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

Stamford Law’s banking team, under Susan Kong, is valued for its professional and accessible approach to clients.

Kong headed a team advising UOB on the arrangement of its US$50 million senior facilities to Solu Sindo Kreasi Pratama. This was for repayment of external borrowings and shareholder loans. The deal involved a complex security structure, as the security comprised Indonesia-located telecom tower assets and therefore needed to take into account Indonesian law concerning the rights of numerous telecom towers at various stages of completion, licences and operations.

On the capital markets side, clients value the firm’s good relationships with Singapore’s regulators. Chun Bin Soh and Bernard Lui are also noted for their understanding of Chinese and Taiwanese law. “They are both extremely technical,” says one client.

In one transaction, Soh and practice head Joo Khin Ng advised Hyflux on the listing of its first cumulative preference shares, and the first preference shares offering in Singapore by a non financial. The deal offered dividends on a cumulative basis and had an upsize option to raise an additional S$200 million, on top of the original S$200 million, which was fully exercised due to overwhelming demand.

Stamford Law’s M&A team, led by senior director Suet Fern Lee, is comprised of 17 lawyers who focus solely on this sector and 15 lawyers who handle both capital markets and M&A work. It is a structure that works well for the firm, enabling it to retain its consistent standing in this space.

In one significant transaction this year, Lee, M&A director Min-tze Lean, and corporate finance director Joo Khin Ng, advised on the privitisation of KS Energy. The transaction involved two inter-conditional schemes of arrangement involving two listed companies on the SGX, namely Aqua-Terra Supply and SSH.

Lee, Ng, and M&A director Elizabeth Kong, are also advising NYSE listed Advantest, which specialises in producing automatic test equipment for the semiconductor industry, in its yet-to-be completed US$1.1 billion hostile takeover of Nasdaq-listed Verigy. The merger requires shareholder approval and must be sanctioned by a Singapore court.

Clients consider the firm’s ability to value-add especially noteworthy. Of Lee, one client says: “She is very good, knowledgeable, and able to find innovative solutions to overcome challenges and obstacles in the way of getting things done.”

Stamford Law

While Stamford Law’s real estate practice is relatively new, it has rapidly gained momentum. With global financial institutions, local and foreign developers, property funds and REITs, as well as financiers among its clients, the team has acted on a number of landmark transactions over the past 12 months, including the second largest REIT of the year.

Highlight deals include acting for Mapletree Investments on the IPO and listing of units in the REIT Mapletree Commerical Trust. The deal was Singapore’s second largest REIT transaction this year.

Practice group head Susan Kong is a notable contact in the space, and Valarie Jagger is highly rated for her acquisition financing expertise.