A formidable market leader in the full gamut of corporate and finance matters, WongPartnership comprises over 300 lawyers in eight global cities. It offers extensive experience in handling high-stakes structured finance, M&A, funds, private equity, project finance and syndicated loans. The firm also has plentiful expertise on big-ticket domestic and cross-border disputes involving corporate, construction, insolvency and regulatory matters. Key lawyers include Susan Wong for banking and finance, Ameera Ashraf for competition, Christopher Chuah for construction, Andrew Ang and Wai King Ng for corporate and M&A and private equity, Alvin Yeo for dispute resolution, and Manoj Pillay Sandrasegara for restructuring and insolvency. Besides, Chung Nian Lam, Kah Keong Low and Dorothy Marie Ng are regarded for their work in IP, investment funds and real estate, respectively.
“Fast turnaround times. Experience and expertise in the area of drafting construction-related contracts.” – Construction
“Very practical and realistic advice.” – Corporate and M&A
“Reactive, commercial, and understands the overall requirements.” – Corporate and M&A
“Knowledgeable, prompt, service-oriented.” – Corporate and M&A
“It offers good alternative solutions to problems and works with the client to resolve issues. It is not worried to try new ways to do business and is ever ready to consult the regulators so that transactions can be completed. It is always just a phone call away in helping out on urgent issues.” – Corporate and M&A
“Kyle Lee, the partner, is technically very strong and is extremely responsive. He has a good commercial mind and understands the commercial imperatives of clients.” – Corporate and M&A
“Excellent blend of commercial insight and ability to safeguard against legal risks. Strong attention to detail. Lucid advice rendered calmly.” – Corporate and M&A
“As a leader in the Singapore market, it has the breadth and depth of experience to not only authoritatively speak of the latest Singapore market trends but also to set new trends. The partners I have worked with at WongP have all demonstrated a commercially-minded approach to deal making, which is a breath of fresh air in this region. It has made great strides in improving the way it organises its work and the way it communicates with the clients in a manner that clearly shows it is trying to do things in a client-centric way.” – Corporate and M&A
“WongPartnership is the best firm in Singapore. It knows how the court process works and is efficient at what it does.” – Dispute resolution
“Well organised, good team, always on time.” – Dispute resolution
“Among the very best in dispute resolution in Singapore.” – Dispute resolution
“Strong litigation team that gave us personalised attention and guided us through the issues. The M&A and regulatory team was able to offer a practical risk-based approach, which balances risks with customer-centricity. Fees were reasonable.” – Dispute resolution
“Swee Yen from WongP provided invaluable ideas on how to expedite the resolution of the dispute, and provided novel angles to approach the litigation and swiftly got judgment. Overall, I was amazed at the professionalism and exceptional quality of the work of the firm, and in particular, Koh Swee Yen, who was the leading partner dealing with our case.” – Dispute resolution
“WongPartnership has been nothing but excellent. It is able to come up with creative and out-of-the-box solutions, well-thought-through strategies, and not only that but to execute these solutions and strategies perfectly.” – Dispute resolution
“WongPartnership has performed very well and satisfied our needs by giving quick and accurate support in communication, paper submissions, court hearings and setting strategies.” – Intellectual property
“Thorough, thoughtful and well experienced.” – Private equity
“Approachable, good knowledge of the regulatory environment and my company.” – Regulatory
“Experienced, great depth, commercial and client-focused.” – Restructuring and insolvency
“Practical, nimble, strong ownership of the broad issue (not just the legal issue), good sense of urgency, excellent connectivity into the typical stakeholders in these situations.” – Restructuring and insolvency
“Hard-working, bright folks that work well as a team. Good mix of technical knowledge, common sense, and relationships.” – Restructuring and insolvency
“Excellent quality from top-down. Responsive and commercial partners who are technically brilliant. Associates are diligent and sensible.” – Restructuring and insolvency
“He is technically very strong, but also very responsive. I feel valued as a client.”
“Probably one of the most commercially minded young lawyers I have come across in Singapore. He is eager to find new ways to address the client's needs, be it deal structuring or organising workflow in a way to meet the client's budget constraints.”
“Kyle is a trusted advisor who provides balanced counsel and seeks to truly understand the nuances of how parties across the table manage negotiations. I've found Kyle to be extremely commercial and is not shy to weigh in on what really matters.”
“Wendy is simply astounding. From the first day we met, she has impressed me with her fierce intelligence, creativity and clarity of thought. Over the time we worked together, she has somehow managed to impress me more each day. She is a first-class advocate, one who has the unparalleled ability to cut through numerous complex facts and legal arguments, extract the winning arguments, and to convey them effectively, with absolute charm and ease. Nothing ever seems to faze her. I have worked with many lawyers and barristers and have not seen anyone who is able to lead and command a room like her. What is more, Wendy is highly strategic, and always able to anticipate and address our concerns. In short, she is the complete package. A client's dream come true.”
“Smitha is the leading light of her generation in restructuring and insolvency. She is a rare combination of good commercial sense, excellent technical ability and wonderful temperament. Her management of her team also results in top-notch responsiveness and consistently good work product throughout the department.”
“Friendly, knowledgeable, commercial and responsive.”
“Strong commercial orientation resulting in practical solutions, excellent connectivity into the restructuring community, good team.”
“Excellent, mild-mannered, brings the right team to the problem, a great sense for what is really needed, common sense.”
“Lesley knows our business very well, in some aspects better than me because she has been working with us before I joined the team.”
“Absolutely first-rate advocate, constantly supporting the younger team and especially the women.”
“A foremost legal authority in Singapore in the field of M&A. Clients can place trust in him, resting assured that key principles, as well as minutiae, will be well addressed by him and his team.”
“This was the leading partner in our case. She is a fierce litigator who is extremely knowledgeable and fast on her feet in court.”
Successfully defended Deutsche Bank in the largest private banking litigation in Singapore. This matter is one of the largest private bank claims before the Singapore courts.
Credit Suisse, EC Prime, Element Six Technologies, Sun Travels & Tours, The Republic of India
Advised the manager of CapitaLand Commercial Trust in the merger of CapitaLand Commercial Trust and CapitaLand Mall Trust by way of a trust scheme of arrangement to form the third-largest REIT in Asia-Pacific, with a total portfolio property value of S$22.9 billion.
Advised M+S, a joint venture between Temasek and Khazanah, in the sale of Andaz Singapore, the luxury hotel component of the iconic Duo complex, to Hoi Hup Realty for S$475 million. The sale consideration is the highest total price ever achieved for a standalone hotel deal in Singapore and is the third-highest hotel sale price in Asia in 2019.
Ascendas Hospitality Fund Management, Baring Private Equity Asia, Hyflux, Keppel Corporation, KKR
Acted for the joint bookrunners and underwriters on the IPO of Elite Commercial REIT on the SGX-ST raising gross proceeds of £131 million. Elite Commercial REIT is the first United Kingdom-focused Singapore REIT.
Alliance Healthcare Group, BNP Paribas, DBS Bank, Merrill Lynch (Singapore), OCBC, Wave Life Sciences
Acted for Uber Technologies Singapore in its appeal against the decision of the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) that the sale of Uber’s Southeast Asian business to Grab in exchange for a minority stake in Grab is an infringement of Singapore’s Competition Act. This is the first appeal ever made concerning a merger decision made by the CCCS.
Advised Intercontinental Hotels Group in an investigation by the CCCS in relation to the exchange of confidential corporate customer information in the provision of hotel room accommodation in Singapore.
8S Capital Holdings, CapitaLand, KCL, LOGOS Property Group, SembWaste
Acted for Or Kim Peow Contractors, one of Singapore’s largest privately-owned property developers and contractors, against criminal charges brought by the prosecution under the Workplace Health and Safety Act and the Building Control Act, in respect of the collapse of a partially constructed highway viaduct structure on Upper Changi Road East. This is the first time a criminal prosecution of this scale concerning workplace safety is being heard by the local courts.
EC Prime, Penta-Ocean Construction, Far East Square, Pontiac Land Group, Zhengda Corporation
Advised one of the largest banks in Southeast Asia and its securities brokerage arm in relation to regulatory issues arising from the proposed transfer of the retail securities trading business of the brokerage to the bank and the possible methods of structuring the transfer.
