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A legal perspective on investments in agri-business by financial institutions

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A legal perspective on investments in agri-business by financial institutions

Yasunari Sugiyama, Naoki Tsujimoto, Hideki Katagiri and Yuto Tokoro have authored a series of articles titled “Considerations from a legal practice perspective of investments in agri-business by financial institutions", which were published in Banking Law Journal 21 over four months;

1. Basic characteristics of investing in and financing agri-business, appears in Banking Law Journal 21 No.860 (September 2020)
2. Investing in agri-corporations and legal due diligence, appears in Banking Law Journal 21 No.862 (October 2020)
3. Legal due diligence regarding agri-corporations, appears in Banking Law Journal 21 No.863 (November 2020)
4. Debt investment in agri-business, appears in Banking Law Journal 21 No.864 (December 2020).

Authors

杉山 泰成

Yasunari Sugiyama is a partner in the firm's Asset Finance Group and Agri-Food Practice Group. In the finance area, his major and unique areas include financing of movables (lease, installment purchase and secured loan), supports for overseas expansion by financial institutions, acquisition finance and domestic and cross-border real estate transactions. In particular, he has extensive experience in proposing and implementing business plans and schemes available for each target jurisdiction taking into consideration the specific civil and commercial laws and financial regulations regarding the movables and real estates in Asian, European and North and South American countries and their entity-based and geographical applicability and coverage in terms of the overseas expansion of Japanese financial institutions. Further, in the agri-food area, he aims to provide legal services for the purposes of the introduction of smart agriculture, business expansion and diversification of financing sources, development and scaling of new business such as solar-sharing and onland aquaculture business, in each case while organizing the various laws and regulations applicable to each process of value chains of the agricultural, forestry and fishery business.

片桐 秀樹

Having studied Master Food Law & Regulatory Affairs at Wageningen University in the Netherlands (known as the best university in the Agri-Food area) and having worked at one of the most innovative food tech startups in Europe, Hideki is an expert in various business areas of the Agri-Food chain, such as the decarbonization of the farming process, the implementation of smart farming, and the development of novel food. His practice includes, but is not limited to, regulatory, contract, and business development support in these areas, as well as involvement in rule-making and the lobbying process as an industry leader. In addition, he builds bridges and enhances collaboration between the Japanese and global food tech community on regular basis as an industry professional.

辻本 直規

Based on his experience working for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, he provides a wide range of regulatory compliance, policy advocacy and rulemaking, and new business and business development advice, as well as contract-related support in the agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and food sectors. He also provides strategic support for mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, business succession, start-up financing, intellectual property strategies, and international transactions. The Agri-Food Practice was "Commended" at the FT Innovative Lawyers Asia-Pacific Awards 2023 for its innovative activities.