will have a capacity of 150 gigabytes/second in the Ka-Band frequency.
"This is the first telecommunication satellite PPP Project in Indonesia and will support the Government of Indonesia's goal to provide connectivity to more than 149,000 Public Service Points in the country," said White & Case partner Tom Bartlett, who was associated as co-led of White & Case's deal team.
"These points will include schools, health centers and local villages, connecting approximately 45 million individuals," Tom Bartlett, added.
The financing was provided by various financial institutions including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and commercial banks HSBC, Banco Santander and Korea Development Bank (KDB). The deal is guaranteed by Banque publique d'investissement (Bpifrance), the French Export Credit Agency.
Besides Dhar and Bartlett, who are associated with the White & Case's London office, the White & Case and WCA team involved in advising on the transaction included association partner Fajar Ramadhan (Jakarta), partners Jason Kerr, Swati Tripathi and Ingrid York (all London), partner of counsel Sylvia Chin (New York), counsel David Wright (London) and Fern Han (Houston), and associates Dayle Perles Fattal, Tom Wilkinson, Eduardo Barrachina and Matt Steele (all London), Deborah Victoria and Janet Lim (both Jakarta), Amr Jayousi (Houston), Surya Gopalan (New York) and Berdine Geh (Singapore).