Keisuke Iwata

Keisuke Iwata is an associate in Mayer Brown's Tokyo office. He is dual-qualified in England & Wales and in Singapore and has experience working in three financial centres of Asia, namely Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Kei helps Japanese and other clients in cross-border development projects with their structuring and documentation aspects (with a focus on structured finance and derivatives works), while he also acts regularly for leading international banks in secured lending and other finance transactions. Reflecting the diversity and complexity of issues surrounding investments into emerging economies, his experience extends to white-collar malpractice investigations and joint venture disputes as well as a multi-billion dollar insolvency case involving offshore financial centres.

Prior to pursuing a career in law, Kei worked as a journalist for Kyodo News Group, mainly residing in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong and covering business and economy news as a foreign correspondent. He holds, besides his law degree, a master’s degree in the field of international relations.

Projects, structured finance, derivatives

• Acted for a Japanese government-affiliated bank in connection with a USD480 million import loan facility agreement with a Brazilian iron ore producer.
• Acted for a Japanese trading house in connection with a US blue ammonia project, including an offtake agreement with the producer and a corresponding supply agreement.
• Assisted a HK-listed oil and gas company in a USD150 mil. structured financing project involving prepayment for future delivery of crude oil.
• Acted for a Hong Kong government entity in an interest rate swap hedging arrangement in connection with HK$4 bil. (USD500 mil.) facilities received to fund its urban development mandates.
• Supported documentation of total return swaps for an APAC-based financial institution as a lender/investor in relation to restructuring of its minority stakes in various projects held through offshore vehicles.

• Singapore Management University, JD
• The University of Hong Kong, MIPA
• University of the Ryukyus, BA

• England and Wales
• Singapore (non-practicing)
• Not admitted in Japan

• English
• Japanese
• Mandarin