Understand Your Rights. Solve Your Legal Problems
Apple has begun producing most iPhones for U.S. customers in India and moving iPad manufacturing to Vietnam. The decision aims to shield American buyers from steep price hikes caused by ongoing tariffs on goods from China.
For years, Apple leaned heavily on Chinese factories to meet the world’s insatiable demand for its devices. But with U.S. tariffs adding nearly $900 million in extra costs this quarter alone, the company faced a choice: pass those expenses on to consumers or pivot production.
CEO Tim Cook explained that while the trade dispute with China hasn’t yet caused major financial damage, the long-term risks are too big to ignore.
Moving production to India and Vietnam gives Apple more stability and protects against future cost spikes.
Apple’s supply chain shuffle highlights challenges that go far beyond factory floors. Shifting production means navigating:
Customs and import rules in new countries.
Local labor laws and safety regulations.
The possibility of new duties or trade restrictions tied to the change.
Complicated origin rules that affect whether tariffs apply at all.
Despite the supply chain shakeup, Apple posted strong results for the first quarter of 2025: $95.36 billion in revenue and $24.78 billion in profit. Still, production costs are expected to rise, especially since building devices in India can be up to 10% pricier than in China.
Apple isn’t alone in this shift. Other tech giants like Microsoft and HP have also started moving production out of China, citing similar concerns over tariffs, regulatory uncertainty, and the rising cost of Chinese labor.
The U.S.-China trade tensions, once seen as a short-term issue, are now influencing long-term corporate strategy across industries.
This wave of supply chain restructuring has also sparked growth in Vietnam’s and India’s manufacturing sectors, prompting those governments to offer tax breaks and other incentives to attract foreign investment.
Clifford Chance has advised a group of global banks acting as underwriters in Greenko Wind Projects (Mauritius) Ltd’s latest bond issuance—an impressive $1 billion deal with a 7.25% yield, maturing in 2028.
Greenko Wind Projects is part of Greenko Energy Holdings, one of India’s frontrunners in clean energy and a key player in the country’s ambitious push toward renewables.
The capital raised from the offering will be used to refinance debt linked to the Pinnapuram pumped storage project in Andhra Pradesh — a large-scale infrastructure project that combines solar, wind, and hydro power into one integrated system.
Alan Yeung, who led the transaction from Clifford Chance’s Hong Kong office, shared his perspective on the deal’s broader significance.
“It’s exciting to see this level of global investor confidence in India’s renewable sector,” he said.
“Greenko’s offering reflects both the strong fundamentals of the company and the growing appetite for sustainable infrastructure investments in emerging markets. It’s a win not just for Greenko, but for the wider energy transition.”
Mr. Yeung, a seasoned partner known for his work in high yield and investment grade debt, worked alongside a cross-border team including counsel Stephanie Liman, associate Alec Duncan, and trainee solicitor Holly Hill—all based in the firm’s Singapore office.
This bond issue adds to a recent wave of U.S. dollar high-yield activity coming out of India, as international investors look to tap into the country’s long-term growth story—and its accelerating shift to green energy.
Greenko Group is the world’s largest energy storage company and a global leader in clean energy solutions. Operating across 15 states in India, Greenko is pioneering the shift to carbon-neutral energy through its advanced Cloud Storage Platform. The company aims to deliver 30 GWh of storage by 2024 and scale to 100 GWh by 2025—supporting 40% clean energy integration into India’s power grid and enabling deep industrial decarbonization. Greenko is redefining renewable energy with firm, flexible, and digitally controlled storage solutions to accelerate the global transition to net zero.
Clifford Chance is a global law firm, established over 100 years ago, renowned for its expertise in banking, corporate law, finance, dispute resolution, and tax. With offices worldwide, it serves clients including corporations, financial institutions, governments, and not-for-profits. The firm delivers high-quality legal advice, combining global standards with local expertise, and strives to exceed client expectations by providing innovative solutions across all sectors.
Clifford Chance Advises on Cleanaway’s AU$377 Million Acquisition
Clifford Chance Advises Mitsui O.S.K. Lines on $1.7B LBC Tank Terminals Deal
Dentons Advises Coldplasmatech on Strategic Investment from Royal Biologics
French Montana, the Moroccan-American rapper, recently embarked on his first visit to India, and he is in awe of the country's culture and the love he received from Indian fans. Speaking about his trip, French shared how his connection to India dates back to his childhood when he became enchanted by Bollywood movies.
“My visit to India has been great. I love the culture here. When I was a Moroccan kid, I fell in love with Indian culture from what I saw in the Bollywood movies back in the day. It feels great to be here and see the people. It's overwhelming to see that I have so much love out here,” French Montana said in a recent interview.
When asked what sets Indian fans apart from others, French Montana couldn’t help but highlight their intense and heartfelt love for the artists they support. He explained, “They just love so wholeheartedly. They are more intense with what and whom they love, and they're not scared to show their love. They also have a lot of fun and they are happy for you. They love their artistes, and I’ve seen it first hand; it was great.”
During his visit, French Montana also dropped his latest song, Rolla Rolla, marking a significant milestone as it was his first-ever collaboration with Mohamed Ramadan, the Egyptian actor and rapper, alongside Jasmine Sandlas. This track blends Indian and Middle Eastern musical styles, and French expressed his excitement about the global impact of music. “I loved it because it shows that music is the only language that everybody speaks worldwide. You could grab somebody from Egypt, Morocco, or India, and they all come together to make a song. I love that we all come from different cultures, but music brings us together as one culture,” French added.
French Montana’s visit to India also included a standout moment when he performed live at the Women’s Premier League's closing ceremony. The performance was particularly special for French, who described the experience as “very special.” He added, “Performing in front of that many people for the first time, I loved it. I want to tell my Indian fans I love you all. This is the first of many performances, and we will be coming back to give back for all the love that we have got.”
While his time in India was full of excitement, French Montana is currently facing legal troubles in the United States. He recently made headlines by challenging a $402,000 default judgment that was entered against him over a dog attack lawsuit. The lawsuit stems from an incident in November 2019, when Jason Leyva, a landscaper, claimed he was attacked by French’s dog while working at the rapper’s Los Angeles home. Jason filed a lawsuit seeking damages, initially requesting $2.3 million. The court, however, awarded Jason $400,225 in damages, along with an additional $2,419 in costs.
French Montana’s legal team argued that the default judgment should be vacated, citing “excusable neglect.” According to his lawyer, French was unaware of the lawsuit at the time because he had relocated to Las Vegas in September 2019. The rapper’s legal team also claimed that French had believed the matter had already been resolved through a previous settlement agreement in August 2020, which was intended to cover all claims related to the dog bite.
However, Jason’s legal team has disputed the validity of the settlement, suggesting it was a ruse. In response, French’s lawyer began an investigation and requested that the court vacate the default judgment. French has since hired a lawyer and taken the necessary legal steps to resolve the matter, expressing his desire to argue his case in court.
In addition to his legal troubles, French Montana recently made headlines for releasing a controversial collaboration with Lara Trump, Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law. The song, No Days Off, generated confusion among many fans, given the political differences between the rapper and the Trump family. The unexpected pairing has raised eyebrows, especially considering French’s usually politically neutral stance in the public eye.
Baker McKenzie has advised Terra Natural Capital in a landmark deal with Climate Impact Partners, securing long-term finance for the Panna afforestation project in India. This initiative will see Microsoft purchasing 1.5 million tonnes of verified carbon removal credits over 30 years, representing 50% of the project’s total output.
The Panna afforestation project is set to plant up to 11.6 million mixed native trees across 20,000 hectares of community and farmer lands in India, an area larger than Washington D.C. To date, more than 1.2 million trees have already been planted across 100 communities.
This large-scale project aims to make a significant environmental impact by generating carbon removal credits through afforestation. Microsoft’s commitment to purchasing these credits is part of its broader climate strategy to help meet ambitious sustainability goals.
After three years of due diligence and pilot activities, Climate Impact Partners’ project development team, along with third-party buyer and investor assessments, confirmed that the Panna project demonstrates a strong commitment to quality. This careful, transparent approach is crucial in building long-term trust in nature-based solutions like afforestation.
The purchase of 1.5 million tonnes of carbon credits by Microsoft highlights the growing importance of corporate climate responsibility. The company’s commitment to the Panna project supports the scaling of nature-based carbon removal infrastructure while helping companies meet their own sustainability goals.
Sheri Hickok, CEO of Climate Impact Partners, emphasized the deal’s significance: “We are incredibly proud that Microsoft, a company that continues to demonstrate bold, climate-responsible leadership, is supporting Panna, a project developed by our expert team. This model empowers companies to meet their ambitious climate targets and scale the carbon removal market, all while benefiting communities impacted by climate change.”
Erica Vertefeuille, Managing Director at Terra Natural Capital, added, “We are excited to work with Climate Impact Partners to realize large-scale nature-based carbon removal projects like Panna. This transaction reflects the power of collaboration between trusted developers, corporate demand, and innovative finance to unlock climate impact.”
The Panna project exemplifies the power of collaboration between corporate buyers, trusted project developers, and innovative financing in driving real climate impact. As the carbon removal market grows, securing long-term financing becomes critical to scaling such projects.
This deal highlights how corporate demand for carbon credits can catalyze the development of large-scale environmental projects, further supporting efforts to achieve global climate targets.
Baker McKenzie has advised Terra Natural Capital, led by Andrew Hedges, Global Chair of the firm’s Climate Change Group, included notable partners such as Philip Thomson (Energy & Infrastructure) and Luke Lightfoot (Banking), as well as senior associates Andrew Paget and Aimee Saunders, and associates Alex Tam and Ione Searle.
Andrew Hedges commented, “We’re pleased to have supported the Terra Natural Capital team on this deal with Climate Impact Partners, which exemplifies the growing importance of large-scale, nature-based carbon removal projects in achieving global climate targets. Our involvement underscores our expertise in advising on complex, high-impact transactions that drive sustainability in the carbon finance market.”
Terra Natural Capital specializes in providing flexible financing to develop, de-risk, and scale high-integrity carbon projects. The company focuses on offering long-term access to carbon credits for both corporate and government clients. Their expertise lies in project finance, commodity markets, and the development of nature-based carbon removal projects aimed at achieving sustainability and decarbonization goals.
Baker McKenzie is a global law firm, founded in 1949, with over 40 offices worldwide. Known for providing high-quality legal services in areas like corporate law, litigation, and tax, the firm serves businesses, governments, and institutions. With a team of 13,000 professionals, Baker McKenzie is recognized for its innovative solutions, commitment to diversity, and leadership in sustainability.
IIFL Finance, a leading Indian financial institution specializing in gold financing, successfully completed the conversion of its Euro Medium Term Note (ETMN) Programme into a Global Medium Term Note (GMTN) programme. This milestone paved the way for the company’s issuance of $325 million in 8.75% Senior Notes due in 2028.
The transaction saw an overwhelming response from global institutional investors across Asia, Europe, and the United States. Starting with an initial pricing guidance of 9%, demand peaked at $1.15 billion, with the final order book exceeding $730 million.
Investors in Asia received 20%, while 25% was allocated to EMEA and 54% to the US. Notably, 95% of the allocation went to high-quality fund managers.
This successful issuance follows the Reserve Bank of India’s decision in September 2024 to lift a ban on IIFL’s gold financing business, which significantly strengthened investor confidence.
IIFL Finance is a prominent financial services provider in India, offering a wide range of financial products and services. With a focus on gold financing, consumer loans, and asset management, IIFL Finance is committed to empowering its customers by providing them with flexible, accessible, and reliable financial solutions. The company has established a strong presence in the Indian market and is recognized for its deep understanding of customer needs and its ability to deliver value-driven products. Through a robust network of branches and cutting-edge technology, IIFL Finance aims to serve a diverse customer base while maintaining a strong commitment to ethical business practices and regulatory compliance. As a trusted financial partner, IIFL Finance is continually evolving to meet the growing demands of India's dynamic financial landscape.
Philip Lee, Partner at DLA Piper, emphasized that this deal not only reflects strong investor demand but also underscores the growing trend of Indian and other Asian companies upgrading their MTN programmes to tap into the more liquid US markets.
The DLA Piper team, led by Philip Lee and supported by senior associate Andhari Sidharta, demonstrated their expertise in English and US law, showcasing their commitment to supporting clients in achieving their financial goals.
DLA Piper is a global law firm with a strong reputation for providing legal services across a broad spectrum of industries and sectors. With offices in more than 40 countries, the firm offers comprehensive legal solutions in areas such as corporate law, litigation, intellectual property, real estate, and regulatory matters. DLA Piper serves a diverse range of clients, including multinational corporations, governments, and individuals, delivering innovative and strategic advice. The firm is known for its collaborative approach, providing tailored legal expertise to address complex, cross-border issues while maintaining a commitment to exceptional client service.
Ed Sheeran is speaking out after police in Bengaluru, India, abruptly halted a surprise street concert he was performing on February 9, 2025. The "Bad Habits" singer, who is currently on the international leg of his Mathematics tour, assured fans that everything was fine despite the unexpected interruption.
Sheeran explained in an Instagram Story that the performance was pre-arranged. “We had permission to busk btw, hence us playing in that exact spot, was planned out before, it wasn’t just us randomly turning up,” he wrote. “All good though,” he added, reassuring his followers. “See ya at the show tonight x.”
The street performance was captured on fan-recorded video, showing Sheeran singing his hit "Shape of You" while wearing shorts, a T-shirt, and sunglasses. With just an acoustic guitar and a microphone, he entertained a crowd in front of a mural-painted wall. However, as the crowd sang along, a uniformed officer approached and unplugged his microphone, ending the performance. In the video, Sheeran can be seen smiling and shrugging in good-natured defeat after the mic was cut. "Everyone, we had permission to do this, but this policeman is shutting it down," he told the crowd.
Despite the early end to his impromptu performance, Sheeran’s surprise concert was well received by fans. One spectator posted on X, "Went for a casual walk on Church Street and stumbled upon Ed Sheeran performing live. What a city!"
View this post on Instagram
Later that evening, Sheeran posted another Instagram Story ahead of his second Bengaluru show, captioning a backstage photo with "Night 2." His surprise performance in India follows a series of memorable moments from his trip, including a sitar lesson with Megha Rawoot, which he shared on Instagram on February 7. In the post, Sheeran praised Rawoot, calling her “a great teacher,” and happily strummed the sitar while singing "Shape of You."
Sheeran’s Indian adventure also included other exciting highlights. On February 6, he shared a series of photos and videos, giving fans a glimpse of his time in India. He visited various sights, spent time with England's cricket team, and collaborated with Grammy-winning composer A. R. Rahman, best known for scoring the movie Slumdog Millionaire.
Sheeran’s Indian tour dates are part of his extensive international run. His recent trip to India follows a historic performance in Bhutan, where he became the first international music artist to perform a concert there. Reflecting on the milestone in a January 25 Instagram video, Sheeran said, “It’s mad that this is the first international concert here,” adding, “I hope that there’s many more to come.”
In his post, Sheeran thanked the volunteers who helped make the concert possible and expressed his admiration for Bhutan, calling it “a beautiful place with incredible people.”
The combination will add Link Legal's roster of more than 160 lawyers across its Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad outlets to Dentons' platform of more than 20,000 professionals in more than 80 countries. The Indian firm will also change its name to Dentons Link Legal.
India's legal market has historically been quite isolated due to a 1961 law that prohibits non-Indian law firms from practising in the country. Previously, Dentons served Indian clients from its locations in countries such as Poland and Singapore but did not maintain a physical presence in the country.
Following the combination deal, Dentons Link Legal will continue to serve its clients within India while Dentons serves its international client, maintaining consistency with Indian law.
Link Legal managing partner Atul Sharma lauded the combination, but emphasised that ownership of the firm was not changing. "The combination allows us to be both global and local while continuing to be wholly owned, controlled and managed by Indian lawyers at Link Legal in India," he said in a statement.
In June, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) alleged that the e-commerce giant concealed facts and made false submissions when it sought approval for its investment into a Future unit in 2019, worth $200 million.
Future has accused Amazon of illegally interferring in its business decisions and claims it derailed a potential deal which it needs to avoid facing liquidation.
Amazon has turned to India’s Supreme Court as the CCI held a closed-door hearing on Wednesday where the e-commerce giant’s lawyers declined to argue and explain their position on the matter. They stated that they had asked the Supreme Court to pause the review.
In an internal document seen by Reuters, the CCI noted that it had decided to deny an extension to Amazon to explain its position, with an order expected to be issued in due course.
Leigh Crestohl and Zuhair Farouki of Zaiwalla & Co discuss how India’s BITs recalibration is paying off.
The 30th of November marks the 10th anniversary of White Industries obtaining an international arbitration award against India in a well-publicised Investment Treaty Claim. Whilst the amount of the award may appear modest compared to some more recent awards (AUS $17 million including interest), this represented the first time that such a claim succeeded against India, prompting India to rethink its approach to Bilateral Investment Treaties (“BITs”). Rather than withdrawing from the Investor State Dispute Settlement (“ISDS”) system, India has chosen to recalibrate its approach. Since White Industries, we have seen a comprehensive overhaul of India’s Model BIT and the termination of most of its existing BITs. Despite these moves provoking some initial scepticism, India’s decision to bet on itself has paid off thus far.
White Industries may have been a wake-up call for India, bringing to the fore an issue that was becoming harder to ignore: that a review of India’s Model BIT was overdue and, as a leading economy in Asia, a model that rebalanced the respective interests of the State and foreign investor was required. The earlier generation of BITs, from the 1990s and early 2000s, was fairly short, with investment protection guarantees drafted in relatively general terms, leaving much of the interpretation up to Tribunals, whose decisions were variably inconsistent.
States that were mainly the recipients of foreign direct investment (“FDI”) perhaps did not appreciate the risks that the older BITs posed to the State. This led to concern that the ISDS system was skewed in favour of foreign investors and it unduly curtailed the legislative and policy options of States. Following a few decades which saw burgeoning claims by investors against States, States are now much more aware of these risks and see the benefit of rebalancing the scope of protections in their BITs to better protect themselves. As a result, the current generation BITs are longer and include numerous exceptions and qualifications.
Threats of further Investor Treaty Claims being made against India (Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom and Devas Multimedia all served arbitration notices) only served to confirm that changes were needed. These changes were crystalised when India adopted its new Model BIT in 2015, providing the host State with much more protection than earlier treaties. Gone was the most favoured nation clause, removing the possibility of enlarging the scope of the investors’ protection more than intended in a move that was clearly inspired by White Industries’ win a few years earlier.
Another staple of BITs, fair and equitable treatment, was replaced with the international law standard of protection, narrowly focused on cases of denial of justice, breach of due process and certain discriminatory or abusive practices.
Notably, investors’ legitimate expectations were not included, which may restrict the scope of investors’ protection even further. Somewhat unusually, the new Model BIT provides that before bringing a treaty claim, an investor must exhaust all judicial and administrative remedies for at least five years. This gives the host State a buffer and may give investors cause for concern, particularly in light of possible perceptions about delay in the Indian legal system.
The new model BIT also notably incorporates express exclusions around particular sensitive legislative and government policy areas such as taxation and “security interest”. Both were significant issues in recent heavily publicised arbitration claims successfully brought against India.
India’s 2015 Model BIT achieves what it had set out to do: protect the host State more effectively than the 2003 Model BIT did. What are the consequences thus far? With a new Model BIT safely in place, India set about terminating the vast majority of its BITs, kicking off the sunset periods in many of the older generation BITs. Whilst this step did not immediately absolve any liabilities under many of the terminated BITs, it nevertheless provides some certainty as to the period in which India may be exposed to international law claims brought by foreign investors that they viewed as disproportionate or unjust.
Where India could not terminate the BIT because the initial term was not yet reached, it found other ways to protect itself. For example, although its prior BIT with Bangladesh remains in force, India has been able to achieve some of the same objectives through a 2017 “joint interpretive note”, including an exception for taxation measures.
India has thus taken steps to better protect itself, but at what cost? One of the underlying rationales commonly offered for bilateral investment treaties is to promote investor confidence and encourage FDI. A move to strengthen the hand of the State, at a time when India was reportedly challenging arbitration awards against it, may have been seen as counterintuitive. Would these developments curb the appetite of foreign investors? The answer so far has been no – according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) World Investment Report in 2018 India was ranked 12th worldwide, rising to fifth in the 2021 instalment of the same report. The FDI inflow in 2018 was US$ 42 billion, increasing by 20% in 2019 and then another 27% in 2020 to US$ 67 billion. This trend is expected to continue, suggesting that the perceived correlation between FDI and robust investor protection is overstated. India’s attractiveness as an investment destination may also be a factor that weighs more heavily with investors than the scope of treaty protection.
There appears to be no discernible disadvantage to India’s bold move to rebalance the protections given to foreign investors, vindicating its decision on two fronts. Firstly, as one of the most attractive destinations in Asia for inbound FDI, it backed itself to continue attracting international investment despite terminating the majority of its BITs. Secondly, by realising that the recalibration of BITs was overdue, implementing a new Model BIT guaranteed it would stay ahead of the curve. The ISDS system has in recent times attracted significant controversy, especially from emerging economies. India’s success in confronting some of the challenges could offer an example to other nations.
Indian multinational pharmaceutical company Sun Pharma has reached an agreement with US pharmaceutical company Celgene Corporation (Celgene), resolving the patent litigation regarding submission of new drug ANDA for generic versions of oral cancer drug Revlimid in the US.
In accordance with the terms of the settlement, Celgene will permit Sun Pharma a license to its patents needed to manufacture and distribute certain quantities of generic lenalidomide capsules (Revlimid) in the US. Sun Pharma will be permitted the license from a confidential date, which is confirmed to be some time after March 2022, subject to USFDA approval. From January 2026, the license will also give Sun Pharma the authorisation to manufacture and distribute an unlimited quantity of generic lenalidomide capsules in the US.
As of the result of the settlement, Sun Pharma has stated that all Hatch-Waxman litigation between the two companies, regarding Revlimid patents, will be disregarded.
