Editorial: Insolvency & Restructuring in Singapore
01 October 2007
While Singapore’s economy continues to flourish, there nonetheless remains an ongoing level of demand for insolvency and restructuring expertise in the local legal market. This chapter identifies 15 outstanding lawyers from seven firms who are considered leaders in this field for creditors, debtors and the full range of other related work.
Allen & Gledhill LLP leads the way in this field with three partners on our list. It is said to be a “strong firm in this area”. Ronnie Quek is known for his work in the telecommunications, power, petrochemical and hospitality industries, and is a former vice president of the Law Society of Singapore. Ashok Kumar is a deputy head of the corporate restructuring and insolvency practice group and “one of the best around” in the eyes of our sources. Kumar has recently acted for Ernst & Young, the judicial managers for Citiraya Industries, and on the restructuring exercise of Raffles Marina and the liquidation of SPH Mediaworks Ltd. He “knows the area through and through” – and is a committee member of the Law Society of Singapore’s insolvency practice committee, as well as the vice chairman of the ethics committee of the Insolvency Professionals Association of Singapore. Andrew Chan is an “authority on schemes of arrangement, both cross border and domestic”. Chan earned praise for his work for clients such as PT Garuda Indonesia, Thakral Corporation Limited, Synergy Construction and Raffles Town Club.
Drew & Napier LLC is another well- regarded firm in this area. Davinder Singh SC is seen as a “leading light” and features in four chapters of this book. Famed for his work on behalf of Asia Pulp & Paper in one of the largest debt restructurings to take place in Asia, he also advised the Thakral Group and Thakral Brothers Pte Ltd on the restructuring of borrowings from banks and financial institutions. Sushil Nair, the lead partner in the aforementioned US$16 billion debt restructuring of Asia Pulp & Paper, “maintains a very high profile in this area”. Nair is also known for his work as lead counsel in the restructuring of the former Citiraya Industries, which was the largest corporate collapse of 2006 in Singapore. Overseas, he has worked in Malaysia and Mauritius. Manoj Sandrasegara also worked on the Asia Pulp and Paper restructuring, and the quality of his work representing the foreign creditors’ steering committee in SK Global’s US$100 million debt restructuring and Morgan Stanley in the collapse of China Aviation Oil was repeatedly commended. Sandrasegara is an “immensely skilled individual”, according to our sources. Rajah & Tann’s business finance and insolvency group claims to be the largest dedicated legal practice in Singapore, and three of its partners appear in this chapter. Known for his work on behalf of financial institutions and companies, Patrick Ang is “one of the best in the market”. Recent high-profile engagements include acting as lead lawyer for China Aviation Oil, which collapsed in 2004 with debts of over US$600 million, and its subsequent successful restructuring. Ang was also involved in the Asia Pulp and Paper case, as well as those involving C2C Holdings and Admiralty Leisure, and a range of public company restructurings such as Vikay Industrial and Alliance Technology & Development. Ang is also the chairman of the Law Society of Singapore’s insolvency committee, and “a dean of the local bankruptcy bar”. Lee Eng Beng heads the business finance and insolvency practice group and is “one of the best” in the eyes of our sources. The firm’s highly rated practice in this area received another boost with the recent lateral hire of Gregory Vijayendran. “Impressive and highly visible” in this area, he is known for his representation of the incumbent liquidators of Daewoo, among others.
Shook Lin & Bok claims two leading figures in the chapter. Sarjit Singh Gill SC is head of the litigation and banking practices and said to be “top drawer”. Also known for his “first-class” litigation practice, he is chairman of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association Insolvency Committee. His colleague Vinodh Coomaraswamy SC also comes highly recommended. He too is known for his dispute resolution work both in litigation and arbitration. Former president of the Law Society of Singapore, Chelva Rajah SC at Tan Rajah & Cheah is “one of the pre-eminent figures in the market”. He finds a place in three chapters. Well known for his litigation work in this sector, Rajah heads the firm’s dispute resolution team.
Similarly, Kannan Ramesh heads the insolvency and restructuring group at Tan Kok Quan Partnership and was praised for his “longstanding international prominence” in this area. Another of the featured lawyers to be involved in the landmark Asia Paper and Pulp case, in which he represented the Export and Import Bank of the USA, Ramesh also advised PricewaterhouseCoopers on their investigations into the financial collapse of China Aviation Oil Limited, as well as United Overseas Bank Limited on the restructuring of Citiraya Industries Limited. White & Case LLP’s “very good” Bertie Mehigan advised the Asia Pulp & Paper Group in its worldwide restructuring of approximately US$14 billion in debt, and he has experience of representing creditors and debtors in transactions in countries across the region, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, India, China and Pakistan.