Sovereigns

Debt management and restructuring
White & Case has advised on virtually every major sovereign debt restructuring of the last 20 years. Recent examples include advising Ukraine and the Republics of Zambia, Suriname and Mozambique on their sovereign debt restructurings, and Azerbaijan on the state-supported restructuring of the country's largest systemic bank. On the creditor side, highlights include representing the major bondholder groups in the sovereign debt restructurings of Argentina, Ecuador, Greece and six Argentine provinces, and advising the major bondholder groups in the debt restructuring of Sri Lanka and Lebanon.

Funding: Banking and capital markets
We have advised more than 30 sovereigns on landmark issuances and loans. Examples of our work include advising on transactions for Angola, Cameroon, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Israel, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Montenegro, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa and numerous other sovereigns.

International arbitration and litigation
Having worked on more than 100 investor-state arbitrations for dozens of state clients, White & Case knows how to navigate the political sensitivity that can accompany such disputes. Our international arbitration practice works in multiple jurisdictions and languages, and in every major arbitral forum. Our commercial litigators represent clients in all stages of domestic and international disputes, in established and emerging markets. Both teams regularly collaborate with our specialized practice and industry professionals, to provide advice tailored to the dispute at hand.

International trade
White & Case has represented Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Korea, Japan and the Philippines on cases involving treaty obligations related to trade remedies, domestic regulation, domestic taxation, agricultural tariffs and general principles of non-discrimination.

Energy, infrastructure and project finance
White & Case helps governments maximize their returns from infrastructure and other development projects. Recently this included representing the senior lenders in the project financing of the approximately US$3 billion São Paulo Metro Line 6 in Brazil - the first-ever limited recourse financing of an infrastructure PPP project in Brazil by BNDES, the country's national development bank. As of mid-2024, it was the largest PPP project under construction in Latin America.

Privatization and legal reform
We have completed more than 100 privatization transactions around the world, helping to establish many of the fundamental principles of privatizations through drafting legislation, creating regulatory frameworks and restructuring state-owned enterprises and industries. Examples include Poland's mass privatization program and the liberalization of the Kingdom of Bahrain's telecommunications industry.

Public-private partnerships (PPPs)
The Firm has assisted many sovereigns around the world with PPPs. For example, we represented the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in connection with a 25-year concession granted to a private sector contractor to expand, refurbish and operate the Queen Alia International Airport in Amman. This was the first limited recourse airport financing in the region and is one of the largest PPP infrastructure projects in the region.

Sovereign wealth funds
Sovereign wealth funds have a complex legal and regulatory landscape to navigate when it comes to investments and operations. White & Case provides full-service, tailored advice to meet their unique needs and objectives, including as to confidentiality. We cover areas such as investment execution, fund structuring, all corporate and finance transactions, restructuring issues, M&A transactions, project financings, tax structuring, compliance with international regulations, dispute resolution and risk management, and legislative change.