Syahdan Z. Aziz

Practice Areas

Labor and employment + Immigration and expatriate work permits + Corporate law + Foreign investment law + Mergers and acquisitions + TMT (including cryptocurrency and data privacy/protection) + Energy and natural resources + Oil and gas law + Project finance and infrastructure development

Career

Syahdan Z. Aziz is a supervising partner of SSEK's labor and employment practice and is experienced in advising clients on all aspects of Indonesian labor and employment law. This includes advising corporate clients on severance matters, personnel policies and work rules, employment contracts, including contracts for foreign workers, secondment arrangements, labor disputes and social security programs.

Syahdan is the firm's principal representative to the Employment Law Alliance (ELA), a global network of leading labor and employment lawyers. He is also a member of the board of directors of the ELA and the Asia Pacific Regional Chair.

Syahdan's practice also includes energy and natural resources, foreign capital investment, mergers and acquisitions, oil and gas law, private power, project finance and infrastructure development, and TMT (including cryptocurrency and data privacy/protection).

In addition to being recognized by Chambers & Partners as a leading lawyer in Indonesia for employment law, Syahdan has been recognized by legal directories as a leading practitioner for energy and natural resources, and projects and infrastructure.

Professional Memberships

• Board of Directors, Employment Law Alliance (ELA), and Asia Pacific Regional Chair

• Indonesian Advocates Association (Peradi)

Publications

• Lexology Panoramic: Labor & Employment 2025 (Indonesia chapter)

• Lexology Panoramic: Cryptoassets & Blockchain 2025 (Indonesia chapter)

• Employment Law Alliance (ELA) podcast, “Constitutional Court Ruling on Employment Termination in Indonesia" (2025)

• Employment Law Alliance (ELA) podcast, “What Employers Should Know About Indonesia’s Maternal and Child Welfare Law” (2025)

• Indonesia employment law guide 2025, part of the Employment Law Alliance (ELA) Global Employer Handbook

• "Constitutional Court: Employment Terminations in Indonesia Require Court Decision" (November 2024)

• "Indonesia: Job Creation Regulation Becomes Law with Issuance of Law No. 6 of 2023" (2023)

Work Highlights

• Advised a world-leading supplier company of protective coatings to the decorative, protective, marine, container and yacht markets in connection with a compliance review, including data protection matters as well its handling its employment matters.

• Advised a regional strategic communications firm on recent changes to employment law in Indonesia pertaining to terms and conditions of indefinite term employment agreements and updated the indefinite term employment agreement template used by the client’s Indonesia subsidiary to be in accordance with the applicable employment laws and regulations.

• Assisted two local entities of a multinational logistics property specialist with employment terminations.

• Advised a leading engineering company on employee transfers, severance packages and other employment matters in Indonesia related to the global sale of its energy gas turbine and compressor business.

• Assisted a global sports apparel company with reviewing and updating its template Mutual Separation Agreement to be in compliance with the applicable Indonesian employment laws and regulations.

• Advised SunEdison, a US public company engaging in solar power business in developing a preferred corporate structure for its energy business in Indonesia and in preparations for PLN tenders.

• Acting for the IFC in preparing model documentation, including a model PPA and government guarantee, for the 2x1000 MW Central Java coal-fired IPP project.

• Advising Chevron on potential exposure on retirement of offshore and onshore assets on the expiration of a PSC.

• Advising PT Pertamina International Shipping in the establishment of subsidiaries in the field of sea transportation.

• Representing a multinational oil and gas company in expanding its downstream business in wholesale of fuel in Indonesia.

• Providing legal advice to multinational upstream oil and gas companies and service providers in the provision of drilling services including issues pertaining to cabotage.

• Advised a Chinese engineering and research company on their participation in an aluminium smelter upgrading project owned by an Indonesian state-owned company.

• Acted as Indonesian counsel for Sinohydro Resources of China in establishing a joint venture company in Indonesia for the development of the Lasolo Hydropower Project.

• Acted as Indonesian counsel for Lanco International in an in-depth review and comment on a draft PPA for bidding purposes in relation to a 2x200 MW coal-fired steam IPP in East Java.

• Advised an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas company in the development of Indonesia’s petrochemical industry, which involves the acquisition of a strategic petrochemical company.

• Assisted several global crypto trading companies with establishing a presence in Indonesia.

Languages Spoken

English, Indonesian

Education