Sui-Jim Ho’s practice focuses on finance, capital markets, and restructuring.

Jim advises on a broad range of financial products including loans (ranging from investment grade to acquisition and leveraged finance), bonds, and derivatives. His clients include companies, financial institutions, private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, and sovereigns and sovereign wealth funds.

He joined the firm in 2008 and became a partner in 2017. He previously completed client secondments at Citigroup (capital markets) and Lehman Brothers (derivatives).

Client praises include:

  • “Jim Ho is our go-to for handling complex legal issues. He offers top-notch guidance and is incredibly intelligent and effective. He is a delight to work with and pays attention to both the small details and the broader picture.” (Chambers UK 2024)
  • “Jim Ho is a great lawyer who can think outside the box and generate results that exceed expectations for us.” (Chambers UK 2024)
 
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Notable Experiences

Corporate – Finance and Restructuring

  • Brookfield and HomeServe EMEA in the raising of £325 million and €460 million term debt facilities and a £150 million RCF to refinance its senior bridge facility

  • Cognita Schools in the raising of a €1.159 billion first lien cov-lite TLB and RCF in order to fully refinance its existing senior and second lien facilities

  • OpenText in its financing of its acquisition of Micro Focus International PLC, one of the world’s largest software companies, at an enterprise value of approximately $6 billion

  • Warburg Pincus and Infinite Electronics, Inc. on the financing aspects of its acquisition of Bulgin Ltd, a UK-based developer and manufacturer of connectors and related components for harsh-environment applications, from Equistone Partners Europe

  • FEMSA in the monetization of its Heineken stake including the €3.3 billion offering of Heineken shares, the largest European consumer ECM transaction in 15 years (Equity Capital Markets Deal of the Year 2023, Bonds, Loans & ESG Capital Markets Latin America & Caribbean Awards)

  • MDC Partners Inc. on debt finance matters in connection with its business combination transaction with Stagwell Media LP

  • América Móvil, a Mexican telecommunication corporation and one of the largest mobile network operators in the world, in various financing and capital markets transactions

  • Financing matters for Blackstone, Brookfield, Hillhouse Capital, KKR, Nectar Capital, Silver Point, Sixth Street, Temasek, TPG, Wafra, and Warburg Pincus

  • Bank lending, debt capital markets, and liability management transactions for various financial institutions and corporates including investment grade loans, acquisition finance, derivatives, EMTN and ECP programs, and issuances of investment grade, high yield, and equity-linked instruments

  • Eurasian Resources Group in its $5.2 billion dual-track debt restructuring (Legal Business Awards 2017: Restructuring Team of the Year shortlist; IFLR Europe Awards 2017: Restructuring Deal of the Year and Restructuring Team of the Year shortlist)

  • Truvo Group in its €1.5 billion cross-border restructuring (IFLR’s EMEA Restructuring of the Year)

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Sovereign – Financing and Restructuring

  • Barbados 2022 debt-for-nature swap: the Government of Barbados in relation to its $150 million debt-for-nature conversion which included the first ever “pandemic clause” for a sovereign in a primary market issuance (Sustainable Loan of the Year 2022, International Financing Review; ESG Loan Deal of the Year 2023, Bonds, Loans & ESG Capital Markets Latin America & Caribbean Awards)

  • Chad’s restructuring under the Common Framework: the Republic of Chad in the restructuring of its $1.3 billion facility agreement, accounting for 98% of Chad’s commercial debt stock, under the Common Framework and previously in 2018

  • Greece 2011/12 restructuring: The Hellenic Republic on its €206 billion bond exchange, the largest sovereign debt restructuring in history (British Legal Awards 2012: European Legal Team of the Year; Financial Times U.S. Innovative Lawyers Report 2012: Most Innovative in Finance; Legal Business Awards: Restructuring Team of the Year and Law Firm of the Year; IFLR Awards 2013: Debt Deal of the Year and Most Innovative U.S. Law Firm in Europe)

  • The Republic of Argentina in connection with its $63.4 billion debt restructuring in 2020

  • Lebanon on the management of its sovereign debt, including advising on the restructuring of its circa $30 billion U.S. dollar-denominated Eurobonds

  • Barbados 2018/2019 restructuring: the Government of Barbados in relation to its domestic and external debt exchange. Following the exchange, Barbados became the only country in the world whose public debt stock is climate resilient as a result of the inclusion of the innovative “natural disaster clause” in its debt instruments (British Legal Awards, Restructuring Team of the Year, 2020)

  • The Gambia in connection with its sovereign debt management

  • All of Greece’s international bond issuances since 2018, including the country’s first offerings to the international markets since the conclusion of the bailout program (accolades include CEE Legal “Deal of the Year” 2020)

  • Benin’s innovative €260 million term loan in 2018 arranged by MUFG, the first time in World Bank history that policy-based guarantees were leveraged to support commercial loans to a sovereign in Africa

  • Republic of Senegal in a foreign exchange hedging transaction that is supported by a first-of-its-kind guarantee from the African Development Bank. The successful execution of this innovative transaction won Senegal’s Ministry of Finance and Budget the title of “Sovereign Risk Manager of the Year” at the Risk.Net Risk Awards 2020.

  • Loans, bonds and derivatives, and institutional advice for various sovereigns, supranationals, and central banks including Argentina, Asian Development Bank, the Bank of England, Benin, Chad, Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, Eurofima, European Stability Mechanism, Georgia, Greece, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe

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Selected Activities

  • Editor, Emerging Markets Restructuring Journal
  • Contributing Editor, International Financial Law Review
  • Financial Markets Law Committee’s Sovereign Debt Forum

Publications

General Finance:

“Corporates Face Novel Risks from Debt Ceiling Impasse—Even if No Default Occurs,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo

“United Kingdom” chapter, Getting the Deal Through: Securities Finance 2021

“FCA Ushers in the End of LIBOR,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo

“Sustainable Finance: A Global Overview of ESG Regulatory Developments,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo 

“Consequences of the Disease – Start Worrying Again About German Insolvency Filing Requirements,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo 

“The UK’s Post-Brexit Financial Services Regulatory Framework – Details Emerge,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo 

“Social Bonds in Response to the COVID-19 Crisis: a Guide for Issuers,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo

“COVID-19: UK Regulators Adopt Regulatory and Operational Relief Measures To Support Financial Services Firms” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo

Contributing Author, A Practitioner’s Guide to Syndicated Lending, 2nd edition

“United Kingdom” chapter, Getting the Deal Through: Securities Finance 2019

“LIBOR Transition: The Time to Act Is Now,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo

“LIBOR No More: Practical Guidance on How to Prepare for the Phase-Out of LIBOR,” Financier Worldwide Magazine

“LIBOR Transition: Focus on Conduct Risk,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo

“The Resurgence of Hybrid Securities,” International Financial Law Review

“Parallel Schemes of Arrangement,” International Corporate Rescue

“The Rising Tide of Creditor Democracy,” International Financial Law Review

“How Will EMIR Affect Corporates?,” International Financial Law Review

“ESMA’s U-turn: What’s Next for Indirect Clearing?,” International Financial Law Review

Sovereign Debt:

“How a New York State Law Could Affect Sovereign Debt Restructurings,” podcast, Debtwire

“Sovereign Debt with Jill Dauchy” podcast, The Potomac Group

“Bringing Nature Into Sovereign Debt”

“Creditor Files SDNY Lawsuit Against Sri Lanka in Connection With Its Sovereign Debt Default, Asserting Breach of Contract and Pari Passu Claims,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo

“How We Can All Make Sovereign Debt More Transparent”

“Emerging Market Debt Restructuring: Deferred, Not Cancelled”

“Scaling up GSS Bonds in Africa,” Africa Outlook Quarterly Wrap

“A Cautious Approach to Capital: Sub-Saharan Africa Sovereign Debt Markets in 2021,” Africa Outlook Quarterly Wrap

“COVID-19 Toolkit for Sovereigns: Support, Stimulus, and Debt Management Measures” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo

“Building a Climate Resilient Debt Portfolio,” International Financial Law Review

“Sovereign debt column: Natural Disaster Clauses – Shelter From the Storm?,” Global Restructuring Review (Nov 2019)

“Sovereign debt column: Is This Time Different for Sub-Saharan Africa?,” Global Restructuring Review (August 2019)

“Sovereign debt column: Coming Into the Light?,” Global Restructuring Review (June 2019)

Corporate Restructuring:

“Global Restructuring Trends,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo

“Cure for the Disease – Stop Worrying About German Insolvency Filing Requirements and Continue Trading,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo

“Suspension of Wrongful Trading Rules: What It Means for Businesses,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo

“Legal Analysis: Schemes of Arrangement – 12 Month Lookback,” Debtwire (August 2019)

“Company Voluntary Arrangements: A Primer,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo

“Gibbs Rule Tested: Implications for Creditors,” International Financial Law Review

“Indian Bankruptcy Code—How Does It Compare?,” Emerging Markets Restructuring Journal, Issue No. 8 Winter 2018-2019

“U.S. Court Recognizes Croatian Proceeding Settlement Despite English Law Gibbs Rule,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo

“Schuldschein Forecast – Rain or Shine?,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memo

“We Need to Talk: Information Flows When Restructuring Listed Debt,” with D. Billington, Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law

“Cutting the Gordian Knot – Restructuring Russian Companies,” with P. Lyadnova, Emerging Markets Restructuring Journal

Events

Jim regularly speaks at conferences and conducts training events on finance-related topics at various universities, corporates, banks, and multilateral organisations.