Career
Michael S. Carl joined SSEK in 2004 and has more than 30 years of experience practicing law in Southeast Asia, principally in Indonesia. His broad practice covers capital markets, corporate law and foreign investment, energy and mining, finance, insolvency and restructurings, intellectual property (IP), mergers and acquisitions, real estate, and technology.
Michael is particularly well known for his deep understanding of Indonesia’s fast-evolving regulatory landscape and his practical, business-oriented approach to complex legal issues. He has extensive experience advising on public and private M&A transactions and capital markets matters, including cross-border investments, securities offerings and regulatory compliance. He has been recognized over the years as a leading practitioner for capital markets and corporate law/M&A.
In the IP space, Michael has developed a strong reputation for advising clients on intellectual property protection, commercialization and regulatory compliance. He sits on the Legislation and Regulation Committee of the International Trademark Association (INTA) for the 2026-27 term.
Michael is praised for his "excellent technical grasp of both Indonesian law and the Indonesian language, which makes him unique amongst the expatriate lawyers in Jakarta" (IFLR1000).
Michael is a graduate of Harvard University and holds law degrees from leading universities in the United States and Indonesia. He is fluent in Indonesian.
Prior to joining SSEK, Michael was associated with the international law firm Baker & McKenzie in its Singapore and Bangkok offices, where he handled capital markets and investment transactions and represented Indonesian and Thai companies in US capital markets offerings and debt restructurings. He was also previously associated with Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP as part of the firm’s capital markets group.
Publications
• ESG in APAC 2025 (Indonesia chapter), a regional guide to ESG reporting, transition planning and greenwashing (with Slaughter & May)
• Overview of Indonesia, Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) white paper on “Upscaling Carbon Markets Across APAC” (November 2023)
• Indonesia – New Merger Filing Regulation (2023)
Work Highlights
• Indonesian counsel to PepsiCo, Inc. in the sale and termination of its joint venture with PT Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur Tbk, negotiating and drafting key exit documents and advising on complex IP matters involving some of Indonesia’s most popular snack food products.
• Indonesian counsel to a leading Asian provider of business, corporate and investor services in unwinding its indirect joint venture relationship in Indonesia and recovering its tradename.
• Indonesian counsel to a leading global learning platform in a comprehensive violation risk assessment of copyright, intellectual property and regulatory aspects related to its business activities in Indonesia, including an overview of local copyright and patent protection and an evaluation of potential infringement risks against third-party IP rights.
• Assisted a global network of leading independent law firms in securing registration of its collective trademark in Indonesia under the Madrid Protocol by preparing the terms of use and Indonesian translation and responding to the Directorate General of Intellectual Property’s provisional refusal.
• Indonesian counsel to a global fintech company developing cloud-based banking platforms, advising on IP matters, cooperation and license agreements with Indonesian banks, and ongoing legal and employment compliance in Indonesia.
• Indonesian counsel to Grab in connection with its US$40 billion merger with special purpose acquisition company Altimeter Growth Corp. and Nasdaq listing.
• Indonesian counsel to Grab Inc. in connection with its acquisition of the Southeast Asia business and assets of Uber.
• Indonesian counsel to Princeton Digital Group in the acquisition of a controlling stake in a suite of Indonesian data centers and in subsequent capital raisings.
• Sole counsel to a major US technology company in the acquisition of land plots and roll out of its data center operations in Indonesia.
• Acted for a leading Chinese manufacturer of cobalt, nickel, and lithium battery materials in the acquisition by shares in Indonesian nickel mining and metal processing companies.
• Indonesian counsel to China Shenhua in the US$1 billion project financing of the Jawa-7 2×1,000 MW coal-fired IPP.
• Acted for a Chinese company in the acquisition of several hydroelectric power plants under a single holding company.
• Sole Indonesian counsel in the debt restructuring of PT Arpeni Pratama Ocean Line, involving a debt restructuring, Indonesian bankruptcy and PKPU proceedings, SIAC arbitration over a bank credit and disposition of security and U.S. Chapter 15 proceedings and capital raising.
• Indonesian counsel to Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) in connection with a landmark policy initiative to expand the list of recognized stock exchanges, paving the way for issuers with a primary listing on those exchanges to pursue a secondary listing on HKEX.
