There are so many ESG-related publications and developments that it is hard to keep abreast of them all. For this reason, HSF publishes a monthly tracker of ESG-related publications and developments, with a primary focus on developments that may be of most interest to or impact our clients in the Southern African Development Community, be … Read more

CYBERATTACKS ON ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE IN SOUTH AFRICA On Thursday the 25th of July 2019, the City of Johannesburg’s electricity service provider, City Power, suffered a ransomware attack which encrypted its databases, applications and network. The attack disabled the utility’s website and prevented its customers from being able to purchase electricity from the utility which potentially … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Maurel & Prom, a long-standing Euronext-listed client specialising in the exploration and production of hydrocarbons, on the signature of a share purchase agreement for the acquisition of Assala Energy, an oil exploration and production company operating in Gabon, from The Carlyle Group. This transformational acquisition, which is subject to the … Read more

As countries and companies compete for critical minerals in the green energy transition, in which battery metals — cobalt, graphite, lithium, nickel and manganese — are crucial, host states in Southern Africa are resorting to export controls on unprocessed critical minerals. These are principally intended to bolster the host state’s control over its mineral patrimony, compelling mining … Read more

There are so many ESG-related publications and developments that it is hard to keep abreast of them all. For this reason, HSF publishes a monthly tracker of ESG-related publications and developments, with a primary focus on developments that may be of most interest to or impact our clients in the Southern African Development Community, be … Read more

  Thomas Herman (of counsel) and Clémence Descoutures (senior associate) in our Paris office had the pleasure of leading a training session on public-private partnerships (PPPs) in Togo as part of a Pro Bono initiative. This six-hour workshop, attended by young civil servants from various ministries (including energy, education and transport) and the Togolese presidency, … Read more

“When people are silent, and where people are silenced, the consequences are very dangerous.” – Rabbi Gideon Pogrund, Founding director of the Centre for Business Ethics at the University of Pretoria On 29 June 2023, a discussion document proposing reforms for the whisteblower protection regime in South Africa was published. The purpose of the document … Read more

Jonathan Ripley-Evans, Partner and Head of Disputes South Africa sat down with Svetlana Vasileva, the recently appointed Secretary General of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA) International Division, to discuss the future of international arbitration in Africa. Svetlana has had a successful international legal career that began in Bulgaria, where she completed her LLM … Read more