Following the success of the Future Energy Asia Exhibition and Summit event preview held at the firm’s Bangkok Office on June 16, Tilleke & Gibbins participated in the official three-day forum at Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre on July 20-22, 2022 Under the theme “Decarbonizing ASEAN’s Energy Transition and Transformation,” Joseph Tomkiewicz, partner and chair of the firm’s regional energy industry team (and member of the conference committee), moderated a strategic panel discussion titled “Global Leaders Panel: Decarbonisation & GHG Commitment – Gas and LNG as Cleaner Fuels to Bridge ASEAN’s Energy Transition.” Together with distinguished speakers, Joseph led the session through noteworthy strategies and initiatives toward significant transformation of the industry. On the last day, Sher Hann Chua, a consultant in the firm’s intellectual property group, delivered a presentation titled “Harnessing the Power of Your Intellectual Property in Energy Industry Joint Ventures.” Tilleke & Gibbins also welcomed thousands of energy professionals to the firm’s booth over the course of three days to exchange potential ideas for future collaboration and business opportunities in the electric vehicle, LNG, renewables, and power sectors in ASEAN.

On July 12, 2022, Nopparat Lalitkomon, a senior associate in Tilleke & Gibbins’ corporate and commercial group in Bangkok, spoke at an event on the principles of Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA). The session was organized in collaboration with True Digital Park and True Digital Group (TDG). Presenting along with the head of data privacy for TDG, Nopparat addressed the following issues to equip startup companies with essential knowledge to fully comply with the law. Data minimization; Managing data security; Data breach prevention; Principles of data protection officer roles; Data subject rights; Key consideration when setting up an application; and New sub-regulations under the Personal Data Protection Act; The event closed with an FAQ session.

On July 7, 2022, Nopparat Lalitkomon, senior associate, and Gvavalin Mahakunkitchareon, associate of the firm’s corporate and commercial group collaborated with Microfocus and CyberRes in hosting a webinar entitled “ PDPA: Managing and Minimizing Data Protection Risks.” In this online session, the speakers covered the following items: Overview of the Personal Data Protection Act 2019; Roles and responsibilities of data controllers or data processors; Rights of data subjects; and Updates on new subregulations under the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA).

On June 17, 2022, two attorneys in the firm’s corporate and commercial group in Bangkok—Charuwan Charoonchitsathian, partner, and Gvavalin Mahakunkitchareon, associate—were keynote speakers for a special focus session organized by the Thailand office of Plug and Play Tech Center. During the session, Charuwan and Gvavalin walked attendees through the latest legal developments applicable to innovative technologies in the smart cities sector, including: Artificial intelligence (AI), cloud services, and internet of things (IOT); Data protection updates from the recent PDPA public hearings; and Evolving cybersecurity regulations. The Plug and Play Tech Center in Bangkok is the local branch of global startup ecosystem and innovation hub helping entrepreneurs gain access to expertise, guidance, and structural support needed to grow their business. For more information, please see the Plug and Play Tech Center website.