01 Aug 2023

Rajah & Tann appoints leading aviation lawyer Paul Ng to advance aviation expertise

Rajah & Tann Singapore (R&T) said today that leading aviation lawyer Paul Ng has joined as Partner to helm the firm’s Aviation practice.

Mr Ng brings with him 30 years of practice experience and has advised on some of the largest and most complex aviation transactions in the region involving asset-backed financing and bond issuances, tax leasing, multi-billion-dollar aircraft acquisitions and initial public offerings (IPO). He regularly acts for major lenders, leasing companies, borrowers, lessees, airlines and arrangers.

Among the landmark deals Mr Ng was involved in are: PT Lion Mentari’s US$24 billion order for over 230 Airbus aircraft, the then largest ever commercial aircraft order; VietJet’s US$9 billion purchase of 92 Airbus aircraft and US$800 million order for CFM engines; and the first insurance-backed financing for aircraft operated by Korean Airlines of two 787 Boeing Dreamliners, which won Airfinance Journal’s “Overall Deal of the Year".

Paul acted on Vietjet’s IPO, Vietnam’s first internationally marketed and then largest IPO on the Vietnam stock exchange.  Paul was also counsel to AirAsia’s complex multi-tiered Islamic financing of a French tax leasing vehicle for the acquisition of up to A320 Airbus aircraft. This was the first such financing to be successfully completed in Asia and won Airfinance Journal’s "Innovative Deal of the Year".

Prior to joining Rajah & Tann, Mr Ng was a partner at a foreign law firm where he led its aviation and asset finance practice in Asia. He was also a member of that firm’s global transportation and space practice.  Paul is a fellow of the Centre for Banking & Finance at the Faculty of Law at the National University of Singapore where he is an adjunct professor teaching Aviation Finance.

Patrick Ang, Managing Partner of R&T, said: “We are delighted to welcome Paul to the Rajah & Tann family. His exceptional expertise and outstanding track record in aviation are well known in the industry, and he is exemplary of the sort of talent we want to attract to the firm.”

Led by Paul, R&T’s Aviation practice will be supported by a multi-disciplinary team of lawyers who have done work in the aviation sector including advising on corporate and regulatory matters that range from contract administration of an international airport to addressing multifarious ground operations concerns. The firm has also been involved in intellectual property and patent issues that arise in aviation matters. Its dispute resolution experience includes several arbitrations and court hearings, and advising victims involved in an aviation accident in China.

The Aviation practice comprises Francis Xavier SC, Angela Lim, Winston Kwek and Terence Quek, as well as other lawyers across the Rajah & Tann Asia network. Together with Paul, the team will continue to support aviation clients in the region, by delivering world-class advice and top-notch legal counsel.

About Rajah & Tann Asia – https://www.rajahtannasia.com/

Rajah & Tann Asia brings together leading law firms and lawyers in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, with each offering the highest standards of service to locally-based clients while collectively having the capability to handle the most complex regional and cross-border transactions and to provide excellent legal counsel seamlessly across the region. With 970 fee earners, all working towards one shared goal, we are lawyers who know Asia and who give our clients home advantage.