Zi Wei is a Partner in the firm’s Restructuring & Insolvency Practice Group.
Zi Wei’s areas of practice include both domestic and cross-border commercial litigation and arbitration, with an emphasis on insolvency litigation and shareholders’ disputes. Zi Wei has significant experience in the restructuring of debts of distressed companies, having advised and acted in various matters for debtor companies, insolvency practitioners, banks and financial institutions.
Zi Wei also has extensive experience in China-related disputes work and has acted for and advised clients on various matters including shareholder and joint venture disputes, enforcement of assets, and private wealth matters with a connection to China.
He graduated with First Class Honours from King’s College London in 2013 and was called to the Singapore Bar in 2015.
EXPERIENCE
Restructuring & Insolvency
- Advising and acting for the appointed PRC Bankruptcy Reorganisation Administrators on the restructuring of the Jiangsu Delong Group, in particular on the recovery of the Group’s offshore assets in Singapore and Indonesia. Successfully argued and obtained recognition of the PRC reorganisation proceedings and the Administrators’ appointment in Singapore under the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency. This case was named impact case of the year at the Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific & China Awards 2026.
- Advising and acting for the judicial managers and liquidators of Samtrade FX Ltd, an online forex and cryptocurrency trading platform, involving more than US$877 million in debt. Successfully proposed and obtained the Singapore High Court’s approval of a liquidation scheme of arrangement, one of the few of its kind in Singapore.
- Advising and acting for the Informal Steering Committee of Lenders in the restructuring of a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) which ran into financial difficulties. The Trustee and Managers are listed in Singapore, with the bulk of the underlying real estate assets in China.
- Advised and acted for the UK appointed administrators of Stenn Assets UK Limited and Stenn International Limited in relation to the recovery of factored receivables from debtors based in Singapore.
- Advised and acted for the judicial managers and liquidators of Hin Leong Trading (Pte.) Ltd, one of Singapore’s largest independent oil traders. This was one of Singapore’s largest insolvency cases, involving more than US$3.5 billion in debt.
- Advising and acting for the receivers and managers of the Sycamore Tree and Laurel Tree, two condominium developments which ran into financial difficulties prior to completion. Successfully proposed and obtained the Singapore High Court’s sanction of a pre-pack scheme of arrangement.
- Advising and acting for the receivers and managers of Big Box Pte Ltd on various matters, including the sale of the company’s flagship property.
- Part of the team that successfully represented the purchasers of the business of HTL International Holdings Pte Ltd (under judicial management) in resisting an application before the Singapore Court of Appeal to set aside the transaction. In this novel decision, the Singapore Court set out the applicable principles in determining the threshold of unfair prejudice required before it would intervene in a decision made by the judicial managers.
- Advised and acted for various banks, insolvency practitioners, and financial institutions on both contentious and non-contentious insolvency and restructuring matters. Notable cases include Pacific International Lines (Pte) Ltd, TT International Limited, Tuaspring Pte Ltd, Agritrade International (Pte) Ltd, Miclyn Express Offshore, Pars Ram Brothers Pte Ltd, and Aavanti Industries Pte Ltd.
Commercial Litigation, Disputes and Arbitration
- Representing a country club owner in a Singapore High Court litigation against Singapore liquidators involving claims for breach of directors’ duties and insolvency clawback claims exceeding S$210 million.
- Representing a Singapore-listed Bermudan company in the business of tech infrastructure, data centre, and agri-commodities trading in a Singapore High Court litigation against its former directors for breach of duties.
- Represented a Singapore listed-company in the semiconductor industry in a Singapore High Court litigation against another listed-company in relation to claims for unpaid services.
- Advised and acted for a Singapore listed-company in the precision manufacturing space in investigations against certain parties involved in its subsidiaries.
- Represented the liquidator of a Singapore company in the co-working space business in a High Court litigation against its directors for breach of duties.
- Represented a company in the hostel and serviced residences business in a multi-million dollar claim before the Singapore Court of Appeal involving claims against its former directors. This landmark decision clarified the law on the applicable standard for causation in the context of equitable compensation for breach of fiduciary duties.
- Represented a financial institution in an arbitration in relation to a multi-million dollar dispute on factoring arrangements that involved a novel point on the law of assignment.
- Representing the former directors of a furniture and upholstery company in a cross-border dispute, involving claims of misrepresentation and breach of duties brought by the company’s China-based shareholders.
- Represented a director and shareholder of a Singapore country club in a dispute involving claims of breach of fiduciary duties, breach of trust, and conspiracy.
- Advising various Singapore-listed companies on responding to SGX queries in relation to alleged breaches of the Catalist Rules.
- Advising and acting for companies in relation to employment disputes.
Reported Judgments
- Re King & Wood Mallesons and other matters [2025] 3 SLR 1754
- Loh Cheng Lee Aaron and another v Hodlnaut Pte Ltd (Zhu Juntao and others, non-parties) [2024] 4 SLR 1683
- Ng Yew Nam and others v Loh Sin Hock Anthony and others and another atter [2024] 4 SLR 759
- Goh Nai De v Samtrade FX Ltd (in Liquidation) [2024] SGDC 105
- Grimmett, Andrew and others v HTL International Holdings Pte Ltd (under judicial management) (Phua Yong Tat and others, non-parties) [2022] 5 SLR 991
- Yihua Lifestyle Technology Co, Ltd and Anor v HTL International Holdings Pte Ltd and Ors [2021] 2 SLR 1141
- Re HTL International Holdings Pte Ltd [2021] 5 SLR 586
- Golden Hill Capital Pte Ltd and others v Yihua Lifestyle Technology Co, Ltd and another [2021] 2 SLR 1113
- BW Umuroa Pte Ltd v Tamarind Resources Pte Ltd [2020] 4 SLR 1294
- Winsta Holding Pte Ltd and Anor v Sim Poh Ping and Ors [2018] SGHC 239
- Sim Poh Ping v Winsta Holding Pte Ltd and another and other appeals [2020] 1 SLR 1199
- Pars Ram Brothers (Pte) Ltd (in creditors’ voluntary liquidation) v Australian & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd and others [2017] 4 SLR 264
- Pioneer Express Shipping Pte Ltd (in liquidation) (formerly known as Pioneer-Link Express Pte Ltd) v Lee Thiam Heng William (Li Tianxing William) (trading as True Honest Trading) [2016] SGDC 66
