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Kinstellar announces new promotions to Counsel
February 2024 – Kinstellar is delighted to announce the promotions to Counsel of: Yerlan Akhmetov, Kuanysh Shekerbekov (Almaty, Kazakhstan), Cătălin Dinu, Cătălin Graure (Bucharest, Romania), Barnabás Sági (Budapest, Hungary), Yulia Eismont, Maksym Tesliar (Kyiv, Ukraine), Michal Forýtek (Prague, Czech Republic), Andrijana Kaštelan, Vedran Kopilović, Marija Vuchetich (Zagreb, Croatia). ALMATY Yerlan Akhmetov focuses on banking and finance, M&A and capital markets matters. Having been with the Firm for nine years, Yerlan has earned a reputation for cultivating strong client relationships, demonstrating leadership qualities and making significant contributions to our firm's success. He has played a key role
Kinstellar strengthens its team in Kazakhstan with the appointment of Ardak Idayatova as Partner
Kinstellar is delighted to announce that Ardak Idayatova has joined the firm’s Almaty office as Partner. Ardak Idayatova is an experienced practitioner with a career spanning 20 years. She focuses primarily on commercial arbitration (especially construction arbitration) and litigation, as well as on public-private partnerships and real estate. Ardak’s expertise includes providing comprehensive support to major infrastructure projects, primarily representing foreign investors, international development banks and foreign contractors. Additionally, she represents and provides legal assistance to clients in foreign commercial arbitrations, mainly in connection with construction disputes arising out of different
Kinstellar reinforces its capabilities in Uzbekistan with the appointment of Kamilla Khamraeva as Counsel
Kinstellar is delighted to announce that Kamilla Khamraeva has joined the firm’s Tashkent office as Counsel. Kamilla focuses on Banking & Finance and the Energy and Infrastructure sectors. Kamilla is an experienced lawyer with a strong track record implementing some of the major and most sophisticated projects in Uzbekistan in recent years. She has also been involved in regional initiatives overseeing mandates in Turkmenistan, collaborating with local firms/lawyers on the ground. During her legal career she has advised the IFC, ADB, EBRD, Intesa Sanpaolo, Unicredit, Credit Suisse, MUFG, SACE and others in various transactions. Kamilla often works closely with lenders on structuring bespoke transactions to
Energy sector expert Balázs Tomaj joins Kinstellar’s Budapest office
Kinstellar is delighted to announce that Balázs Tomaj, a seasoned legal practitioner in Hungary’s energy sector, has joined the firm’s Budapest office as a Senior Counsel. With a longstanding and notable career in the energy sector, Balázs brings a wealth of experience and knowledge, further enhancing the firm’s capabilities to serve its clients in this ever-evolving sector. With over 15 years at the largest Hungarian energy companies and law firms, Balázs has established himself as a trusted legal expert in the field. His deep understanding of energy regulations and industry trends is an invaluable asset for our firm and our clients. He will play a leading role in strengthening our capabilities in the energy
Kinstellar strengthens its team in Turkey with the appointment of Ömer Erdoğan as Partner
Kinstellar is delighted to announce that Ömer Erdoğan has joined the firm’s Istanbul office as Partner. His joining reinforces our team’s capabilities in Turkey—particularly our expertise in the real estate, infrastructure and energy sectors as well as project finance. Ömer has 18 years of experience advising multinational and local companies on their investments in Turkey and abroad. His banking and finance expertise covers a wide range of transactions in Turkey. He has led teams acting for both lenders and sponsors on trade finance, project and acquisition financings, banking regulatory, security documentation, and secured loans and syndications. Ömer’s broad experience also covers the energy
Kinstellar announces new promotions to Partner and Counsel
Kinstellar is delighted and proud to announce the promotions to Partner of Tomáš Melišek (Bratislava), Levente Hegedűs (Budapest), Bulut Girgin (Istanbul), Anastasiya Bolkhovitinova, Natalia Kirichenko, Oleg Matiusha, Illya Muchnyk (all in our Kyiv office), and to Counsel of Dominika Bajzáthová (Bratislava). PARTNERS Tomá š Melišek, Bratislava Tomáš is the Head of the local Banking & Finance service line. He has 15 years of experience in banking and finance, focusing on project and acquisition financing as well as on financial regulations. Tomáš has substantial experience advising clients on significant financing transactions in the areas of real estate, energy, infrastructure, automotive, media
Romania approves secondary norms to its new FDI regime
The Romanian government has adopted secondary legislation for the organisation and functioning of the FDI Screening Commission (the “CEISD”)—the authority tasked with the review of foreign investments under Romania’s new foreign direct investment (“FDI”) regime. Specifically, the government adopted Government Decision no. 1,326/2022 approving the Regulation on the functioning of the CEISD, which came into force as of 8 November 2022 (the “CEISD Regulation”). Romania’s new FDI regime was introduced earlier this year through Government Emergency Ordinance no. 46/2022 on measures for applying EU Regulation 2019/452 establishing a framework for the examination of foreign direct investment in the Union (the
Ukraine: The post-victory reconstruction
Historically, Ukraine has been known as a country with a good investment climate, particularly in the energy sector. The country’s high feed-in tariff rates, general digitalization, well-established and simplified regulatory procedures, and the availability of alternative suppliers for works and services, among other factors, have contributed to a large influx of investors in new green energy projects in Ukraine. The large-scale and aggressive war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which first began in 2014 and further escalated in 2022, has led to an increasing number of human losses and widespread material destruction. Power plants and power lines, airports, ports, schools, hospitals, roads, residential
Ukraine and EU sign Common Civil Aviation Area Agreement
A recent article in Ukrainian legal affairs newspaper "Yurydychna Praktyka" ("Юридична Практика) features the comments of three Kinstellar experts—Vincent Morand (Senior Legal Advisor based in Prague), Oleksandr Kurdydyk (Partner and Head of Banking and Energy & Natural Resources in Kyiv, firm-wide Head of Projects & Infrastructure, and firm-wide Co-head of Energy & Natural Resources) and Yuliia Eismont (Senior Associate in Kyiv)—focusing on the key expectations of signing the Common Aviation Area Agreement, which creates the basis for Ukraine's integration with the European Aviation Area. The article shares the viewpoints of leading lawyers on the long-term consequences of signing the
Kinstellar strengthens its team in Uzbekistan with the appointment of Sherzod Yunusov as Partner
Kinstellar is delighted to announce that Sherzod Yunusov has joined the firm’s Tashkent office as Partner. His joining the firm bolsters our team’s capabilities in Uzbekistan and particularly our expertise in the energy and infrastructure sectors and project finance. Sherzod Yunusov has expertise and an established track record handling a wide array of matters related to oil and gas transactions (including exploration and gas production; production sharing agreements; development of fields; design and construction of infrastructure projects; gas transportation and processing; plant operation; sales of gas; and project finance), renewables (solar and wind), and infrastructure projects. He also advises on restructurings
Ukraine seeks private-sector engagement for modernisation of its port infrastructure
Despite having the largest port potential in the region, with 13 state-owned seaports located on the coasts of the Black and Azov Seas, Ukraine’s port industry struggles with various problems, including outdated and worn-out equipment, a lack of deep-water anchorages, the inadequate condition of public transport infrastructure, fragmentation of port lands and assets, lack of proper regulation for outer harbour (roadstead) construction works, high port tariffs compared to neighbouring countries etc. Among other things, there is an urgent need to modernise state-owned port assets and to improve their management, both of which require significant financial investments and new approaches using the best international practices.
Kinstellar advises on a first-of-its-kind PPP motorway project in the Czech Republic
Kinstellar, in conjunction with the UK law firm Linklaters, has successfully advised a group of international banks in relation to the concession agreement and the drafting and negotiating of financing documentation for the first-ever PPP motorway project in the Czech Republic. The banks involved in financing the transaction are: Československá obchodní banka, KfW IPEX, DZ Bank, NordLB, MEAG, SMBC, Siemens Bank, UniCredit and Société Générale. The roughly CZK 18 billion (approximately EUR 700 million) deal required considerable expertise on the part of the team, as well as the need to devise a large number of new projects and financing-related solutions. A French consortium comprising VINCI Concessions and