Asialaw Profiles (2021)

Aviation and shipping - Outstanding
Banking and finance - Highly Recommended
Banking and financial services - Outstanding
Capital markets - Highly Recommended
Competition/antitrust - Outstanding
Construction - Outstanding
Consumer goods and services - Outstanding
Corporate and M&A - Highly Recommended
Dispute resolution - Outstanding
Energy - Recommended
Infrastructure - Outstanding
Insurance - Recommended
Intellectual property - Highly Recommended
Investment funds - Highly Recommended
Labour and employment - Outstanding
Private equity - Highly Recommended
Real estate - Outstanding
Regulatory - Highly Recommended
Restructuring and insolvency - Outstanding
Tax - Highly Recommended
Technology and telecommunications - Outstanding

Leading Lawyers:

Andre Yeap SC - Dispute resolution (Elite practitioner)
Angela Lim - Banking and finance (Elite practitioner)
Arnold Tan - Investment funds (Elite practitioner)
Chia Kim Huat - Capital markets, Corporate and M&A (Elite practitioner)
Chua Choon King - Shipping (Distinguished practitioner)
Danny Ong - Dispute resolution, Restructuring and insolvency (Distinguished practitioner)
Desmond Wee - Labour and employment (Distinguished practitioner)
Elaine Tay - Insurance (Notable practitioner)
Evelyn Wee - Capital markets (Distinguished practitioner)
Francis Xavier SC - Dispute resolution (Elite practitioner)
Gregory Vijayendran, SC - Dispute resolution (Distinguished practitioner)
Jonathan Yuen - Labour and employment (Distinguished practitioner)
Murali Pillai SC - Labour and employment (Distinguished practitioner)
Kala Anandarajah - Competition/antitrust (Elite practitioner)
Kendall Tan - Shipping (Distinguished practitioner)
Lau Kok Keng - Intellectual property (Distinguished practitioner)
Lee Eng Beng, SC - Restructuring and insolvency (Elite practitioner)
Leong Kah Wah - Shipping (Distinguished practitioner)
Loh Chun Kiat - Corporate and M&A (Notable practitioner)
Norman Ho - Real estate (Elite practitioner)
Patrick Ang - Restructuring and insolvency (Elite practitioner)
Rajesh Sreenivasan - Technology and telecommunications (Elite practitioner)
Regina Liew - Regulatory (Distinguished practitioner)
Sandy Foo - Corporate and M&A (Distinguished practitioner)
Shemane Chan - Energy, Infrastructure (Distinguished practitioner)
Sim Kwan Kiat - Restructuring and insolvency (Distinguished practitioner)
Simon Goh - Insurance (Distinguished practitioner)
Soh Lip San - Construction (Distinguished practitioner)
Steve Tan - Technology and telecommunications (Distinguished practitioner)
Tan Chuan Thye, SC - Dispute resolution (Notable practitioner)
Terence Choo - Banking and finance (Distinguished practitioner)
Toh Kian Sing, SC - Shipping (Elite practitioner)
Vikna Rajah - Tax (Distinguished practitioner)

Analysis:

Banking and finance
Acted for 12 banks and financial institutions—including Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Bank of China, DBS Bank, Mizuho Bank and Société Générale—in $1.2 billion banking facilities granted to Mercuria Asia Group Holdings and Mercuria Energy Trading.

Acted for Sunseap Commercial Assets, a Southeast Asian solar energy system developer, as borrower in a S$50 million loan obtained from ING Bank (Singapore) for the construction and development of a portfolio of rooftop solar projects in Singapore.

Capital markets
Advised on the establishment of an S$2 billion multicurrency debt issuance programme by DBS Trustee and OUE CT Treasury.

Corporate and M&A
Acted for Singapore Press Holdings in the voluntary general offer to Keppel Corporation and SPH for all the issued and paid-up ordinary shares in the capital of M1.

Advised CKM (Cayman), an SPV of CITIC Environment Investment Group, as offeror in its pre-conditional exit offer for all the issued and paid-up ordinary shares of CITIC Envirotech for its voluntary delisting from the main board of the SGX-ST. This was the first exit offer made concerning an issuer listed on the SGX-ST since the SGX-ST implemented changes to the voluntary delisting regime under the listing rules in July 2019.

Competition/antitrust
Advised Toh Thye San Farm on its appeal before the Competition Appeal Board against the infringement decision issued by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) against the client and other fresh chicken distributors for alleged participation in agreements to fix prices and allocate customers. The appeal is a rare case where both the findings of liability and the penalty are being challenged.

Construction
Advised the master developer of the One Bangkok project in respect of the development of a wastewater treatment plant, a district cooling plant, an electricity distribution facility and ICT infrastructure and services. One Bangkok is the largest private sector property development initiative undertaken in Thailand, valued at $3.5 billion.

Dispute resolution
Represented Prudential Assurance Company Singapore, one of the top life insurance companies in Singapore, against its former group financial services director, Peter Tan Shou Yi, for breach of contract and fiduciary duties in soliciting 244 of its tied agents and agency leaders in his agency organisation to join an independent financial advisory firm known as Aviva Financial Advisers. The departure of such a big number of financial advisers is one of the largest in Singapore in recent history.

Insurance
Acted for the World Bank in advising on the legal structure for the Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Insurance Facility (SEADRIF), a regional facility in Asia to provide climate and disaster risk financing and insurance solutions to participating Southeast Asian member states.

Intellectual Property
Defending Sunseap Group in two suits brought by Sun Electric for patent infringement.

Labour and Employment
Represented National University Hospital in defending a claim brought by an ex-employee for alleged unfair dismissal and defamation.

Private equity
Acted for Gaw Capital Partners in the S$1.6 billion acquisition by a consortium, comprising Gaw Capital Partners and Allianz Real Estate, of the entire issued and paid-up share capital of Ophir-Rochor Commercial.

Restructuring and insolvency
Advising on the $4 billion debt restructuring of Hin Leong group of companies, one of Asia’s biggest oil traders, involving more than 23 creditors from multiple jurisdictions.

Technology and telecommunications
Advised one of the world’s most valuable start-ups ByteDance—the owner of the social media app TikTok as well as other Tech2B services such as Lark—and its subsidiaries on its Southeast Asian expansion.

Client Feedback:

“Promptness and adaptability. Very client-focused.” – Capital markets

“Knowledgeable and commercial.” – Capital markets

“Great partner on the job, responsive and solution-oriented. Cool-headed too.” – Capital markets

“Very professional; quick response times; willing to push the boundaries of the norm; flexible to manage time zone issues.” – Capital markets

“Explaining choices and law terms and regulations in the most simple terms to us. Engaging us honestly and bringing out key points which we had missed earlier on.” – Competition/antitrust

“Its work was very satisfactory, and it is the number one leniency firm in the region. The case was the first leniency case in Singapore in 2012. Regarding pan-Asian compliance issues in respect of antitrust, we rely on Rajah & Tann because of its strong regional network across Southeast Asia. The firm is very responsive; we can reach it out anytime we need. It gives detailed answers even with minor questions or enquiries. Also, it is able to keep within the client's budget. Rajah & Tann is also very innovative in solving problems through digital forms which is a new trend in the legal industry.” – Competition/antitrust

“Professional, provides prompt legal advisory work and the willingness to run the extra mile for the clients.” – Corporate and M&A

“Hard-working lawyers with excellent client care and sound legal judgement.” – Dispute resolution

“Knowledgeable about the regulations. Understands the business.” – Insurance

“Timely and comprehensive advice.” – Insurance

“Succinct advice that can be applied commercially and can be understood clearly on a first reading. Timely provision of advice and good use of case law examples. Deep understanding of the Singaporean legal and regulatory landscape and trusted by regulators and insurers alike.” – Insurance

“Deep insight into local regulation and a proactive and professional approach to support the project. Relatively new regulatory framework was used in the project and the R&T team took a key role to navigate the project team throughout the entire process.” – Insurance

“The investment team is extremely knowledgeable with the Singapore funds industry, and also helped us identify potential issues in other jurisdictions.” – Investment funds

“Responsiveness, provides clear and balanced advice.” – Investment funds

“Very thorough in details and preparation, a strong group of associates to support the work.” – Shipping