Drew & Napier - Partners' Profiles

Over the last 15 years Sushil has built considerable expertise in insolvency and restructuring work. He was named as a recommended lawyer in his field by Chambers Asia 2009, Who’s Who Legal 2008, Best Lawyers (2009 and 2008) and Practical Law Company’s Which Lawyer Survey 2007 which describes him as a “cross-border restructuring and insolvency specialist”. Chambers Asia 2009 describes him as " an intelligent, hard-working, creative and multidimensional character who commands great respect as both a litigator and a transactional adviser.”, and has ranked him for the second consecutive year in Band 1 for the area of Restructuring and Insolvency. Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers 2007-2008 also lists Sushil as a leading individual in restructuring and insolvency, adding that “he is praised for ‘his ability to keep thinking, suggest different strategies and make a quick decision’.” The biennial publication, The International Who’s Who of Insolvency & Restructuring Lawyers 2007 and 2009 also recommends Sushil as a top lawyer in the field.

He has acted for the UK Administrators of Barings plc in connection with the insolvency of the group’s Singapore subsidiaries and was also involved in the restructuring of the Brittania Group, one of the world’s largest confectionary companies. More recently Sushil represented the foreign creditors’ steering committee in SK Global’s US$100 million debt restructuring.

Since 2002 Sushil has been the lead partner in the US$16 billion debt restructuring of Asia Pulp & Paper, one of the world’s largest restructuring exercises. The APP group has about 150 subsidiaries world-wide including China, Indonesia, Singapore, Europe, etc. Its creditors include the export credit agencies of various countries such as US, Japan, Germany and France, public and institutional investors, financial institutions and other government agencies. Over three years, Sushil was part of an international team of lawyers that successfully restructured the Indonesian subsidiaries – it was in fact named the Southeast Asian Insolvency and Restructuring Deal of the Year at the Asian Legal Business Awards 2006. In addition the team devised a scheme of arrangement sanctioned by the courts in Bermuda that restructured some US$690 million of debt relating to APP’s China holdings. The team also resolved a class action suit brought by APP’s bondholders in the United States in a settlement sanctioned by the US District Court of New York. In the Singapore High Court and Court of Appeal, the team successfully resisted creditors’ applications to place APP under judicial management. The multi-jurisdictional and multi-faceted restructuring was again awarded Insolvency and Restructuring Deal of the Year at the Asian Legal Business Awards 2008.

Separately, Sushil was lead counsel in restructuring the former Citiraya Industries, Singapore’s largest corporate collapse of 2006. Sushil, working with fellow advisors, was instrumental in taking a company with S$400 million of debt and matching it with a “white knight” investor who then helped turn it around. His team successfully placed the company under judicial management. Citiraya has since relisted on the Singapore Stock Exchange under a new name, Centillion Environment & Recycling, and has been given a new lease of life.

Sushil’s cross-border portfolio extends beyond APP’s restructuring. In Malaysia, Sushil worked with a large resort group in its RM150 million restructuring of its banking facilities involving golf courses and hotels. He was also engaged by the Bank of Mauritius, the country’s central bank, to investigate the country’s largest banking fraud. Working with appointed financial advisors, Sushil assisted in the preparation of a confidential report that has been extensively discussed in the Mauritian Parliament and media.