The Legal 500

Within Foreign firms Leading individuals

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a third tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC demonstrates ‘particularly good industry and country knowledge’. Valerie Kwok and Sandy Foo head the team, which continues to act for Hyflux on the project financing for Singapore’s first desalination plant. It is also acting for a syndicate of foreign banks in the multi-currency refinancing of Volex Group.

Within Foreign firms Leading individuals

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a second tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC’s ‘business acumen and industry knowledge are comparable to other big firms’, and its bilingual English and Mandarin service is ‘truly impressive’. The team, headed by Sin Boon Ann and Petrus Huang, acted for Lonza Group in its secondary listing on the SGX, and advised IEV on its IPO of 37m shares.

Within Foreign firms Leading individuals

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a second tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC combines a ‘very professional manner’ with ‘reasonable fees’. Ralph Lim jointly leads the team alongside Gary Pryke, and acted in relation to Mitsui’s S$221m voluntary conditional cash offer to acquire all of the issued and paid-up shares in Portek International. Sandy Foo (‘an excellent commercial mind’) and Benedict Teo Lip Hua advised on a voluntary conditional cash offer for Heng Long International.

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a first tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC’s 94-lawyer team, which includes five senior counsel, garners praise for its ‘outstanding analysis’, and provides a ‘level of service which is among the highest worldwide’. Davinder Singh SC is ‘simply one of the best’; recently, he successfully represented several high-ranking officers of the Brunei Military, and acted in high-value claims brought against Asia Pacific Breweries and DBS Bank. Widely respected practice head Jimmy Yim SC represented the largest pipe trading company in Southeast Asia in a S$70m dispute. Cheryl Tan is ‘fantastically clever, tenacious and committed’, and rising star Wendell Wong is commended for his ‘sound strategy’ and ‘responsiveness’.

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a second tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC acts in both corporate and disputes-related employment matters for BP Singapore, Hitachi Data Systems and Mitsui Electronics Asia. Indranee Rajah SC has media industry experience, and is ‘tremendously helpful and calm’, and Kelvin Tan is ‘a valuable resource’ for contentious matters.

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a first tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC’s department head Dedar Singh Gill is ‘analytical and methodical’, and ‘thinks outside the box’. He represented Hai Tong in a contentious trade mark infringement case, and recently acted for AstraZeneca in patent infringement proceedings. Asia Pacific Breweries, Singapore Telecommunications and Temasek Holdings are also clients. Cecelia Girvin is a key name, and Tony Yeo contributes biomedical science expertise.

Within International arbitration, Drew & Napier LLC is a first tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC has a ‘deserved’ reputation in international arbitration, and conducts ‘good work’ in the region. Jimmy Yim SC continues to represent a Norwegian cable company in seeking $20m damages from a Chinese enterprise for project delays. Hri Kumar SC is representing a foreign company in an ICC arbitration against a Chinese listed company for breach of contract valued at $230m.

Within Foreign firms Leading individuals

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a second tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC is involved in a plethora of high-value litigation and arbitration matters for energy sector clients. The ‘excellent, commercially minded’ Sin Boon Ann and Sandy Foo are recommended.

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a second tier firm,

Major instructions for Drew & Napier LLC include the $890m project financing for Singapore’s second desalination plant for Hyflux. The firm is also involved in the $200m dispute over the termination of a construction contract for a coal-fired power plant in Indonesia. Tan Liam Beng, Geraldine Ong and Eugene Tan are key team members.

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a first tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC’s insolvency and restructuring practice stands out for its regional focus and cross-border expertise. Julian Kwek (‘a master of corporate strategy’) advised Sawit Mas Group on the restructuring and disposal of various plantation companies with a total debt value of $160m. Kwek and fellow co-head Sushil Nair also advised on the worldwide debt restructuring of ship cargo transportation company PT Berlian Laju.

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a first tier firm,

Drew & Napier LLC has standout transactional, licensing and regulatory experience in the telecoms, technology, media and postal sectors. Lim Chong Kin’s team was engaged by longstanding client the Info-Communications Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) to assist in the revision of two sector-specific regulatory codes and in the review of Next Generation broadband internet services. Service providers such as AT&T, international broadcasters including Discovery and technology leaders such as Google also instruct the team. Ng Ee Kia excels in regulatory matters.

Within Local firms, Drew & Napier LLC is a first tier firm,

Leading individual Ong Sim Ho heads the widely respected tax and private client group at Drew & Napier LLC, which offers tax litigation, transactional advisory and enterprise tax risk management services. The group represented a Singapore subsidiary in an appeal to the High Court regarding the application of the general anti-avoidance provision of the Income Tax Act, and advised a US logistics giant in resolving a protracted GST matter with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). Ong Ken Loon and Seah Ching Ling are recommended.