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Jessica Kenworthy
Partner
Jessica Kenworthy leads the banking team in Asia Pacific. Jessica’s practice covers a broad range of financing, and she specialises in complex commodity financings.
Jessica has been involved in a wide range of commodity finance-related transactions, in particular acting for governments, lenders, funds, trading houses and multilaterals. Recent transactions include international structured trade financings and pre-export, prepayment, receivables and limited recourse structures in emerging markets, with a particular focus on transactions in Southeast Asia, China, Indonesia, India and Mongolia, as well as transactions in the CIS, Africa and South America.
Jessica advised the Singapore government on the recent amendments to the Electronic Transactions Act to provide for digital bills of lading and other digital trade instruments. She has also worked on a number of award-winning deals, including deals in Indonesia, Mongolia, Greece, Ukraine and China. As well as working in London, Jessica has spent 11 years practicing in Singapore and two and a half years practicing in Switzerland.
Jessica’s practice also covers ship finance. She has handled a large number of ship sale/purchase transactions, as well as the financing of newbuildings and second-hand vessels (both debt and sale and leaseback structures involving time charters, CVCs and contracts of affreightment).
Jessica has consistently been recognised for her work by IFLR1000 Financial and Corporate rankings and The Legal 500.
- Advising an alternative trade finance provider on a securitisation of trade receivables backed by trade credit insurance and/or effected through trade finance instruments (LCs, SBLCs, demand guarantees and advance payment guarantees). This securitisation incorporates sellers in Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK and the British Virgin Islands. The debtors and bank instruments issuing banks are located in numerous jurisdictions, including India, Indonesia and the Middle East.
- Advising a trading entity in relation to complex EPBG-backed prepayment structures in India.
- Advising the Asian branch of a major European bank in relation to a limited recourse funded participation in a prepayment transaction for oil in Indonesia, backed by security.
- Advising major international banks based in Asia on several limited recourse prepayment facilities relating to the export of coal from China.
- Advising major international banks based in Asia on several Chinese pre-financings for oil and other commodities.
- Advising banks and trading houses alike on refinancings of prepayment transactions in Indonesia, China and India.
Education
- Oxford Institute of Legal Practice, L.P.C.
- College of Law, Guildford, G.D.L.
- University of Exeter, BA (Hons), French and Spanish
- Universite de Provence (Aix-Marseille I)
Admissions
- England and Wales, 2008
Languages
- French
- Spanish
- Listed as a Rising Star for Singapore Banking and Finance – IFLR1000 Global 2019-2020
- Winner, Finance and Securitisation, Singapore – Client Choice Awards 2018 and 2019