Juristconsult Chambers

Chairman: Marc Hein SC, G.O.S.K.
Managing Partner: Nicolas Richard
Number of partners: 5
Number of lawyers: 7
Languages: Creole, English, French, Hindi

Firm Overview:
Juristconsult Chambers is one of the leading business law firms in Mauritius. Nicolas Richard is the managing partner of the firm. With 12 full-time lawyers, Juristconsult Chambers provides practical and innovative legal services in the field of consultancy, litigation and arbitration. The law firm has a strong reputation in the Mauritian business community and retains a focus on Africa, and in so doing, advises clients local or foreign, wherever they may choose to do business on the continent.
Members of the practice are trained according to international standards, and are, at the same time, equipped with valuable local expertise and know-how. Members of the firm have contributed in the drafting of legislations whilst others lecture at tertiary institutions in their respective specialist areas. Juristconsult Chambers is continually involved in many of the largest and significant transactions occurring in Mauritius. Marc Hein SC, G.O.S.K, the Chairman of Juristconsult Chambers, was the former Chairperson of the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius, the regulator for non-banking financial services. The firm services local and international companies, high net worth individuals and financial institutions including banks, funds and trusts which seek assistance for their legal challenges pertaining to the firm’s areas of practice. Juristconsult Chambers helps foreign investors to settle in Mauritius and maintains a close relationship with all Mauritian governmental authorities. Juristconsult Chambers is a member of DLA Piper Africa but also works with a large number of international law firms. The close working relationship with a network of lawyers in the neighbouring islands of Seychelles, Madagascar, Reunion and Comoros enables the law firm to better handle cross border transactions in the Indian Ocean.

Main Areas of Practice:
Members of the practice have a wide range of expertise, enabling them to provide timely legal advice as regards the following:

Corporate & Commercial:
■ Currently advising Société de Promotion et de Participation pour la Coopération Economique (Proparco) in relation to an investment in a company listed on the Mauritian stock exchange. Our scope of work includes a due diligence on the listed entity including looking at employment contracts at the management level and at employee share option schemes.
■ Currently advising Government of Canada in respect of repayable contributions to be granted to two Mauritius entities involved in (i) the giving of financial support and guarantees to help address the financing gap faced by women owned-led small and medium enterprises SMEs in Africa through the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (“AFAWA”) initiative and (ii) addressing the shortage of long-term, patient funding, and lack of local currency financing and local capital market development in Africa and Asia. Our scope of work included carrying out due diligence exercises on both Mauritius entities.
■ Currently advising Proparco in connection with their investment in a global business Mauritian company involved in the renewable energy sector in Africa.
■ Regularly advising OPIC in relation to their investments in various Mauritius entities/funds and assisting OPIC in relation to the transition to DFC.
■ Advising OPIC and CDC in relation to the granting of a facility to Te Power Company S.A.S.U for the development, design, engineering, construction, commissioning and operation of a 50-megawatt thermal power plant located in Conakry, Guinea. • Advising OPIC in respect of fund diligence documents and its investment in Phatisa Food Fund II. Negotiating fund documents on behalf of OPIC.
■ Advising Essilor Group, a leading international ophthalmic optics company, on the acquisition of the shares in R.Mathieu (Opticians) Limited, the oldest leading ophthalmic company based in Mauritius. We conducted due diligence on the target company and we assisted in the negotiations and drafting of the transaction and ancillary documentation as well as advising the client on key corporate matters relating to this transaction.

Banking & Finance:
■ Advising Proparco in connection with an issue of shares and share exchange involving the African Guarantee Fund Ltd - for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, a fund incorporated in Mauritius and the Fonds de Garantie des Investissements Privés en Afrique de l’Ouest.
■ Assisting with the restructuring of a Mauritian subsidiary of the Libyan Investment Fund which is itself a subsidiary of the Libyan Sovereign Fund.
■ Advising an Indian impact fund manager, Caspian Impact Investment, on a USD 20m debt financing transaction from OPIC.
■ Advising the Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP), established by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy of the UK on a result-based financing of solar home systems electrical units in Nigeria through a Mauritius borrower.
■ Appointed as Mauritian counsel to a consortium of banks (Bank of America; N.A. BNP Paribas, Singapore Branch; Citibank N.A.; Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd, Hong Kong Branch; Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc.; Standard Chartered Bank, New York; UBS Ag Hong Kong Branch; Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank; Sumitomo Mitsui banking Corporation; Natixis) with regards to a Facility Agreement worth $460 million.
■ Advising Gatehouse Bank PLC by reviewing a Murabaha Facility Agreement which has terms and conditions peculiar to this mode of financing from a Mauritian Law perspective and drafting a pledge over a bank account in Mauritius. Advising Gulf Credit Opportunities Fund II, and AfriInvest Fund III LLC on a deal value of USD 45 million with regards to the structuring of financing which involved the setting up of a Lender SPV in Mauritius and the implications from a tax and regulatory perspective. We also assisted in reviewing the Facility Agreement and the Keepwell Deed from a Mauritian Law perspective and further assisted in the drafting of the necessary corporate authorisations and share pledge. Moreover, we issued a capacity and enforceability opinion on the borrower.

Insurance
■ Reviewing of insurance policies as well as introducers contracts for Willis Watson Towers in respect of their intention to send insurance advertisement and provide insurance policies to Mauritians.
■ Advising several international re-insurers and insurance companies in respect of claims from insured companies in Mauritius in relation to losses suffered as a consequence of the COVID-19 and national confinement periods.

Hospitality Industry
■ Conducting data privacy gap and implementation exercises for Airport Hotel Ltd (Holiday’ Inn), the different business units of NMH Ltd (commonly known as the Beachcomber Group) and VLH Ltd (owner of the Veranda hotels and subsidiary of Rogers & Co. Ltd). Our work involved conducting interviews with the different Heads of Department of the hotels; reviewing and amending their internal policies and agreements with their internal and external clients as well as drafting and implementing the policies and procedures so that the hotels are compliant with the Data Protection Act 2017

Conglomerates
■ Conducting data privacy gap and implementation exercises for Omnicane Group; Rogers & Co. Ltd and Evaco Group (“Groups”). Our work includes conducting interviews with the different Heads of Department of the Groups, reviewing and amending their internal policies and agreements with their internal and external clients as well as drafting and implementing the policies and procedures so that the entities forming part of the Groups are compliant with the Data Protection Act 2017. We have also conducted bespoke data protection trainings for the senior management of Omnicane Ltd, the ultimate holding company of the Omnicane Group of Companies.
■ Advising IBL Ltd on their ongoing data protection queries. We have also conducted bespoke data protection trainings for the senior management of the different clusters of the IBL Group of Companies.
■ Advising Harel Mallac Group on their ongoing data protection queries. We have also conducted bespoke data protection trainings for the senior management of the different clusters of the Harel Mallac Group.

Statutory Body
■ Conducting data privacy gap and implementation exercises for the Competition Commission (“Commission”). Our work includes conducting interviews with the different Heads of Department of the Commission, reviewing and amending their internal policies and agreements with their internal and external clients as well as drafting and implementing the policies and procedures so that the Commission is compliant with the Data Protection Act 2017. We have also conducted bespoke data protection trainings for the senior management and all the staff of the Commission.

Banking, Insurance and Financial Services Sectors
■ Conducting data privacy gap and implementation exercises for the Rogers Group. Our work includes conducting interviews with the different Heads of Department of the Commission, reviewing and amending their internal policies and agreements with their internal and external clients as well as drafting and implementing the policies and procedures to be compliant with the Data Protection Act 2017.
■ Advising Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius Private Limited, a subsidiary of Citigroup Inc. on their obligations under the Data Protection Act 2017. We have also conducted a training on data protection for their employees.
■ Advising Warburg Pincus with the review of their data protection policies as well as Accenture with respect to their data privacy matters.
■ Drafting and reviewing data privacy policies (including retention schedules) for Standard Charted Bank and advising Bank One on Data Protection issues.
■ Assisting and advising several Management Companies licensed under the Financial Services Act 2007 in respect of their ongoing data protection queries such as St Lawrence Management Services, Vistra Mauritius and IQEQ.

Clients:
Proparco, Governement of Canada, OPIC, Essilor Group, Fortis Healthcare International, Virunga Power Holdings Limited, Willis Watson Towers, Botswana Development Corporation, Botswana Development Corporation, China Development Bank Corporation, Ceridian, Kerzner International, Citigroup Inc., Renewable Energy Performance Platform, FirstRand Bank Limited, Gatehouse Bank PLC, Gulf Credit Opportunities Fund II, and AfriInvest Fund III LLC, Caspian Investment Fund, Investec, L’Agence Francaise de Developpement, Coca Cola Group, Sanofi, Standard Bank South Africa,REWE Group, Metropolitan Health/MMI holdings, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Limited, Consortium Suzlon Pad Green Co. Ltd, Alteo Ltd, Credit Agricole Corporate, Forcepoint International Technology Limited (FITL), The Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd, IBL, Ciel, Omnicane,Evaco Group, Terra, MauBank, Mauritius Ports Authority, Rogers, Warburg Pincus, Standard Chartered Bank, Bank one, Harel Mallac group, Airport Hotel Ltd (Holiday’ Inn), NMH Ltd (commonly known as the Beachcomber Group) and VLH Ltd (owner of the Veranda hotels and subsidiary of Rogers & Co. Ltd).