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Chua Beng Chye

Deputy Head, Restructuring & Insolvency
Partner

Practice Area:

Restructuring & Insolvency

LLB (Hons), National University of Singapore
Advocate & Solicitor, Singapore

T +65 6232 0419
E beng.chye.chua@rajahtann.com

Beng Chye has been in practice for more than two decades and is currently the Deputy Head of the Restructuring & Insolvency practice (“R&I”) at Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP. He was admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore in 2000.

Specialising in bankruptcy and corporate insolvency, as well as debt restructuring, judicial management and schemes of arrangement, Beng Chye has been recognised  by global legal directories for his expertise in this field. He is highly regarded by IFLR1000 2022 and Best Lawyers in Singapore (since 2018), and was lead partner in the landmark case of H&CS Holdings Pte Ltd, which won the Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific Award for 2021, Impact Cases of the Year and nominated by GRR as one of the Most Significant Cross Border Recognition Decision in 2019.

Beng Chye has been actively involved in almost every major restructuring / insolvency matter in Singapore and is often the first port of call for the banking and financial institutions. His notable cases include Hyflux/ Tuaspring, Agritrade, Triyards, Swiber, Nam Cheong, Hanjin, OW Bunker, Pars Ram Brothers, KrisEnergy, Mercator Lines, Hoe Leong Corporation Ltd, Panoil Petroleum, Universal Energy, and Otto Marine Ltd. He represented PricewaterhouseCoopers as the Receivers and Managers of Treasure Resort Pte Ltd (Receivers and Managers Appointed) (In Liquidation) in the sale of the hotel at Le Meridien Singapore Sentosa.

He was part of the R&I team who had advised China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd (“CAO”) in one of Singapore largest successful corporate debt restructuring exercises, involving a PRC State Owned Enterprise and over US$550 million. CAO received resounding support (over 90% in value and in number) for its debt restructuring plan from its creditors, and the Scheme of Arrangement was sanctioned by the High Court of Singapore in June 2006.

In addition to debt restructuring, Beng Chye also advises on liquidation (voluntary and compulsory) and judicial management. He was part of the team that advised the liquidators of Lehman Brothers Singapore. He had advised the Judicial Managers and later successfully applied to the High Court for the appointment of Liquidators for Wan Soon Construction Pte Ltd, a large construction company in Singapore which was previously graded by the Building Construction Authority as A1 Unlimited for General Building and Civil Engineering. 

He acts in a broad range of commercial disputes and is regularly instructed by banks and leading financial institutions. He successfully represented Sunmax Global Capital Fund 1 and its director to recover more than $16m in damages arising from the Asiasons and Liongold shares, which were involved in the 2013 penny stocks collapse - Neptune Capital Group Ltd and others v Sunmax Global Capital Fund 1 Pte Ltd [2016] 4 SLR 1177.

Beng Chye specialises in hire purchase and auto-finance industry, and he has handled block discounting, floor stock and hire purchase financing for major banks and financial institutions. 

He was formerly the Legal Advisor for the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association (SVTA) and had represented them when the financing curbs were imposed by MAS in February 2013.

He is the currently the appointed Legal Advisor for the following associations:

  • Hire Purchase Finance & Leasing Association of Singapore (HPFLAS)
  • Automobile Importer & Exporter Association (Singapore)
  • Singapore Ji Yang Cai Clan Association
  • Chai Chee United Temple (Hock San Teng Temple)
Notable Cases & Transactions
  • Successfully represented the Hong Kong liquidators of Shanghai Huaxin Group (Hongkong) Limited to obtain a UNCITRAL Model law recognition order in Singapore.
  • Represented H&C S Holdings Pte Ltd in the first ever recognition of Singapore’s moratorium law in landmark ruling by the High Court of England and Wales. This case was awarded the Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific Awards for 2021, Impact Cases of the Year, and nominated by GRR as one of the Most Significant Cross Border Recognition Decision in 2019.
  • Acted for PSA to advise them on the restructuring and subsequent liquidation of Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd. The total rehabilitation claims exceeded US$27 billion. The firm won the Benchmark Litigation 2019 Impact Case of the Year at Asia Pacific level for this case.
  • Represented COSCO to advise on Prosafe SE’s global restructuring involving over US$1.3 billion loan facilities and spanning various jurisdictions, including application for recognition in the Scottish Courts.
  • Advised Maybank on their secured asset, ie Integrated Water and Power Plant owned by their borrower Tuaspring Pte Ltd. Maybank is the single largest creditor and only secured creditor of Tuaspring, a key subsidiary of the beleaguered Hyflux Group.
  • Acted for a coalition of more than 16 banks led by ING Bank to resist the moratorium application filed by Agritrade International Pte Ltd, and later successfully applied to the Singapore High Court to appoint Ernst & Young as the judicial managers of the company.
  • Together with the liquidators of Pictorial Development Pte Ltd, he successfully represented the Private Trustees in Bankruptcy of Ng Sey Pek in the landmark ruling by the Singapore Court of Appeal in Rothstar Group Ltd v Leow Quek Shiong [2022] SGCA 25 which considered the novel issue of whether the grant of a security by an insolvent party for the indebtedness of a third party may amount to an undervalue transaction.
  • Successfully represented DBS Bank to obtain a judicial management order in the Singapore High Court over Sen Yue Holdings Ltd (SGX listco) and its subsidiary SMC Industrial Pte Ltd.
  • Acted for Natixis and CIMB to successfully resist application by Hontop Energy Singapore Pte Ltd for a scheme moratorium, and eventually obtained a Singapore Court order to appoint RSM as judicial managers of the company. The company had total debts of over US$540 million and is a subsidiary of prominent Chinese company, Wanda Holding Group Co Ltd.
  • Represented a New Zealand company to pursue a rogue employee who absconded to Singapore with misappropriated funds.  With the assistance of the Singapore police, the perpetrator was arrested and sentenced to 38 months imprisonment.  Beng Chye received a letter of thanks from the Singapore police for his invaluable co-operation in the investigations.
  • Part of the team that advised China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd on debt restructuring and Scheme of Arrangement in one of Singapore’s largest debt restructuring exercise involving about US$550 million.
  • Successfully acted for Life Glow Asia Pte Ltd on appeal in the Court of Appeal.
  • Acted for Wan Soon Construction Pte Ltd in judicial management and subsequent compulsory liquidation.
  • Represented the minority shareholder and director in a minority oppression suit against the majority directors and shareholders of SEA Hydropower Pte Ltd. The action involved elements of minority oppression and breach of fiduciary duties, and cumulated in four back-to-back trials in the High Court.
  • Acted for Advanced Systems Automation Ltd in debt restructuring and Scheme of Arrangement.
  • Acted for SK Global Asia Pacific Pte Ltd in debt restructuring and Scheme of Arrangement.
  • Represented OCBC in a claim of over S$4 million against Frankel Motor Pte Ltd, a major car dealership and parallel importer company in Singapore, and reporting them to the authorities.  The director of Frankel Motor was eventually convicted of defrauding the banks and sentenced to 15 years jail.
  • Represented United Overseas Bank Ltd in applying to the High Court of Singapore to appoint provisional liquidators for EC Asia Ltd (a public company formerly listed in the Australian Stock Exchange) and later successfully wound up the company. The director of EC Asia Pte Ltd, Kelvin Ang, was subsequently convicted of massive invoice financing fraud.
  • Represented a major construction company, Lian Beng Construction Ltd, in a claim for over S$9 million against another listed construction firm, Manhattan Resources Ltd.
  • Represented Swiss Butchery Pte Ltd in a claim in the High Court of Singapore against the company’s former director, his sons and their company, Huber Pte Ltd, for breach of fiduciary duties and conspiracy.
  • Advised the judicial managers and liquidators of Singapore-listed Zhonghui Holdings Ltd.
  • Advised the Liquidators of the Lehman Brothers Singapore entities, where the Singapore High Court made a ruling on a novel point of insolvency law relating to foreign currency conversions in creditors’ voluntary liquidation.
  • Represented the wine investors in their claim against Assets Wine Management Pte Ltd after the directors disappeared. Also advised the Receivers and Managers in the recovery, proper and orderly distribution of the wines.
  • Represented the group of seven shareholders who successfully requisitioned for the Extraordinary General Meeting to replace the directors of Singapore-listed Goldtron Ltd.
  • Acted in the watershed personal insolvency cases in Cheo Sharon Andriesz v Official Assignee of the estate of Andriesz Paul Matthew, a bankrupt [2013] 2 SLR 297 and Dato Rickie Tan Yong Kiat v SinesingaSdnBhd & Ors [2014] SGHCR 6. The former case was a landmark decision by the Singapore Court of Appeal on Section 77 of the Bankruptcy Act (Cap. 20) to invalidate an earlier matrimonial court order to dispose of assets just prior to the making of the bankruptcy order. This decision led to a policy change and amendments to the Practice Directions of the Family Court and High Court.  The latter case was one of the few reported Singapore decisions on cross-border bankruptcy and the recognition of foreign personal insolvency proceedings.
Memberships/Directorships
  • Fellow, Insolvency Practitioners’ Association of Singapore
  • Associate, Insolvency Practitioners’ Association of Singapore
  • Member, INSOL International
  • Member, Singapore Academy of Law
  • Member, Law Society of Singapore