India

Harneys’ India practice is focused on assisting clients who wish to use offshore structures to accomplish their commercial objectives, whether they are inward or outward-facing. The India Practice Group brings together lawyers from all of the firm’s practice areas who can provide unrivalled legal, cultural and commercial expertise to clients doing business in India. Our practices in the BVI, the Cayman Islands and Cyprus allow us to provide a wide range of cost-effective legal solutions for India-based clients.

Harneys’ India practice represents local and international clients on a wide range of matters, from setting up a BVI or Cayman investment fund to advising banks and financial institutions on lending arrangements. Our private client department leads in the creation of trusts and other wealth management structures and has created products specifically for clients in India. We also have significant experience in structuring project financing transactions, joint ventures and listings in international capital markets including AIM, NYSE, LSE and other leading exchanges. Our litigation department is the largest in the BVI and we provide expert litigation and insolvency support in the Cayman Islands.

Our Services

The firm services a variety of investment funds, banks and leading corporates who have been able to benefit from its multi-jurisdictional abilities and commercial advice. Particularly relevant to the India practice is the rapid growth and interest that the firm has witnessed in the following areas: 

• incorporation of offshore companies in the BVI and Cayman Islands for inbound and outbound foreign direct investments out of India;
• foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) utilizing BVI or Cayman recognized professional funds combined with a tax advantaged Mauritius structure to invest in portfolio direct investment schemes in India;
• an increasing number of Indian corporates seeking investment, liquidity and recognition through the use of AIM listings;
• the use of advanced share-trust mechanisms as a private wealth management solution for clients possessing overseas assets;
• an increasing number of real estate holding vehicles.

Clients & recent matters

Harneys has represented both domestic and international name-brand marquee clients from India including United Breweries, ICICI Bank, Edelweiss, UTV International Holdings, Videocon Group and the Zee Television Group in numerous corporate transactions. Our recent work includes:

• acting for name-brand fund houses in setting up funds to participate in professionally managed portfolios investing in equity securities in India, including Permal, Arisaig and Anew;
• acting as BVI Counsel on the GBP595 million acquisition of Whyte & Mackay by the UB Group;
• advising a number of HNI, non-resident Indian (“NRI”) and Persons of India Origin (“PIOs”) on the formation of advanced share trusts in the BVI;
• continued representation of ICICI Bank, India's largest private sector bank, on B&F transactions;
• advising fund managers on the creation of a Shariah compliant trust investing in the GCC, India and South Asia region;
• acting as Cyprus counsel on a Private International Collective Investment Scheme (”ICIS”) valued at US$100million.

Contact Leonard A. Birmingham or Peter Tarn for more on India.