Mishcon de Reya, a leading international, independent law firm, has represented Vision Industries Company, a leading investor and developer of green energy industrial projects and local supply chains, in three concurrent substantial sustainable energy joint venture projects with China-based green energy companies and Renewable Energy Localization Company (RELC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The new joint ventures will build local manufacturing capacity and supply chains for green energy systems in wind power and solar power and are worth over US$3 billion. The three projects are:
- A joint venture with Envision Energy will establish a factory focused on manufacturing and assembling wind turbine generators and components, including blades, nacelles and hubs, with a total annual production capacity of up to 4.5 GW. The joint venture will help contribute to Saudi Arabia’s goal of localising the production of 75% of the components in Saudi renewable projects by 2030.
- A joint venture with Lumetech, a subsidiary of TCL Zhonghuan Renewable Energy (TZE), will build and operate an advanced solar ingots and wafers factory, with a planned total investment amount of approximately US$2.08 billion, as announced on TZE's Shenzen Stock Exchange disclosure. The facility is expected to achieve a total annual capacity of 20 GW. It will be Saudi Arabia's first solar silicon ingots and wafers project and the largest outside China.
- A joint venture with Jinko Solar will build and operate a high-efficiency solar cells and modules factory, with an expected total investment amount of approximately US$1 billion, as announced on Jinko's U.S. SEC disclosure. The facility is expected to achieve an annual production capacity of 10 GW for each of high-efficiency solar cells and solar modules and be the largest N-type cell and modules factory outside of China.
Vision Industries Company was advised on all three deals by a cross-border group from Mishcon de Reya. The simultaneous deals involved complex cross-border negotiations which Mishcon de Reya managed by utilising the international expertise of its people in London and Hong Kong and working with its longstanding Riyadh-based associate firm, the Ebrahim Al Habardi Law Office.
Michael Maloney led the deal team with support from partners Lewis Cohen (Commercial/Intellectual Property) and Daniel Goldsborough (Corporate), associates Olivia Fulton (Commercial/Intellectual Property), Harriet Kwok (Hong Kong), Daniel Smith (Corporate), Scott Parmenter (Corporate), Reema Sharma (Intellectual Property), Lamia Alaohali (Riyadh), and Of Counsel Gwen Ballin-Reeler (Competition).
Mishcon de Reya announced earlier this year that it has applied to open an office in Riyadh. The new office will be established as a Saudi Arabian joint venture company with the Ebrahim Al Habardi Law Office. It will be known as Mishcon de Reya Lawyers & Legal Consultants, subject to regulatory approvals.
Martin Davies, Mishcon de Reya’s Middle East Head, commented:
“We are delighted to have played a leading role in these complex, cross-border transactions which involved lawyers from several jurisdictions.
“I was pleased to see how our experienced Saudi Arabian-focused transaction lead, Michael Maloney, and our Mishcon team managed these complex transactions through to signing.
“Mishcon de Reya has a long history of supporting its global client base in cross-border transactions for corporate clients and multi-jurisdictional matters for individuals. We are committed to delivering a material positive impact by conducting our business in a socially, ethically and environmentally responsible way and, in this particular set of transactions, we were pleased that our deep bench of expertise from London, the Middle East and Asia has advised on projects of significant importance to developing Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy sector, a core objective of Vision 2030.”