Legal Considerations for Investment in Cambodia

Joseph Lovell, Group General Counsel and COO, Leopard Capital Ltd, Cambodia

The Kingdom of Cambodia has come onto the radar of international investors as economic development has continued in the Kingdom providing opportunities for investment across a wide range of sectors. While numerous factors support the continuing expansion of international investment in Cambodia, the trend for international investment in Cambodia has been supported by the growth and maturation of the local legal system. However, while it continues to improve, the Cambodian legal system remains opaque and not fully formed and, therefore, reliable legal outcomes are not always guaranteed in local forums. It is, therefore, important for international investors in Cambodia to take note of a number of legal issues when planning a deployment of capital to the Kingdom.

Joseph M. Lovell is Group General Counsel and COO for Leopard Capital Ltd. He has more than two decades of Asia-focused business experience. Previous to joining Leopard, Joseph served as corporate counsel for a Beijing based private equity group, an international attorney specializing in China-?US cross border transactions & investment, senior consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers (Taipei), and as General Counsel/Managing Director for an investment bank with offices in New York and Beijing. He has negotiated and structured numerous international private equity investments in Asia and has played a lead role in the public listing of a number of Chinese companies in the US and UK. Joseph has a BS from Georgetown University (Chinese Language), and MA (Asian Studies) and JD degrees from the University of Hawaii. He is licensed to practice law in New York, Hawaii and Texas.

Leopard Capital launched the pioneer private equity fund in Cambodia and specializes in investment management in frontier markets.