Helen Rhind-Hufnagel

Of counsel

As an M&A specialist advising on cross-border transactions across Southeast Asia, Helen increasingly focuses on foreign investment into Myanmar. Clients respect Helen's pragmatic, commercial approach whilst remaining astute to cultural sensitivities. Helen also advises extensively on compliance issues across the region, in particular anti-money laundering and anti-bribery.

Having worked in Asia for over 16 years, Helen has extensive experience of advising on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and corporate restructurings across Southeast Asia and further afield. Recent transactions range from advising a telecommunications tower operator on the establishment of its joint venture in Laos, advising a global digital media player on acquisitions in Singapore and Myanmar, advising various global energy and commodity groups on acquisitions and joint ventures in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Pakistan, and advising a European development bank on acquisitions in Singapore, Indonesia and Myanmar. Helen also advises on compliance issues, in particular anti-money laundering and anti-bribery.

Helen is a lead member of our Myanmar practice, advising clients across a broad range of industries on foreign investment in Myanmar, as well as related regulatory issues and commercial operations. Recent Myanmar matters include advising Chubb Insurance on the establishment of its life insurance business, advising Ringier AG on various joint venture arrangements, advising Myanmar Investments International Limited on the recent merger of Apollo Towers and Pan Asia Majestic Eagle to form Myanmar’s largest telecommunications towers business, and advising Campana Group on investments into its telecommunications cable business and various strategic investments by Campana.

Helen is a founding member and ex-chair of the British Chamber of Commerce Myanmar’s Legal Working Group, a key forum for discussing business legal issues in Myanmar. She continues to coordinate the Group’s extensive training programme for Myanmar lawyers and various government bodies, including the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, and frequently provides training on practical corporate and commercial law topics.

Helen's prior private practice experience with leading firms in London and Germany is complemented by extensive commercial experience as in-house counsel and a member of the diagnostics management team with listed multinational pharmaceutical company, Roche.