Cambodia Leadership Review
Roman Hamala is the International Partner, Kinstellar Southeast Asia (Cambodia) in association with Sok Siphana Sethalay. He brings more than 25 years of international legal experience spanning mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and infrastructure transactions across multiple jurisdictions. Having worked extensively in cross-border investment environments, he joins Kinstellar Southeast Asia (Cambodia) in association with Sok Siphana Sethalay at a time when Cambodia’s legal and investment landscape is becoming increasingly sophisticated and regionally integrated.
His appointment reflects the firm’s ambition to deepen its international capabilities while strengthening local expertise, positioning Cambodia firmly within a broader Southeast Asian platform. In this interview, Roman reflects on leadership, regional integration, Cambodia’s evolving legal environment, and the long-term development of legal services across Southeast Asia.
Leadership and Joining the Firm in Cambodia
CLR: You bring more than 25 years of international legal experience across mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and infrastructure. As you take on the role of International Partner in Phnom Penh, how would you describe your leadership approach, and what attracted you to joining Kinstellar Southeast Asia (Cambodia) in association with Sok Siphana Sethalay at this stage of your career?
Over the years, my leadership style has become fairly simple and, hopefully, still human. I try to set a clear direction, put good people in the right roles, and then trust them to do their work. Strong teams consistently outperform any one individual trying to control everything.
So I focus more on strategy and judgment, helping frame the issues, making sure we are aligned with the client commercially, and stepping in where decisions really matter. The goal is to create an environment where people can perform confidently and consistently.
What attracted me here was really the platform and the timing.
Cambodia is evolving quickly and the work is becoming more sophisticated. Investors expect international standards, but they also want advice that reflects how the market actually works on the ground.
The combination of Sok Siphana Sethalay’s local credibility and Kinstellar Southeast Asia’s cross-border experience and structure is a very strong fit for that reality.
And I liked the fact that Kinstellar Southeast Asia is building its Southeast Asia presence deliberately. Vietnam and Cambodia are the current base, but the direction is clearly regional. Being part of something that is being built thoughtfully and for the long term – rather than simply maintaining the status quo – felt like the right move.
Strengthening Regional and International Capabilities
CLR: Your appointment has been positioned as a way to deepen the firm’s international capabilities while maintaining strong local expertise. How do you see your role contributing to the firm’s regional integration within Kinstellar Southeast Asia, and what value does this bring to multinational and regional clients operating in Cambodia?
Many of our clients do not view Cambodia on its own. They are investing across Southeast Asia and thinking regionally from day one, so naturally they expect the same quality and consistency wherever they operate.
That is the direction Kinstellar Southeast Asia is taking. Today we have established offices in Vietnam and Cambodia, and we are actively looking at expanding our presence into other Southeast Asian markets to better support clients operating across the region.
The focus is not just geographic coverage, it is integration. Shared standards, shared know-how, and teams that work together seamlessly.
This is very much the same approach that worked well for Kinstellar in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia – building a genuinely integrated regional platform rather than just a network of offices.
Clients benefited from consistent quality and predictability, and internally it strengthened knowledge-sharing and the development of our teams. We are applying that same thinking here.
My role is to help ensure that Cambodia is fully plugged into that system – that our advice and structuring meet international expectations while remaining grounded in local regulatory and commercial realities.
This is particularly relevant in areas that are still relatively new to Cambodia, or where there is limited existing domestic precedent or technical expertise.
Being able to draw on Kinstellar’s international experience in these sectors allows us to support clients on more complex or first-of-their-kind transactions and gives them a clear advantage compared to relying solely on locally developed market practice.
For clients, that simply means fewer surprises and smoother cross-border transactions, which is ultimately what they care about.
Cambodia’s Evolving Legal and Investment Landscape
CLR: With rising cross-border investment and growing demand for legal services in corporate governance, private equity, and infrastructure, how do you assess the current state of Cambodia’s legal environment, and what challenges and opportunities are most relevant for foreign investors today?
Cambodia has matured noticeably over the last few years. Transactions are more structured, governance standards are improving, and investors are approaching the market with a longer-term mindset. That is a healthy sign.
At the same time, it remains a relationship-driven environment.
Understanding how processes work in practice – not just what the law says – is still critical. For foreign investors, that is often the main adjustment.
But it is also where the opportunity lies. The fundamentals are solid, and there is still plenty of room for growth compared to more saturated markets in the region.
From our perspective, the goal is to make things easier and more predictable. With strong local expertise and Kinstellar Southeast Asia’s regional and international experience, we can translate global standards into solutions that actually work here.
When you reduce uncertainty, investment tends to follow naturally.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Legal Services in Cambodia
CLR: Looking ahead, what trends do you believe will shape Cambodia’s legal sector over the coming years, and how can internationally experienced partners help align local legal practice with global standards while supporting Cambodia’s continued economic development?
I think we will continue to see the market become more professional and more demanding.
As private equity, infrastructure funds, and multinational investors become more active, expectations around governance, compliance, and transparency will only increase. That naturally pushes the legal sector toward higher standards and more specialised expertise.
We also see more cross-border work. Cambodia is increasingly part of regional investment strategies, so advisers need to be comfortable coordinating across jurisdictions and working seamlessly with international stakeholders.
Internationally experienced partners can contribute by sharing processes, know-how, and structure – but always in a practical way. It is not about importing foreign solutions. It is about combining international experience with local knowledge and making it work in the Cambodian context.
This becomes especially important in sectors where Cambodia is still developing its regulatory or transactional track record, as access to international precedent and deal experience can materially improve structuring, risk allocation and execution.
The association between Sok Siphana Sethalay and Kinstellar Southeast Asia is designed exactly for that – strong local capability supported by regional and international depth. Over time, that helps strengthen not just individual transactions, but the overall investment environment.
Outlook for Southeast Asia
CLR: Finally, how do you see the firm’s regional journey developing over the next few years?
We are still at the early stages of our Southeast Asia journey. Vietnam and Cambodia are the foundation, and we are actively looking at expansion into other markets to better support clients across the region.
The aim is to build a genuinely integrated platform – one standard, one way of working, and teams that can support clients seamlessly wherever they invest.
If we do that well, we will grow together with the region over the long term.
