The Legal 500

Drew & Napier LLC’s tax practice focuses on disputes and litigation, enterprise risk management and transactional advisory work. Practice head Ong Sim Ho, commended for his ‘truly superior knowledge’, and director Ong Ken Loon advised on tax issues arising from a joint development of land. Together with recently promoted director Seah Ching Ling, Ong Ken Loon advised a multinational enterprise on the tax elements of restructuring its Asia Pacific operations.

Wong & Leow LLC’s advice is ‘consistently practical, useful and robust’. The practice, led by Edmund Leow, who is recognised for his ‘strong technical knowledge and experience’, is supported by the firm’s global reach, which places it at the forefront of cross-border tax structuring and transfer pricing work. Highlights included assisting multinational and global enterprises and financial institutions with restructuring their Asian operations, post-merger integration and providing coordinated tax advice across multiple jurisdictions. Allen Tan, who wins plaudits for his ‘proactive, holistic approach’, assists high-net-worth individuals and institutional clients on wealth management matters, and advises on commercial and employment matters and cross-border M&A.

WongPartnership LLP advises on the tax aspects of cross-border and domestic corporate finance and capital markets deals. Practice head Tan Kay Kheng is representing UOL Residential Development Pte and UOL Property Investments Pte in the S$313m acquisition of the Lion City Hotel and the former Hollywood Theatre site in Singapore. Leung Yew Kwong represented the taxpayer in a landmark case, overturning the practice adopted by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) for many years in relation to payments under financial derivatives contracts

Nand Singh Ghandi and Sunit Chabra head Allen & Gledhill LLP’s four-partner tax practice, which has well-established relationships with local tax authorities. Regulatory and transactional work includes matters arising from capital markets deals, notably the largest long-term sukuk issuance in Singapore. Tax litigation included representing a major property owner and developer in the High Court on a fundamental issue concerning valuation for property tax purposes. Another high-profile matter concerned the applicability and scope of the general anti-avoidance provision in Singapore’s Income Tax Act.

Leon Kwong Wing, recommended for his ‘ablity to think out of the box to win arguments with the tax authorities’, leads KhattarWong’s tax and trusts department which handles advisory, transactional and contentious matters. Recent matters include reducing the tax liability of a multinational corporate by establishing, to the satisfaction of the IRAS and the client’s auditors, that imputed financing cost is not liable to withholding tax.

At Pan Asia Law Corporation (in alliance with Wikborg Rein), tax and trusts specialist Chee FangTheng provides ‘excellent , to-the-point advice’, handling the tax elements of cross-border transactions, notably in the shipping and offshore oil and gas sectors, and representing clients in the Singapore courts.