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

Allen & Gledhill is a dominant player in the corporate and M&A market in Singapore. The strength of its practice is reflected in the calibre of client it attracts. Sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings is a regular user of Allen & Gledhill’s services. The value of such a client is demonstrated in three recent deals the firm has worked on: the S$4.23 billion sale of Tuas Power to SinoSing Power; the S$3.65 billion sale of Senako Power to Lion Power Holdings; and the S$3.8 billion sale of Powerseraya to Sabre Energy Industries. Temasek also used the firm when it was purchasing stock through its subsidiary Temasek Capital.

Allen & Gledhill also acted for STT Communications, which agreed to procure the sale by Asia Mobile of its indirect stake in PT Indosat TBK to Qatar Telecom for S$2.4 billion. The corporate department is co-headed by Andrew Lim and Lim Mei.

WongPartnership is a highly rated corporate firm that consistently acts on the largest deals. The firm is frequently involved in local and cross-border deals. It also has a strong reputation for Reit M&A work. Over the last year, it was kept busy acting as Singapore counsel to Alcoa in the high-profile investment by Alcoa and Chinalco in the London-listed Rio Tinto via a Singapore special purpose vehicle and a joint venture.

The firm also advised Kookmin Bank on the US$1.4 billion sale of shares in Sorak Financial Holdings by Kookmin and Fullerton Financial Holdings to Maybank of Malaysia. It also worked on a large takeover that saw client The Cairns buy all the issued shares in The Straits Trading Company for S$1.94 billion.

Some of its Reit-related work saw the firm advise on the sale of Allco Commercial Reit and Reit manager to Frasers Centrepoint. Ng Wai King is the head of WongPartneship’s corporate team. Other standout names are Dihan Pillay Sandrasegara and Andrew Ang.

Drew & Napier has a stellar reputation for M&A and corporate work that sees it win a consistent amount of large mandates. For example, Fullerton Financial Holdings instructed the firm on the sale of its 75% stake in Sorak Financial Holdings to Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII). The deal, which also involved Kookmin Bank selling its stake, had a value of US$1.4 billion. The firm also advised SNP Corporation in the acquisition of all the shares in Toppan Printing. The transaction was valued at S$208 million.

Drew & Napier advised Singapore Computer Systems on its S$140 million takeover by Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel). Recent arrivals Marcus Chow, Sandy Foo and Kenneth Chee have strengthened Drew & Napier’s corporate team. Other leading names are Sin Boon Ann and Valerie Kwok.

Rajah & Tann offers extensive corporate and M&A services to local and international clients. The firm has an office in Shanghai and an associate office in Malaysia, as well as Japanese and Indonesian desks. This set-up is ideal for companies looking at regional transactions. Lion Power Consortium used the firm in its winning bid of S$3.65 billion for Senako Power, owned by Temasek Holdings. The acquisition is partially funded by a short-term financing arrangement offered by Temasek.

The firm advised CapitaLand on the voluntary unconditional cash offer by DBS Bank on behalf of Somerset Capital to acquire all the shares that Somerset did not already own. The deal was valued at S$2.78 billion. Paris-listed company Gaz de France used the firm in a joint venture agreement with PowerGas to build and operate a liquefied natural gas (LNG) field. The deal was valued at S$1.6 billion. The firm has a number of prominent lawyers, with Goh Kian Hwee and Sin Chei Liang co-heading the department. Chia Kim Huat and Christina Ng are also respected by the market.

Stamford Law Corporation is a solid corporate firm with experience on local and cross-border work. Singapore Food Industries hired the firm on its S$509 million acquisition by the Singapore Airport Terminal Services from Temasek Holdings. Transcu used the firm on the S$675 million reverse takeover of Eng Wah Organisation. That deal was done using separate shares and options schemes of arrangement.

Other mandates include work on Datacraft Asia’s privatisation, valued at S$276 million. And Indonesian company Mitra International hired the firm for its purchase of a stake in PT Apexindo worth S$519 million. Lee Suet Fern heads the firm’s corporate department. Lean Min-Tze and Yap Lian Seng are other respected names.

Arfat Selvam Alliance is a quality corporate firm that is respected by rivals. The firm is advising on a number of deals, including one that involves a Singapore-listed company’s proposed joint venture with a real estate fund. Lo Kim Seng and Arfat Selvam lead the team, while peers also respect Lo Kim Seng.

Colin Ng & Partners has a strong commercial focus that resonates with its clients. The firm is working on the sale of Romar Positioning Equipment and Discovery Construction & Engineering to Romar Positioning Equipment International. Elaine Beh is the department head, while Bill Jamieson is a leading lawyer at the firm.

Rodyk & Davidson’s corporate practice is highly regarded by the market. The firm has some big-name clients like Motorola Electronics, Malayan Banking Berhad and Parco. The firm acted for Ford Motor Company on the sale of Land Rover and Jaguar Cars to Tata Motors.

Appleton Luff

Appleton Luff’s new Singapore office will focus specifically on trade matters, including WTO and FTA issues. New partner Edmund Sim brings a wealth of experience in trade remedies (including anti-dumping and countervailing duties), safeguards, customs, foreign investment, intellectual property and antitrust. He has participated in more than 150 trade remedy proceedings involving a range of products and foods throughout Asia, Europe, the US, South Africa and South America.