James Chan is a Partner in Rajah & Tann Singapore’s Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions Practice Group.
His main areas of practice include initial public offerings, secondary listings and mergers and acquisitions. His experience also includes numerous cross-border capital markets and mergers and acquisitions transactions involving countries such as China, Malaysia and Hong Kong. He also regularly advises SGX-ST listed issuers on continuing obligations and compliance matters.
James graduated with his LLB (Hons) from the National University of Singapore, where he was placed on the Overall Dean’s List for being among the top 10% of students in his cohort and won the KhattarWong Securities Regulation Prize.
EXPERIENCE
Capital Markets
- Acted for China Jinjiang Environment Holding Company Limited in respect of its initial public offering and listing on the Main Board of the SGX-ST. At the time of its listing, Jinjiang Environment was the largest private waste-to-energy operator in China and had a market capitalisation of S$1.08 billion.
- Acted for Koufu Group Limited in respect of its initial public offering and listing on the Mainboard of the SGX-ST. Koufu is one of the most established and largest operators and managers of food courts and coffee shops in Singapore. Koufu’s market capitalisation at the time of its listing was approximately S$350 million.
- Acted for DBS Bank Ltd. in respect of the initial public offering and listing of Econ Healthcare (Asia) Limited on the Catalist Board of the SGX-ST. Econ Healthcare is the largest private nursing home operator in Singapore and Malaysia with presence in China. Econ Healthcare’s market capitalisation at the time of its listing was approximately S$72 million.
- Acted for NoonTalk Media Limited in respect of its initial public offering and listing on the Catalist Board of the SGX-ST. NoonTalk Media Limited is a Singapore-based media entertainment company and its market capitalisation at the time of its listing was approximately S$44 million.
- Acted as Singapore counsel to ASX-listed OM Holdings Limited in its secondary listing by introduction on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia, which marked the first dual listing on Bursa Malaysia and the Australian Securities Exchange.
- Acted for SGX-listed Zheneng Jinjiang Environment Holding Company Limited in its issuance of US$200 million in senior unsecured notes.
- Acted for SGX-listed Zheneng Jinjiang Environment Holding Company Limited in its private placement which raised gross proceeds of S$107 million.
- Advised on IPOs, secondary listings and reverse takeovers of companies on the SGX-ST, including Chinese-incorporated companies under the direct listing framework.
- Acted as Singapore counsel to Singapore-based businesses in their overseas listings in Hong Kong and their secondary listings on the SGX-ST.
Mergers & Acquisitions
- Acted for Ethoz Group Ltd. and Tan Chong Investments Limited in the S$305 million acquisition by Tan Chong of a remaining 50% stake in Ethoz. This was one of the largest publicly-announced deals in the automotive and financing solutions industry in Singapore in recent years.
- Acted for V3 Group in its S$76.6 million acquisition of a 69% stake in Futuristic Store Fixtures, a leading store fixtures specialist that helps global retail brands to roll out retail store expansion.
- Acted for SGX-listed Zheneng Jinjiang Environment Holding Company Limited in its RMB440 million (S$88 million) acquisition of two waste-to-energy plants in China.
- Acted for a global gourmet and lifestyle group in its US$29 million acquisition of a majority stake in a luxury coffee brand.
- Acted for a large German multinational corporation in conducting a due diligence exercise in connection with its potential investment in a Hong Kong-based delivery services platform.
- Acted for a large Japanese conglomerate in its joint venture in Thailand relating to the operation and maintenance of buildings.
- Acted for an SGX-listed company in its investment in a biomedical start-up engaged in stem cell therapeutics.
- Acted for a local investment manager in its investment in an online platform for home healthcare services.
Listing Advisory and Regulatory Compliance
- Legal compliance adviser for SGX-listed companies.
- Advised several foreign listed companies on the applicable restrictions and safe harbour provisions under Singapore securities law relating to securities offerings, secondary fund raising and employee share incentive schemes.
- Advised several Singapore listed companies in relation to their corporate actions such as acquisitions and disposals, share buybacks and interested person transactions.
- Advised on the distribution of pre-deal research reports in Singapore for overseas IPOs and securities offerings.
Continuing Sponsorship Activities
- Undertook continuing sponsorship activities for two companies listed on the Catalist Board of the SGX-ST. namely, Medtecs International Corporation Limited and HS Optimus Limited.
