Kooi Thong Lai is a Partner and serves as the Managing Director of DFDL’s Vientiane office. Before joining DFDL, he served as a Partner at a leading law firm in Malaysia. He also led the Malaysia office of an alternative legal service provider, a venture initiated by a global law firm, where he closely collaborated with several international banks and successfully led a team of approximately 20 consultants. Additionally, Kooi Thong has garnered over three years of extensive experience in the banking and finance practice at DFDL’s Phnom Penh office.

His professional background includes advising governments, government agencies, commercial and development financial institutions, bond/Sukuk holders, trustees, and issuers/borrowers across various industries on financing and lending matters. These include bilateral and syndicated facilities, bond/Sukuk issuances, trade facilities, and derivatives.

An expert in Islamic finance, Kooi Thong has managed transactions involving diverse Shariah-compliant structures. He also provides regular advice on regulatory and compliance issues, such as financial institution licensing, regulations, corporate governance, and the transition from IBOR.

Furthermore, he possesses substantial experience in aviation matters, having previously advised on a number of aircraft leasing transactions and aircraft repossession cases.

Kooi Thong holds an LLB (Honours) from the University of Reading, U.K., and a postgraduate certificate in Finance & Law from SOAS University of London. He is duly admitted to the English Bar and the Malaysian Bar. His extensive legal and financial expertise significantly contributes to DFDL’s operations in Southeast Asia.