Azman bin Othman Luk

Managing Partner

Azman is the Managing Partner of Rahmat Lim & Partners, and Head of the Firm’s Regulatory & Compliance Department. He concentrates primarily on banking and finance transactions including syndicated and structured financing, securities regulation and debt capital markets, LBO transactions, strategic investments, and distressed and insolvent restructurings. He also advises on financial and capital markets regulation.

Azman is recognised as an Eminent Practitioner in Banking & Finance by Chambers Global and Chambers Asia-Pacific, and as a Leading Individual by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific. He is also ranked as a Highly Regarded lawyer in Banking and Capital Markets by IFLR1000. Inducted into The Legal 500 Asia Pacific Hall of Fame for Banking and Finance, Azman is described by clients as being "very knowledgeable in both legal and regulatory aspects, quick-witted, sharp, and yet very humble." and "he has never failed to impress us." Across various editions of Chambers Asia-Pacific, peers and clients have endorsed him as "very proactive and able to think outside the box" and "one of the leading finance practitioners in Malaysia," specifically noting his expertise in the fluent structuring of Shariah-compliant transactions.

Azman holds an LL.M. in corporate and commercial law from the University of London. After being called to the Bar of England & Wales, he undertook a nine-month stint as a pupil in the chambers of R Neville Thomas QC. He joined Rahmat Lim & Partners in 2011.

Azman is concurrently a partner in Allen & Gledhill LLP, the Firm’s associate firm in Singapore.

Work Highlights

Financing

• Advised OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, MUFG Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, Maybank Islamic Berhad, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited, Labuan Branch, MUFG Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, and Maybank Islamic Berhad in connection with the first-of-its-kind syndicated multi-currency, Shariah-compliant, sustainability-linked facilities of up to US$800 million obtained by Axiata Group Berhad (“Green Project Deal of the Year” award at the Islamic Finance News Deals of the Year 2020 and “Islamic Finance Deal of the Year” at the Finance Asia Achievement Awards 2020).
• Advised CIMB Bank as mandated lead arranger and original lender, and CIMB Investment Bank as facility agent and security agent, in the HK$3.41 billion financing of the privatisation of Nirvana Asia, a Caymans company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE), by a group of investors including CVC Asia Pacific.
• Advised a syndicate of banks in relation to a RM1.9 billion financing based on the Syariah principle of Murabahah (via a Tawarruq arrangement) granted to Weststar Aviation Services, a Malaysian company involved in the aviation industry and one of the largest offshore helicopter transportation services providers in South-east Asia.

Distressed Restructuring

• Acted for Vantris Energy Berhad (formerly Sapura Energy Berhad) and 22 of its subsidiaries in relation to their schemes of arrangement in Malaysia, involving over MYR12 billion of debt. The successful implementation of the schemes involved inter alia three separate issuances of sukuk murabahah, an issuance of redeemable convertible unsecured Islamic debt securities, and the conversion of a portion of existing debt claims into termed-out conventional debt obligations.
• Acted for senior financiers in relation to composite schemes of arrangement in Malaysia and Singapore proposed by a regional shipping group, the Nam Cheong group of companies, for the purpose of rehabilitating the group and restructuring its debts. The MYR 1.84 billion debt restructuring involved the production of highly bespoke finance documentation, as well as security over vessels located in various jurisdictions.
• Acting for Venator Asia Sdn. Bhd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of a UK-listed company, in its scheme of arrangement proceedings involving a proposed compromise of its debts to its creditors in excess of MYR 2 billion.