Ms Monica Yip > WongPartnership LLP > Singapore, Singapore > Lawyer Profile

Ms Monica Yip

+65 6416 8208 monica.yip@wongpartnership.com View profile

Work Department

Corporate Group; Real Estate Practice; Real Estate Investment Trusts Practice.

Position

Head – Corporate Group.

Partner – Real Estate and Real Estate Investment Trusts Practices.

Career

Monica’s practice areas include property and property-related corporate transactions and investment work, acquisitions, disposals, securitisations, management and leasing of commercial, industrial and residential properties, property advisory work, property development and finance work, government land sales.

Work Highlights

Significant transactions that Monica has been involved in include advising / acting for the following:

• ESR Funds Management (S) Limited (the manager of ESR-REIT) in the merger with Viva Industrial Trust by way of a trust scheme of arrangement. At the close of the transaction, the merger valued Viva Industrial Trust at S$936.7 million and created Singapore’s fourth largest industrial REIT with approximately S$3 billion in property assets. This deal won Best Singapore Deal at the FinanceAsia Awards 2018 and M&A Deal of the Year (Midsize) at the ALB SE Asia Law Awards, 2019.
• The successful tenderers and approved developer in the financing of their acquisition of a Hillview Rise residential site through a government land sale with a top bid of S$460 million. The acquisition was made under a dual-envelope system whereby tenderers were required to submit concept proposals as part of the tender.
• The Central Provident Fund (“CPF”) Board in the sale of the CPF Building at 79 Robinson Road, Singapore, to Southernwood Property Pte. Ltd. (a company wholly-owned by the Ascendas-Singbridge group) for S$550 million.
• ESR Funds Management (S) Limited, as manager of ESR-REIT, in the acquisition by RBC Investor Services Trust Singapore Limited, in its capacity as trustee of ESR-REIT, of 80% of the issued and paid-up share capital of 7000 AMK Pte. Ltd. which has a leasehold interest in the land known as 7000 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5, Singapore 569877 (together with the buildings and plant and equipment thereon) for approximately S$240 million.
• The syndicate of mandated lead arrangers, lenders and hedge banks as transaction counsel, in the S$830 million financing to Asia Square Tower 2 Pte. Ltd. for the development of a Grade A office and retail building and a fully-integrated 5-star hotel with entertainment, dining and conference facilities within the heart of the newly-crowned central business hub of Singapore, Marina Bay.

Awards & Accolades

Monica is recognised as a leading real estate practitioner by Chambers Asia-Pacific – Asia-Pacific’s Leading Lawyers for Business since 2009. She is also recognised for her real estate work in The Legal 500: Asia Pacific – The Client’s Guide to the Asia Pacific Legal Profession and is listed in Best Lawyers since 2014 as a leading lawyer for Real Estate Law.

In Chambers Asia-Pacific she has been pointed out as a “very experienced real estate lawyer” and that “she knows how regulators would approach matters”. She has also been highlighted as having “deep knowledge of the workings of the industry”, allowing her to provide “legally sound, clear and practical advice”. Clients have also given feedback to Chambers Asia-Pacific that she “was good at outlining risks and coming up with solutions”, “provides clear and detailed advice,” while being “always calm and collected.”

Publications

• Chambers Global Practice Guides – Real Estate – Singapore Chapter, 2017 – 2020 editions

Languages

English.

Memberships

Member, Law Society of Singapore; Singapore Academy of Law.

Commissioner for Oaths & Notaries Public, Singapore Academy of Law

Education

Admitted, 1990, Singapore Bar; National University of Singapore (LL.B., Hons.).