Issue #19 : You Stole My Gas!
Happy Monday!
Here are the latest 🌶 legal headlines:
China: Chinese solar panel producer issues inside claim against Italy under the Energy Charter Treaty
China: Oil producer wins $7 million arbitration award in Chinese tax fight
Hong Kong: "Bitcoin Jesus" initiates USD 200 million HKIAC claim against a blank cryptocurrency exchange
India: Lessor Aircastle initiates insolvency proceedings against India's SpiceJet
India: Delhi High Court upholds arbitration ruling in favour of Reliance Industries
Singapore: Singaporean Court upholds partial ICC award in favour of Korean videogame developer, WeMade
South Korea: International tribunal trims $216.5 million award to be paid by South Korea to private equity firm by $500,000
Ling Yah
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Whack a Mole!
Make it stand out
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Low cost airlines are a brutal business.
Just ask Jet Airways, who went bankrupt in 2019!
IndiGo and Air India now dominated the Indian market but today, we’re talking about Wadia Group’s Go Airlines (India) Limited (“Go First”)
🍿 Background
Go First has been hit by faulty engines from its exclusive supplier, Pratt & Whitney.
Between December 2019 - 2022, the number of aircraft grounded due to (allegedly!) engine faults rose from 7% to 50%.
That’s $1.32 billion in lost revenues and additional expenses!
💸 A Pricey Exit
On 31 March, Go First obtained a SIAC award against Pratt & Whitney. The latter must dispatch at least 10 serviceable spare leased engines by 27 April, and additional 10 spare leased engines per month until December.
But Pratt & Whitney has refused.
👀 Whack A Mole
Go First has cancelled all flights until mid-May and also filed a lawsuit in a Delaware federal court to help enforce said arbitration award.
We might also see additional lawsuits pop up in Japan, Singapore and Europe. If Pratt & Whitney’s got an engine, Go First will be there.
Will Go First win this game of whack a mole? 🤔
War of Games
It’s a sad day for World of Warcraft fans in China.
After 14 years, Netease (China’s second-largest video gaming company) and Blizzard Entertainment (World of Craft creator) acrimoniously ended their licensing partnership.
And things have escalated, with Netease filing a ¥300 million ($43.5 million) lawsuit against Blizzard alleging:
Blizzard’s failure to refund the 1.12 million players (which Netease had repaid in full), who had made requests after Blizzard’s servers went offline in China;
Blizzard’s failure to pay for unsold gaming-related merchandise and undeveloped games;
Blizzard’s violation of the terms of its licensing agreements; and
“Unequal provisions” within said agreements.
Blizzard has yet to reach said lawsuit so we’ll have to keep a close eye 👀 to see how this develops!
You Stole My Gas!
Let’s talk about gas.
Again. 😅
🍿 Background
Back in 1994, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) discovered Panna-Mukta (primarily an oil field) and Mid & South Tapti (gas field) - both located in the offshore Bombay Basin.
The O&G fields were bid out to a consortium, with Reliance holding 30%.
Then things took a turn for the worse.
💣 You Thief!
In 2016, ONGC slapped a $1.47 billion fine on Reliance & its partners for “unfairly” producing natural gas that belonged to ONGC. It claimed that 338.332 million British thermal units of gas had migrated or seeped from adjacent ONGC blocks.
In 2018, an international arbitration panel rejected ONGC’s $1.47 billion fine, claiming that Reliance was well within its rights while selling gas.
Now, the Indian High Court has upheld the 2018 arbitration decision.
Better luck next time, ONGC!
Spotlight: Samuel Leong (Supervising Counsel, SIAC)
⚒️ What do you do?
My current role is Supervising Counsel at SIAC, which I took on from 1 March 2023 after almost nine years in private practice at Norton Rose Fulbright as international arbitration counsel and arbitrator.
I started my legal career at SIAC, so it has been an absolute joy to be able to return to working with both familiar and new faces, at a fantastic arbitral institution which has been growing by leaps and bounds.
At the moment, I am assisting the SIAC Registrar and Deputy Registrar with the scrutiny of a couple draft arbitral awards, while preparing two short presentations on tax-related disputes in arbitration and international arbitration in the energy sector, respectively.
🏆 What is your proudest achievement?
My pride and joy are my three sons, but I can hardly count them as “achievements” of mine.
To the extent that I had to put in quite a bit of effort – my greatest achievement is having convinced my wonderful and lovely wife, Cheryl, to marry me! I cannot thank God enough for that fateful blind date at Astor Bar, Singapore that was set up by our mutual friends years ago.
⌛ There are now 25 hours in a day! How do you spend your extra hour?
What a dream! 20 mins to nap; 10 mins to snooze; and the rest to read something properly useful.
🚀 If you weren't a lawyer, what would you do?
I would perhaps like to be a university professor who also dabbles in musical theatre.
😋 Your favourite food haunt
Having lived in Singapore for more than a decade now, there is still nothing like a taste of home – so it is either: (i) Uptown Nasi Lemak on Telok Ayer Street; or (ii) Batu Road Chilli Pan Mee on China Street (hot tip: order an extra egg for more of that runny yolk yummy-ness). Go early, otherwise be prepared to queue up with a bunch of hungry Malaysians!
Food Feature
Have you ever eaten a dancing fish? 😉
Just head over to the Dancing Fish Restaurant at Bangsar Shopping Centre (KL). Established in 2010, you'll find plenty of delicious Malay-Indo dishes including the Bebek Goreng Bali (Crispy Duck) & Chicken Satay.
Details: Facebook, Website, Google Maps
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