White & Case Advises on First Telecommunication Satellite PPP Project in Indonesia

Global law firm White & Case LLP and exclusive Indonesian association law firm Witara Cakra Advocates (WCA) have advised the lenders on the financing of the US$540 million Indonesia Government 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, who co-led the Firm’s deal team. "It is a unique transaction which demonstrates the cross-border experience and cross practice capabilities our clients rely on us for when 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 in Indonesia, which can be accessed by various government sectors, such as maritime, education, health, agriculture, communication and others. Satellite-based connectivity is the only feasible access technology to cost-effectively address these remote locations.  

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 co-led the Firm's deal team. "These points will include schools, health centers and local villages, connecting approximately 45 million individuals."

The financing was provided by a number of financial institutions including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a multilateral financial institution focused on Asia and commercial banks, HSBC, Banco Santander and Korea Development Bank (KDB), and guaranteed by Banque publique d'investissement (Bpifrance), the French Export Credit Agency.  

The White & Case and WCA team which advised on the transaction was led by partners Mukund Dhar and Tom Bartlett (both London) and 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). 

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