Asialaw Profiles
The Guide to the legal markets of the Asia-Pacific

Following a series of departures last year, Colin Ng & Partners bolstered its M&A team significantly this year with 12 new hires including partner Jimmy Yap and senior associates Ngiam May Ling and Wong Pei Ling.

Headed up managing partner Elaine Beh, the team is known for its work on reverse takeovers, and acquisitions and divestments involving listed companies in Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia.

In one notable transaction, managing partner and corporate finance co-head Tan Min-Li is leading a team acting for Singapore listed Japan Land on a proposed and complex acquisition from Kokusai Kogyo Group. This is of KKG’s entire interest in companies that own and operate European solar power plants.

Clients describe the team as being “very hands on”. One client holds Ong Wei Jin in high regard: “Whenever there were issues involved, I could give him a call and he would work to address them.”

Colin Ng & Partners remains a respected player in the construction and real estate sector, with the firm catering to a broad spectrum of clients ranging from construction companies and REITs to corporate investors.

In November 2010, construction partner, and litigation and arbitration specialist, Subramanian Pillai headed up a team, together with managing partner Min-Li Tan, advising on contract enforcement for the construction and delivery of 50-foot catamarans from Vietnam. The case involved obtaining a worldwide mareva injunction and freezing assets in multiple jurisdictions.

In September, Pillai also assisted architects on the design and consultancy agreement for the development of 164 villas with club house and facilities again in Vietnam.

The addition of five new hires at associate and senior associate level – two in real estate and three in construction – demonstrates the firm’s commitment to building on its reputation in this space over the coming year.