Kenneth R. Marks, emeritus in memoriam, structured the US$1.5 billion equity and debt financing package for Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG).  This included the US$1.5 billion political and default risk insurance facility provided by The Export-Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) and Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI, now METI — Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry).

The FLAG project represented a pioneering achievement in global telecommunications infrastructure. It was the first independent east-to-west fiber optic cable system and the first privately sponsored network to establish landings in China, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. The project has been widely recognized as a defining technological milestone in the development of modern telecommunications connectivity across Asia and the Middle East, and was acknowledged by the Kingdom of Thailand during the reign of His Majesty King Rama IX and the Privy Council as the alpha technology achievement for Thailand.

Baron Point’s senior leadership has been directly involved in the execution and structuring of complex, multi-jurisdictional infrastructure transactions. The firm’s former General Counsel, who served for nearly a decade, worked closely with Mr. Marks to establish the legal and regulatory framework across 14 sovereign jurisdictions associated with the FLAG system.

In parallel, the firm’s Managing Partner, James Philip Coppola III, participated in the capital formation and syndication process for the FLAG transaction, as well as other large-scale infrastructure and development projects across Indochina during the period of accelerated economic expansion in ASEAN markets in the late 20^th century.