The Legal 500

Allen & Gledhill LLP’s 17-partner team, led by Lucien Wong and Christina Ong, has ‘sound business acumen and good industry knowledge’, strong international connections and a pioneering Islamic finance practice. Mark Hudspeth advised DBS Bank and OCBC on S$919m term loan facilities for the Jurong Lake District development. Eugene Ooi advised on the S$256m debt financing of the Sabana sharia-compliant REIT. Lim Wei Ting is singled out for praise.

Valerie Kwok leads Drew & Napier LLC’s ‘hardworking, intelligent’ team. Sandy Foo acted for Hyflux on the S$890m project financing of Singapore’s second desalination plant.

Shook Lin & Bok LLP provides ‘down to earth, pragmatic advice’. The team was strengthened by the arrival of Pok Eu Jin from Clifford Chance in London. Liew Kai Zee and Stanley Lim advised on the S$837m unsecured floating rate term loan facility to Mapletree Industrial Trust, and Tan Woon Hum and Markus Blenntoft advised HSBC Institutional Trust Service on Islamic finance aspects of the S$491m Sabana sharia-compliant REIT initial public offering (IPO).

At Stamford Law Corporation, Susan Kong and Valarie Jagger advised Rickmers Maritime on debt restructuring, negotiating with and coordinating three separate banking syndicates. Bernard Lui and Marilyn Goh are recommended.

WongPartnership LLP’s team, led by ‘level-headed, practical’ Susan Wong and Alvin Chia, ‘bridges the gap between the law and commercial realities’, acting for the syndicate of lenders in the S$1.33bn financing to Sportshub Pte, and advising Bain Capital on the $1.63bn acquisition of The Dow Chemical Company’s Styron unit.

Lee & Lee’s banking and finance practice, led by Louise Tan, handles cross-border structured financings for foreign lenders and refinancing work for property developers.

Loo & Partners LLP advised Chinatrust Commercial Bank, Nordea Bank Group and Mega International Commercial Bank on high-value ship financing. Clients praise name partner Loo Choon Chiaw’s ‘legal competence and commercial acumen’.

At Rajah & Tann LLP, Soon Choo Hock, Terence Choo and Rebecca Chew advise local and international banks and corporates, recently advising OCBC banking on S$532m secured credit facilities for a residential, retail and hotel project. Clients appreciate Angela Lim’s ‘strong technical skills and practical approach to negotiation’.

At Rodyk & Davidson LLP, Doreen Sim’s ‘quick, attentive and thorough’ practice focuses on real estate finance, advising Asia Square Tower 2 Pte on the grant of $830m facilities by a syndicate of banks.

Colin Ng & Partners LLP’s team, led by Quek Li Fei and Bill Jamieson, handles revolving credit facilities for international lenders, notably the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

Pearl Lim and Carla Barker lead KhattarWong’s ‘commercially minded, responsive’ team, advising regional and international lenders and borrowers on real estate and mid-market transactions, notably in Vietnam.

TSMP Law Corporation’s Stefanie Yuen Thio and her ‘highly rated’ team focus on asset and real estate financing, assisting Low Keng Huat with a S$155m land purchase. Agatha Lee represents lenders and borrowers.

Wong & Leow LLC’s James Huang leads a combined finance and projects practice. Emmanuel Hadjidakis adds Islamic finance expertise. Henry Cort is ‘quick and effective’.

Practice head Sunny Wong at Wong Tan & Molly Lim LLC assisted Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation with credit facilities of S$215m to Singapore government-linked listed corporations, and credit facilities of S$191m to a Singapore property developer.

Asia Practice LLP advises banks and corporates, notably advising a strategic investment holding company on its $396m vessel acquisition facilities. Leon Low, Jin Ng (formerly of Shook Lin & Bok LLP) and Peter Chean (formerly of Allen & Gledhill LLP), who is ‘well versed in loan documentation’, are recommended.

Donaldson & Burkinshaw’s Angela Teo-Yap and Daniel Yee Chern Chia advise on syndicated loan transactions in the real estate sector and provide property finance expertise.

Engelin Teh Practice LLC’s name partner Engelin Teh provides transactional and contentious banking advice.

Harry Elias Partnership LLP’s practice head Pauline Lee acted for 3M Singapore in the sale and vendor financing of its office building and warehouse.

Practice head Lee Ying Ying at Kelvin Chia Partnership advised RBS on a S$96m facility to subsidiaries of a multinational corporation, and assisted a leading supplier of medical devices with post-acquisition refinancing.

Legal Solutions LLC’s Joshua Tan acted as local counsel to Tye Soon in the S$16.2m sale of its non-core business to Kikkoman Corporation.

Young Chee Fong and his team at Legis Point LLC have particular strength in aircraft and ship finance, preparation of standard form documentation and regulatory advice. Michelle Loh provides ‘great, prompt service’.

Joint venture Duane Morris & Selvam LLP’s Islamic finance practice advised on the first sharia-compliant real estate fund. Practice head Leon Yee is recommended.

Tan Peng Chin LLC is on the panel of three Singapore banks and advises 30 international banks. The practice led by Lim Jo See handled major transactions for OCBC Bank and DBS.

Allen & Overy is recommended for ‘quality work supported by in-depth knowledge’ of structured, cross-border and Islamic financing. John Richards advised Credit Suisse on a $1.345bn share-backed loan facility for a reverse takeover involving the creation of London-listed Indonesian resources giant Vallar and its $3bn acquisition of shareholdings in Bumi Resources and Berau Coal Energy. The highly respected Kayal Sachi acted for Axis Bank on a $358m facility for the development of Male International Airport. Jason Humphreys specialises in securitisation and project finance. ‘Excellent, challenging lawyer’ Gautam Narasimhan joined from Latham & Watkins LLP and Charles Grover from Gibson Dunn.

Clifford Chance’s Andrew Brereton advised a consortium of banks on a $600m refinancing for Indonesian mining contractor Bukit Makmur Mandiri Utama (Buma). Practice head Andrew Gambarini advised RBS on a $255m refinancing for Tata Teleservices, and Ting Ting Tan advised ICIC Bank on a $250m financing to Adani for its acquisition of coal assets in Australia in a deal that was completed in just two weeks.

Linklaters Allen & Gledhill’s lawyers are commended for their ‘ability to relate to commercial and business matters’. Practice head Philip Badge advised a consortium of banks on a $6bn financing to the Vedanta group to acquire a controlling stake in Cairn Energy. Richard Ginks assisted Fortis Global Healthcare Holdings with a $135m facility and a HK$273m facility provided by DBS to fund the acquisition of the Hong Kong and Macau-based healthcare business of Quality HealthCare Asia.

Ashurst LLP’s ‘responsive, thorough and conscientious’ team, led by Carl Dunton, represented the lenders on the financing of the Singapore Sports Hub PPP. The ‘commercial, committed’ project finance expert Matthew Bubb, advised the Asian Development Bank and Mizuho on the THB4.2bn financing of two solar projects in Thailand.

Herbert Smith LLP’s Michelle Chen and her ‘commercial, responsive’ team handle leveraged and acquisition finance, energy and project finance and debt restructuring matters. Tata Communications is a key client. Project finance specialist Adrian Cheng, who transferred from London, represented BNP Paribas and Commonwealth Bank of Australia on a $80m secured borrowing base facility for Coastal Energy Company.

James Harris’s ‘responsive, commercial, on the mark’ team at Hogan Lovells Lee & Lee, which includes Philip Robb, and Andrew Carey who relocated from London, advised Standard Chartered Bank on projects in India. Lawrence Low advised International Finance Corporation on a $20m loan to a hospitality group in the Maldives to help the local economy recover from the devastation caused by the 2004 tsunami. Ken Hawkes left to join White & Case LLP.

Latham & Watkins LLP ‘provides high-quality service’ handling high-profile acquisition and project finance work across Indonesia and Singapore. Clarinda Tjia-Dharmadi advised a consortium of banks as lead arrangers on a $400m bank loan for PT Saptaindra Sejati.

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy advised the Export-Import Bank of Korea (K-Exim), Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-sure) and 11 international commercial banks on $2.5bn senior secured financing for Jurong Aromatics. Managing partner David Zemans, commended as ‘user friendly with a great personality’, capital markets specialist Naomi Ishikawa and project finance partner James Murray are recommended. Giles Kennedy was promoted to partner.

Clients commend Norton Rose (Asia) LLP for its ‘commercial acumen, strength of advice and value for money’. Nick Merritt, who is ‘particularly gifted in dealing with complex commercial and legal issues’, and Jeff Smith advised SportsHub Pte on financing the world’s largest sports and leisure infrastructure PPP. Smith is advising Indonesian electricity utility PLN and IFC (part of the World Bank) on the 2000MW Central Java power project. Yu-En Ong advised ANZ, HSBC and Rabobank on $1.3bn and A$600m syndicated loan facilities to Wilmar International for its acquisition of Sucrogen.

Chris Lowe and his team at Watson, Farley & Williams LLP impress clients with their ‘professionalism and hardworking spirit’, advising OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad on a $239m syndicated eight-year loan facility for Armada Marine Contractors Caspian. Josh Clarke, Mehraab Nazir and Siva Subramaniam add project finance expertise. Goh Mei Lin and the ‘responsive, precise and knowledgeable’ Madeline Leong are recommended. Andrew Nimmo was promoted to partner.

White & Case LLP ‘provides seamless service’. Kate Allchurch advised Deutsche Bank on a special purpose vehicle for slum redevelopment in India. Chen Guan Feng represented PT Bayan Resources in a $300m senior secured financing transaction. The team was boosted by the arrival of Ken Hawkes from Hogan Lovells Lee & Lee. Structured finance specialist David Barwise transferred from London. Project finance expert Sebastian Buss is recommended.

Allens Arthur Robinson TSMP’s team is ‘excellent in all respects’. The ‘approachable and commercially sound’ asset and structured finance specialist Rod Howell acted for ANZ on its $100m loan to An Khanh New City Development JVC for a development in Vietnam. Practice head Robert Fish acted for the investor syndicate on Jasper Explorer’s $75m senior secured second lien bonds.

Baker & McKenzie.Wong & Leow leverages the firm’s strong Asian footprint, acting for banks and borrowers. Emmanuel Hadjidakis advised Islamic and conventional lenders on $11.27m and $11.23m Murabahah facilities and $98.9m conventional facility to PT Media Karya Sentosa. Together with practice head James Huang, Hadjidakis advised 21 lenders on a $540m syndicated loan facility to Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications. Henry Cort is commended for his ‘market expertise, speed and effectiveness’.

Sidley Austin LLP’s Prabhat Mehta transferred to Singapore from New York. Of counsel Gerard Hekker, who speaks Mandarin Chinese and Bahasa Indonesia, joined from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Clients recommend the ‘impressive, practical’ Matthew Sheridan, who relocated from Hong Kong. Clients include Goldman Sachs, CIMB and PT Bank Mandiri.

Clients recommend ‘gifted negotiator’ Martin David and his team at DLA Piper Singapore Pte. Ltd. for ‘excellent commercial acumen and advice’, focusing on project and energy work in Indonesia and Mongolia. Clients include Asian Development Bank and Steag. John MacKay left to rejoin Latham & Watkins LLP.

Duane Morris & Selvam LLP’s managing partner Eduardo Ramos-Gómez advises on tax structuring and project finance. The practice is supported by the firm’s strong reputation in Islamic finance and financial services.

Jai Pathak’s team at Gibson Dunn advises on New York and English law-governed financings and Islamic finance. Saptak Santra advised Pacific Century Regional Development on a joint venture in the Indian micro-finance and home finance market. Erin Rothfuss advises Rockpoint Group and MSD Capital on hotel developments in Hawaii. John Viverito and Emad Khalil are recommended.

The ‘helpful, responsive’ structured finance specialist Martin Brown at Ince & Co advised Bank of China on a $400m trade finance facility to Brightoil Petroleum, and acted for Gunvor Singapore on a $750m revolving credit facility and a $100m uncommitted transactional credit facility. The team was strengthened by the hire of ship finance specialist Amanda Darling from Norton Rose LLP. Clients recommend Gregory Xu.

‘All-round excellent attorney’ Sushma Jobanputra heads Jones Day’s team, which is commended for ‘diligent, thorough, solutions-oriented work’. High-profile mandates included advising Micron Technology on its $1.27bn cross-border acquisition of Numonyx. The Indian element of the practice was boosted by the arrival of Vinay Kurien from AZB & Partners in Mumbai. Herman Yip left to join Norton Rose Australia

Oliver Wright and Rina Lee at ‘excellent’ Indonesian finance practice Mataram Partners advise international banks and borrowers on loans and regulatory matters. Highlights included working with SNR Denton on a $60m receivables purchase agreement.

O’Melveny & Myers LLP’s ‘tremendously talented and hardworking’ practice head Bertie Mehigan advised Credit Suisse on a $250m refinancing secured term loan facility to Finspace. Key clients include ADM Capital, Asia Pulp & Paper Company and Baring Private Equity Asia.

Shearman & Sterling LLP’s ‘business-minded lawyer’ Bill McCormack and the ‘technically outstanding’ Sanja Udovicic advise lenders and borrowers, representing Maxis Berhad in two corporate financings totaling $850m, and advising Pacnet in the contemporaneous closing of $50m bank loans and $300m high-yield bond offering.

Practice head Rajeev Duggal at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP advised Credit Suisse, Barclays Capital, Standard Chartered Bank and DBS Bank Ltd as underwriters in a $300m high-yield offering of senior secured guaranteed notes by Pacnet. Gerard Hekker left to join Sidley Austin LLP.

Stephenson Harwood advises foreign banks, notably HSBC, on transport and infrastructure financing. Gregg Johnston advises longstanding client Nordea. Asheesh Das relocated to London.

Stephen Fordham and his team at Wikborg Rein advise banks and financial institutions in the shipping and offshore sector. June Ho is recommended for corporate and asset financing work.