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.