AmCham Vietnam
Energy Committee

Dennis Lien

Director, YCP Solidiance

Dennis Lien is a Director at the Vietnam office of YCP Solidiance (YCPS). He has over 10 years of experience in research & advisory in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and energy industries across Asia, the Middle East, and North America. With YCPS, he has helped advise clients in the petroleum and renewable energy industries in Vietnam. Prior to YCPS, he was a project manager and senior researcher with the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) in Saudi Arabia where he worked on renewable energy and energy access projects across Asia. He also previously worked as an analytical biochemist genetically modifying organisms to produce multi-carbon chain molecules for the production of biomaterials and bioenergy in California at Genencor. Dennis has an MPA focusing on Energy Management and Finance from Columbia University in New York City. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Davis.

Pham Ba Linh

Managing Partner, Lexcomm Vietnam LLC

Pham Ba Linh is the Managing Partner of Lexcomm Vietnam LLC and Head of Energy, Project Finance and Infrastructure. He is accorded distinct market recognition by clients and peers as a seasoned and technically skilled top-rated transactional lawyer with more than 20 years of practice, focusing primarily on energy and natural resources, liquefied natural gas (LNG), projects and infrastructure, public-private partnerships (PPP), project finance, leveraged and acquisition finance, debt and equity capital markets, derivatives and structured products.

Ba Linh regularly advises international energy companies on a broad variety of multibillion-dollar landmark energy and infrastructure projects in Vietnam and Australia, having previously based in Hanoi, HCMC and Melbourne. He has acted for international banks, joint lead arrangers, multilateral lending agencies (MLAs), export credit agencies (ECAs), sponsors, infrastructure and energy funds, private equity firms, institutional investors and major works contractors.

He has received the accolade of being distinctively named one of the very top few “Leading Individuals” energy and project finance lawyers in Vietnam by Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2019, 2020 and 2021. He has won some of the most prestigious international law awards, including Asialaw Regional Awards 2019 for “Outstanding Practitioner: Vietnam” and “IFLR Asia Best Lawyers” in 2020 and 2021 as one of the best lawyers in Asia Pacific.

Client testimonials include “practice head Pham Ba Linh is widely regarded in Vietnam as a market-leading energy and project finance lawyer with an in-depth understanding of best market practices”, “a top choice for strategic oil and gas, LNG and power projects in Vietnam”, “often sought after for his expertise in upstream oil and gas, pipelines and LNG matters”, “a go-to lawyer for Vietnam energy advice – he understands the industry and what is going on in the market”, “acting for both the sponsor and lender on matters such as project finance, asset finance, leveraged and acquisition finance, and corporate finance”, “has a wealth of experience in advising an array of clients across a broad spectrum of upstream, midstream, power, petrochemicals, and mining exploration projects”, “very high level of service, market insight and genuine industry expertise – the advice is always to the point”, “deeply understand Vietnamese laws and international practice”, “he thoroughly understands clients’ business needs and provides practical advice”, “responsive and always willing to go the extra mile”.

Mark Watson

Country Manager, ERM Vietnam

Mark Watson has over 35 years’ experience as an EHS professional spanning consulting, contracting, industry and government, across Australia and the Asia Pacific region. He has a career background in oil & gas, and strong sector experience in power and infrastructure. Mark has successfully led some of the largest and most complex Environmental Impact Assessments in the region. He joined ERM in 2011 and ERM Vietnam in 2018, where he has supported numerous power project developers and operators to secure international finance, by demonstrating their ability to manage their environmental and social issues. Mark is passionate about sustainable development and sees this as both a key challenge and a key success factor for the power sector in Vietnam.

Nguyen Huu Hoai, Lawyer, Russin and Vecchi

Soren Schouw Pedersen

Vice President, SSA Marine, Seattle USA

Soren Pedersen is a Danish national and has worked in Asia for more than twenty five years. He is the head of SSA Marine regional activities. SSA is an international port operator headquartered in Seattle, USA. The company is active in more than 250 locations across five continents. SSA’s activities span cruises, bulk, and container handling. They employ about 17,000 staff globally.

Here in Vietnam, SSA owns and operates two seaport joint ventures employing about 400 staff. The companies represent investments of USD $400 million. Our port facilities in Cai Lan (Ha Long) and Cai Mep (Vung Tau) are equipped with the most modern and technically advanced cargo handling machinery available. Both terminals are deep water facilities capable of accommodating the largest cargo and passenger ships. SSA’s cruise terminals serve 6.6 million passengers annually.

Maritime transport is essential to the world’s economy as over 90% of the world’s trade is carried by sea. Ships need effective port facilities to load and off load cargoes. SSA Marine is among the world’s largest privately held port operators.