Asian Legal Business March 2015

MARCH 2015ASIA EDITION

MCI (P) 178/01/2015Issn 0219 – 6875

KDn PPs 1793/07/2013(025520)

D A C H E N G F O U N D E R O N D E N T O N S M E R G E R : ‘ W E A R E A P E R F E C T M A T C H ’

MALAYSIA AWARDSKadir Andri, Shearn in pole position

PAGE 46

GETTING READYIndonesia prepares for the advent of AEC

PAGE 24

BIRD & BIRD Q&AAPAC chairman Justin Walkey talks strategy

PAGE 34

INSIDE

n APPOINTMENTS

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16

n BIG STORY

n LEAGUE TABLES

n DEALS

ASIA’S MOST INFLUENTIALLAW FIRMS

DATE: 7 MAY 2015LOCATION: KUALA LUMPUR

Featuring leading privacy experts from Asia-Pacific, Europe and North-America, ALB’s 2nd Annual Data Protection Conference will teach legal and compliance professionals, CIOs, CTOs and CPOs to to move beyond simple compliance, and establish a culture of accountability and information integrity.

In conjunction with the Privacy Awareness Week 2015 and supported by leading privacy and technology associations, the conference consider the most critical data protection and information security issues including: Privacy by Design; the regulation of data users and processor; data protection in the employment setting; cross-border data transfer; cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT).

TOP REASONS TO ATTEND• Enjoyregulatoryinsightsandenforcementexperiences

by senior government officials from Japan, the European Union, Thailand, Malaysia and more!

• Getupdatedonthefinalguidelinesandenforcementplansfor Malaysia’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA)

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heads, CIOs and CTOs from government, the healthcare, finance, technology, telecommunications, real estate and energy industries

To book, please visit www.regonline.com/data_protection_2015.Book 5 delegates and save an additional 20%. For enquiries, call Sheila at (65) 6870 3252

or email [email protected]. For sponsorship opportunities,call Amantha at (65) 6870 3917 or email [email protected]

WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM/CONFERENCES/DATA-PROTECTION-MALAYSIA-2015

REGISTER BEFORE10 APRIL AND

SAVE US$100!

BY JOINING THIS EVENT, YOU WILL LEARN• ThenutsandboltsofPrivacyImpactAssessmentsand

Privacy Management Programmes• Howtocapturebothlegalandtechnicalrequirementsin

your data protection framework: Privacy by Design and Privacy-Enhanced Technologies

• Thebuildingblocksofacomprehensivestakeholderman-agement plan to control employee and third party data usage and flow

• TheinsandoutsoftheAPECCrossBorderPrivacyRulesSystemandwhatthismeansforamoresecurecross-bor-der data transfer

• HowtoselecttherightsecurityandcontractualmeasurestooptimisedataaccessandusagebyyourCloudServiceProviders(CSPs)

• Practicaltipsonhowtoprotectyourpersonaldataintheworld of Big Data, the Internet of Things and disruptive innovation

• Howtopreventandmanageoperationalandreputationaldamage from data breaches

PRIVACY EXPERTS FROM APAC, EUROPE & THE AMERICAS

DR.ZAINALABIDINSAITDeputy Director-General,Personal Data Protection Department (PDPD) Malaysia

TUANHAJIABUHASSANISMAILformer Commissioner,Personal Data Protection Department (PDPD) Malaysia

CÉCILE DE TERWANGNEExpert, Data Protection Unit,Council of Europe

HIROSHIMIYASHITAFormer Privacy Officer,Cabinet Office of Japan

NAKORNSERIRAKConsultant & former Freedom of Information & Privacy Expert,Information Commissioner’s Office, Prime Minister’s Office, Thailand

TREVORHUGHESPresident,International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)

ANNELIESMOENSformer Deputy Director, Compliance,Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner Australia

TERRYMCQUAYPresident & Founder,Nymity

LILYKHAIRIHead of Legal,Shell

MAY-ANN LIMExecutive Director,Asia Cloud Computing Association

DANA SIMBERKOFFChief Compliance & Risk Officer,AvePoint, US

• EVELYNDESOUZA Compliance & Data

Privacy Leader, Cisco Systems, US, Chair, Data

Governance Work Group,

Cloud Security Alliance

• ABUBAKARMUNIR Professor of Law, University of Malaya,

Data Protection Consultant to the Governments of Indonesia, Qatar and Saudi Arabia

• KATSUMIKOJIMA Director, Regional

Compliance Officer APAC/JAPAN,

Edwards Lifesciences (Asia) Pte Ltd

• SAMPFEIFLE Publications

Director, International

Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)

Sponsor Supporting Organisations ALB supports Proudly presented byOnline LegalRecruitment Sponsor

BENGERBERGlobal Privacy Officer,Standard Chartered Bank

CONTENTS 1WWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

BRIEFS— The Big Story— League Tables— Deals Spotlight: North Asia Southeast Asia— News— Regional Updates— Appointments

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NEWS

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“IF YOUR FIRM Is AT A MAnAGEABLE sIZE AnD YOU KnOW WHAT YOUR nICHE MARKET Is, YOU’D LIKE THE FLEXIBILITY OF WORKInG WITH AnY LAW FIRM AT AnY OnE TIME. In FACT, THE InDOnEsIAn CLIEnTs REALLY RELY On Us TO HELP THEM FInD THE BEsT LAW FIRM THAT CAn DO WORK In THE REGIOn AT AnY GIVEn TIME.”Melli Darsa, Melli Darsa & Co.

The AEC approaches:Is Indonesia ready?The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is due to be established by the end of the year, which should encourage trade and attract investment into the region. The liberalisation and integration of ASEAN members’ capital markets has been a key focus area in the lead up to the AEC. Some analysts have claimed that the success of the AEC’s capital markets will be heavily dependent on the participation of Indonesia, ASEAN’s largest economy and most populous nation. But how ready is Indonesia? Meanwhile, Indonesia’s legal market has been busy, with a number of local firms looking to forge alliances with regional and international players in preparation for the new AEC era. Kanishk Verghese reports

‘I hope the industry willbecome aware of theimportance of going global’Peng Xuefeng, the founder of Dacheng Law Offices, speaks to Shangjing Li about how the merger with Dentons came about, issues that remain to be ironed out, and why more Chinese law firms should consider the merger route

Lawyers neededThe rapid rise to prominence of Islamic finance has, on the flip side, exposed a shortage of both finance and legal professionals skilled in the field. Ranajit Dam finds out how law firms and institutions in Malaysia are working to fill the gap in skilled lawyers

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‘We have some nice storiesto tell already’Justin Walkey, Chairman of Bird & Bird Asia Pacific, speaks to Kanishk Verghese about the firm’s key objectives in Asia, its growth strategy and the challenges it faces in an increasingly competitive environment

A big year in the offingBookended by the formation of the SICC in the beginning, and the arrival of the ASEAN Economic Community at the end, 2015 is shaping up to be a promising year for arbitration in Singapore, finds Ed Lane. Plus the CIArb’s Singapore branch tells Ranajit Dam about its Centenary Year conference in Singapore

ALB Japan Tax &Accounting Awards 2014Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu emerged a big winner from the ALB Japan Tax & Accounting Awards 2014. The awards, which were jointly researched and conducted in November by ALB and Thomson Reuters’ Tax & Accounting division in Japan, celebrate Japan’s leading tax law firms, tax lawyers, in-house teams and accounting firms

ALB Malaysia Law Awards 2015 – The finalistsKadir Andri & Partners and Shearn Delamore & Co are leading the nominations for the second annual ALB Malaysia Law Awards 2015 with 10 each, with Wong & Partners not far behind at nine

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FEATURES

COVER STORY

20The Power List 2015ALB annually holds a number of awards across the region, and also publishes a variety of law firm rankings. Prominent winners, nominees and ranked firms make their way into the ALB Power List 2015 which picks the most influential law firms in the region on the basis of work done, clients satisfied and talent acquired and retained

36

EDITORIAL2 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSMARCH 2015

MANAGING DIRECTORKlaus [email protected]

PUBLISHERAmantha [email protected]

MANAGING EDITORRanajit [email protected]

DEPUTY EDITORKanishk [email protected]

JOURNALISTShangjing [email protected]

CONTRIBUTOREd Lane

COPY EDITORKaruna [email protected]

SENIOR DESIGNERJohn [email protected]

TRAFFIC / CIRCULATION MANAGERRozidah [email protected]

ACCOUNT MANAGERSYvonne CheungAccount Director (China)(852) 2847 [email protected]

Shyanne ChenAdvertising Sales Manager (Indonesia and Malaysia)(65) 6870 [email protected]

Sardor YangibayevSales Executive (Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam)(65) 6870 [email protected]

Henry ChengAccount Manager (Hong Kong)(852) 2847 [email protected]

DIRECTOR, EVENTSColin [email protected]

CONFERENCE AND MARKETING MANAGERTrang Chu [email protected]

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS is available by subscription. Please visit WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM for details.

Copyright is reserved throughout. No part of this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the express permission of the editor. Contributions are invited, but copies of work should be kept, as ALB can accept no responsibility for loss.

MCI (P) 178/01/2015ISSN 0219 – 6875KDN PPS 1793/07/2013(025520)

THOMSON REUTERS18 Science Park Drive Singapore 118229 / T (65) 6775 5088 / F (65) 6333 090010/F, Cityplaza 3, Taikoo Shing, Hong Kong / T (852) 3762 3269 / F (852) 2154 6425www.thomsonreuters.com

ALB maps the Asia market in a number of ways. We have are our annual Law Awards across a variety of countries, which reward the best work done in the previous year, along with a host of rankings, ranging from M&A Rankings to Employer of Choice. While these fete the thoroughly deserving

lawyers and law firms in their particular fields, they still give rise to a question: Which firms appear most frequently across these awards and rankings? The inaugural ALB Power List aims to answer these questions by bringing together the data from all of this, and adding to the mixture market feedback and also our own knowhow. This is a list of notable law firms, then, that are not only winning awards and accolades, but also plaudits from their clients and employees.

Speaking of awards, March marks the month that ALB kicking off its events season. This month itself has a number of notable events, including the Malaysia IP Conference in Kuala Lumpur on the 12th, the Guangzhou In-House Legal Summit on the 19th, the ASEAN Integration Forum in Singapore and the Hong Kong Anti-Corruption Forum on the 26th, and the Malaysia Law Awards on the 27th. For more information on these events and other events this year, please contact Colin Carter, our Events Director. I hope to see some of you at some of these events.

RANAJIT DAMManaging EditorAsian Legal BusinessThomson [email protected]

FEEL THE

POWER

ERRATA:The M&A League Tables in ALB’s January 2015 and February 2015 issues summarised a data range that was not reflective of cumulative year-to-date M&A figures for 2015. We apologise for any confusion and inconvenience caused. This matter has been addressed, and the data displayed in this issue’s League Tables are accurate.

3BRIEFSINSIDE LEAGUE TABLES 4 / DEALS 6 / NEWS 8 / REGIONAL UPDATES 11 / APPOINTMENTS 16

If the past few months have given law firms doing India work cause for joy, es-pecially with the revival of the capital markets and the return of M&A deals

following the election of the Modi govern-ment, then two pieces of recent news would potentially give them yet another excuse for celebration. Following years of persuasion from countries like the U.S. and the UK, In-dia might be finally considering the idea of opening up its legal sector to foreign law firms. On Feb. 27, the news agency PTI re-ported that DV Sadananda Gowda, India’s law minister, had met with the chairman of the Bar Council of India for informal talks about this.

The bigger piece of news, however, was reported a few days before that meeting: In an interview with the Business Standard, Lalit Bhasin, president of the Society of In-

dian Law Firms (SILF), said that his associa-tion had backed down from the anti-foreign law firm stance that it had held for decades. “For the past 20 years we have been oppos-ing the entry of foreign law firms,” he said. “These 20 years have given enough time to Indian legal profession - particularly the law firms - to strengthen themselves, to be-come technologically competitive and have more skilled manpower and resources.” The government’s plan, said PTI, is for the legal sector to open up to foreign law firms “in a phased manner which would also help the Indian legal fraternity.”

And yet, those following India’s market have every reason to be cautious. “This is a significant development, but so far it’s only an indication that there has been a ‘change of heart’ on the part of SILF, who have been rather vocal opponents of legal market lib-

eralisation,” says Azmul Haque, a consul-tant with Olswang in Singapore. “I can’t imagine this will change things dramatically for international law firms who undertake India-related work.” And while the SILF was certainly a formidable opponent to plans for liberalisation of India’s legal sector, it doesn’t represent all of India’s 1.7 million lawyers, of whom only a tiny fraction work for commercial law firms. The sheer numeri-cal clout of the vocal majority has stymied efforts to liberalise India’s legal sector be-fore, and even if they can be convinced and the relevant laws are passed, bureaucratic hold-ups and a maze of vested of interests could ensure it is a lengthy, messy process at best. So if you’re an international law firm dreaming of an office in India, you’d be bet-ter off leaving the champagne uncorked for now.

THE GOVERNMENT AND A KEY LAW-FIRM ASSOCIATION RECENTLY HINTED AT THE OPENING UP OF INDIA’S LONG-CLOSED LEGAL MARKET. DON’T GET YOUR HOPES UP.By RANAJIT DAM

Indian illusions

03.2015

A lawyer speaks on his mobile phone as he walks past India's Supreme Court in New Delhi. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

THE BIG STORY

THE GOVERNMENT AND A KEY LAW-FIRM ASSOCIATION RECENTLY HINTED AT THE OPENING UP OF INDIA’S LONG-CLOSED LEGAL MARKET. DON’T GET YOUR HOPES UP.By RANAJIT DAM

Indian illusionsTHE GOVERNMENT AND A KEY LAW-FIRM ASSOCIATION RECENTLY HINTED AT THE OPENING UP OF INDIA’S LONG-CLOSED LEGAL MARKET. DON’T GET YOUR HOPES UP.By RANAJIT DAM

Indian illusions

4 briefs ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSMARCH 2015

I. LEAGUE TABLE - NORTH ASIA LEGAL AND FINANCIAL RANKINGSNORTH ASIA Announced M&A Legal Rankings - Based on Value NORTH ASIA Announced M&A Financial Rankings - Based on Value

RankValue

(US$mln)No. of Deals

Market Share Rank

Value (US$mln)

No. of Deals

Market Share

1 75,115.8 6 43.7 1 64,774.3 6 37.72 49,380.6 3 28.7 2 58,379.4 7 34.03 49,086.2 8 28.6 3 50,236.8 8 29.24 10,691.1 12 6.2 4 47,686.2 3 27.85 6,021.2 1 3.5 5 28,884.1 8 16.86 5,153.5 4 3.0 6 17,369.6 18 10.17 4,452.6 8 2.6 7 16,090.0 3 9.48 3,000.0 3 1.8 8 14,007.9 19 8.29* 2,773.6 1 1.6 9 13,386.1 5 7.89* 2,773.6 1 1.6 10 12,742.1 7 7.4

(*tie) Based on Rank Value incl. Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A) (*tie) Based on Rank Value incl. Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)

II. LEAGUE TABLE - LEGALCHINA Announced M&A Legal Rankings HONG KONG Announced M&A Legal Rankings

RankValue


Market Share Rank

Value (US$mln)

No. of Deals

Market Share

1 4,609.9 2 6.8 1 74,939.1 5 89.32 4,452.6 8 6.6 2* 47,686.2 2 56.83 4,433.3 1 6.5 2* 47,686.2 1 56.84 2,767.5 1 4.1 4 10,357.2 3 12.35 2,356.2 3 3.5 5* 1,514.6 1 1.86 1,996.4 2 2.9 5* 1,514.6 1 1.87* 1,768.9 1 2.6 7 1,340.8 3 1.67* 1,768.9 1 2.6 8 1,035.3 2 1.29 1,716.9 2 2.5 9 507.0 1 0.610 1,694.4 1 2.5 10 384.6 2 0.50 - 0 0.0


JAPAN Announced M&A Legal Rankings SOUTH KOREA Announced M&A Legal Rankings

RankValue


Market Share Rank

Value (US$mln)

No. of Deals

Market Share

1 10,691.1 12 29.4 1 1,009.4 3 20.92 10,357.2 2 28.5 2 771.8 1 16.03 6,021.2 1 16.6 3 - 1 0.04* 3,000.0 1 8.3 0 - 0 0.04* 3,000.0 1 8.3 - 1,009.4 4 20.96* 2,773.6 1 7.6 - 3,811.2 116 79.16* 2,773.6 1 7.6 0 - 0 0.08* 2,234.9 1 6.1 - 4,820.6 120 100.08* 2,234.9 3 6.1 0 - 0 0.010 1,573.1 1 4.3 0 - 0 0.0


II. LEAGUE TABLE - FINANCIALCHINA Announced M&A Financial Rankings HONG KONG Announced M&A Financial Rankings

RankValue


Market Share Rank

Value (US$mln)

No. of Deals

Market Share

1 7,270.4 3 10.7 1 63,574.3 5 75.82 6,818.2 6 10.0 2 58,379.4 7 69.63 6,661.6 4 9.8 3* 47,686.2 3 56.84 5,033.3 2 7.4 3* 47,686.2 3 56.85 4,670.5 7 6.9 5 26,272.3 5 31.36 4,561.7 2 6.7 6 15,381.2 1 18.37* 4,433.3 1 6.5 7 10,549.0 3 12.67* 4,433.3 2 6.5 8 10,470.2 4 12.59 3,823.3 6 5.6 9 10,384.5 3 12.410 1,939.1 2 2.9 10* 10,357.2 2 12.3


Notes:

0

League tables, quarterly trend, and deal list are based on the nation of either the target, acquiror, target ultimate parent, or acquiror ultimate parent at the time of the transaction. Announced M&A transactions excludes withdrawn deals. Deals with undisclosed dollar values are rank eligible but with no corresponding Rank Value. Non-US dollar denominated transactions are converted to the US dollar equivalent at the time of announcement of terms. North Asia includes China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan

CMS (*):tie

Mannheimer Swartling Advokatbyra 0Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Industry TotalJones Day 0

Deutsche Bank Mizuho Financial Group

UBS

Financial Advisor Financial AdvisorCITIC HSBC Holdings PLC

Legal Advisor Legal AdvisorMori Hamada & Matsumoto Shin & KimFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Yulchon LLCHerbert Smith Freehills SkaddenShearman & Sterling LLP 0Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Subtotal with Legal AdvisorGernandt & Danielsson Subtotal without Legal Advisor

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS SNAPSHOT

Morgan Stanley JP Morgan

Somerley Moelis & CoNomura CITICBank of America Merrill Lynch Nomura

UBS Goldman Sachs & CoMizuho Financial Group Anglo Chinese Corp FinanceGuotai Junan Securities

JP Morgan Somerley

LEAGUE TABLES

ANY NORTH ASIA INVOLVEMENT ANNOUNCED M&A ACTIVITY - QUARTERLY TREND

Clifford Chance Al-Tamimi & CoLinklaters Shearman & Sterling LLP

Fangda Partners Allen & OveryShearman & Sterling LLP Kirkland & EllisBaker & McKenzie Clifford Chance

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto SkaddenCapitallaw & Partners Mori Hamada & MatsumotoDavis Polk & Wardwell Travers Smith

Legal Advisor Legal AdvisorFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerKing & Wood Mallesons Linklaters

Mannheimer Swartling Advokatbyra JP Morgan

Shearman & Sterling LLP Mizuho Financial GroupKing & Wood Mallesons Moelis & CoSimpson Thacher & Bartlett Nomura

Data accurate from 1 January to 2 March 2015

Linklaters Somerley

Legal Advisor Financial AdvisorFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer HSBC Holdings PLC

Skadden Goldman Sachs & CoMori Hamada & Matsumoto Anglo Chinese Corp FinanceHerbert Smith Freehills UBS

Gernandt & Danielsson CITIC

103.6 83.2

127.2 135.8 110.8 114.6 126.2 125.2

95.4 114.4

146.8 134.0

93.7 117.7 128.3

148.7 142.5

202.8

162.1 162.1

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

40 60 80

100 120 140 160 180 200 220

1Q 10 3Q 10 1Q 11 3Q 11 1Q 12 3Q 12 1Q 13 3Q 13 1Q 14 3Q 14

No. of Transactions Rank

Val

ue U

S$ B

illio

n Series1 Series2

ANY NORTH ASIA INVOLVEMENT ANNOUNCED M&A ACTIVITY - QUARTERLY TREND

NOTES: League tables, quarterly trend, and deal list are based on the nation of either the target, acquiror, target ultimate parent, or acquiror ultimate parent at the time of the transaction. Announced M&A transactions excludes withdrawn deals. Deals with undisclosed dollar values are rank eligible but with no corresponding Rank Value. Non-US dollar denominated transactions are converted to the US dollar equivalent at the time of announcement of terms. North Asia includes China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan. Data range is from 1 January to 2 March 2015

JAPAN ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS

(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)

HONG KONG ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS


SOUTH KOREA ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS


RANK LEGAL ADVISOR VALUE($MLN) DEALS MARKET

SHARE

2 Yulchon LLC 771.8 1 16.0

3 Skadden - 1 0.0

- Subtotal with Legal Advisor 1,009.4 4 20.9

- Subtotal without Legal Advisor 3,811.2 116 79.1

- Industry Total 4,820.6 120 100.0

(*):tie

RANK LEGAL ADVISORVALUE($MLN)

DEALSMARKET SHARE

2* Linklaters 47,686.2 2 56.8

2* Skadden 47,686.2 1 56.8

4 Mori Hamada & Matsumoto 10,357.2 3 12.3

5* Travers Smith 1,514.6 1 1.8

5* Allen & Overy 1,514.6 1 1.8

7 Kirkland & Ellis 1,340.8 3 1.6

8 Clifford Chance 1,035.3 2 1.2

9 Al-Tamimi & Co 507.0 1 0.6

10 Shearman & Sterling LLP 384.6 2 0.5

SHIN & KIM

DEALS: 3 MARKET SHARE: 20.9

VALUE($mln)

NORTH ASIA LEAGUE TABLES


SHARE

2 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 10,357.2 2 28.5

3 Herbert Smith Freehills 6,021.2 1 16.6

4* Shearman & Sterling LLP 3,000.0 1 8.3

4* Simpson Thacher & Bartlett 3,000.0 1 8.3

6* Gernandt & Danielsson 2,773.6 1 7.6

6* Mannheimer Swartling Advokatbyra 2,773.6 1 7.6

8* Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton 2,234.9 1 6.1

8* Jones Day 2,234.9 3 6.1

10 CMS 1,573.1 1 4.3

MORI HAMADA & MATSUMOTO


VALUE($mln)

CHINA ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS



DEALSMARKET SHARE

2 King & Wood Mallesons 4,452.6 8 6.6

3 Mori Hamada & Matsumoto 4,433.3 1 6.5

4 Capitallaw & Partners 2,767.5 1 4.1

5 Davis Polk & Wardwell 2,356.2 3 3.5

6 Fangda Partners 1,996.4 2 2.9

7* Shearman & Sterling LLP 1,768.9 1 2.6

7* Baker & McKenzie 1,768.9 1 2.6

9 Clifford Chance 1,716.9 2 2.5

10 Linklaters 1,694.4 1 2.5

FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER


VALUE($mln)

FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER


VALUE($mln)

5briefsWWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

MIDDLE EAST ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS

I. LEAGUE TABLE - SOUTHEAST ASIA AND MIDDLE EAST SOUTHEAST ASIA / SOUTH ASIA Announced M&A Legal Rankings MIDDLE EAST Announced M&A Legal Rankings

RankValue


Market Share Rank

Value (US$mln)

No. of Deals

Market Share

1 1,293.4 13 9.2 1 1,277.2 3 14.52* 1,193.2 1 8.5 2 1,209.9 2 13.72* 1,193.2 2 8.5 3 1,025.4 1 11.74 949.7 1 6.8 4 770.2 1 8.85* 800.0 1 5.7 5 507.0 1 5.85* 800.0 1 5.7 6 175.0 1 2.05* 800.0 1 5.7 7* 163.2 2 1.95* 800.0 1 5.7 7* 163.2 1 1.99 200.0 1 1.4 9* 162.1 1 1.810 170.0 2 1.2 9* 162.1 1 1.8


II. LEAGUE TABLE - LEGALSINGAPORE Announced M&A Legal Rankings MALAYSIA Announced M&A Legal Rankings

RankValue


Market Share Rank

Value (US$mln)

No. of Deals

Market Share

1 949.7 1 12.8 - - - -2 339.0 3 4.6 0 0.0 0 0.03 170.0 1 2.3 - 0.0 0 0.04 126.2 1 1.7 - 674.4 75 100.05 13.5 1 0.2 0 0.0 0 0.06* 0.0 1 0.0 - 674.4 75 100.06* 0.0 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.06* 0.0 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.06* 0.0 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.06* 0.0 1 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0


INDIA Announced M&A Legal Rankings INDONESIA Announced M&A Legal Rankings

RankValue


Market Share Rank

Value (US$mln)

No. of Deals

Market Share

1 1,293.4 13 29.3 - - - -2* 1,193.2 1 27.0 0 0.0 0 0.02* 1,193.2 1 27.0 - 0.0 0 0.04* 800.0 1 18.1 - 756.3 16 100.04* 800.0 1 18.1 0 0.0 0 0.04* 800.0 1 18.1 - 756.3 16 100.04* 800.0 1 18.1 0 0.0 0 0.08 200.0 1 4.5 0 0.0 0 0.09 170.0 2 3.9 0 0.0 0 0.010 89.4 1 2.0 0 0.0 0 0.0


II. LEAGUE TABLE - FINANCIALSOUTHEAST ASIA / SOUTH ASIA Announced M&A Financial Rankings MIDDLE EAST Announced M&A Financial Rankings

RankValue


Market Share Rank

Value (US$mln)

No. of Deals

Market Share

1 3,588.2 4 25.5 1 2,704.6 3 30.72 2,855.6 4 20.3 2 2,603.5 4 29.63 2,730.2 2 19.4 3 2,096.5 2 23.84 1,453.2 3 10.3 4* 1,934.3 1 22.05* 1,200.0 1 8.5 4* 1,934.3 2 22.05* 1,200.0 2 8.5 6 1,297.1 2 14.77 1,193.2 1 8.5 7* 1,025.4 1 11.78* 800.0 1 5.7 7* 1,025.4 2 11.78* 800.0 2 5.7 9 200.0 1 2.310 440.7 3 3.1 10* 175.0 1 2.0


Notes:

Kirkland & Ellis PwC Legal LLP

Covington & Burling Chadbourne & ParkeDebevoise & Plimpton Shearman & Sterling LLPLuthra & Luthra Law Offices Kirkland & Ellis

Linklaters AshurstSkadden Simpson Thacher & BartlettCravath, Swaine & Moore Al-Tamimi & Co

Weil Gotshal & Manges Skadden

Legal Advisor Legal AdvisorAZB & Partners Clifford Chance

Amarchand Mangaldas

Clifford Chance 0

Legal Advisor Legal AdvisorSkadden -AZB & Partners 0

Allen & Overy

LEAGUE TABLES

ANY SOUTHEAST ASIA / SOUTH ASIA & MIDDLE EAST INVOLVEMENT ANNOUNCED M&A ACTIVITY - QUARTERLY TREND

King & Spalding 0Seward & Kissel 0

Jones Day Industry TotalKramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel 0Latham & Watkins (*):tie

Amarchand Mangaldas Subtotal with Legal AdvisorLee & Lee Subtotal without Legal Advisor

Debevoise & Plimpton Industry Total

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS SNAPSHOT

Goldman Sachs & Co Goldman Sachs & Co

HSBC Holdings PLC Bank of America Merrill LynchDeutsche Bank Wells Fargo & CoCenterview Partners LLC Credit Suisse

DBS Group Holdings RothschildMorgan Stanley BarclaysNomura

Linklaters Subtotal with Legal AdvisorCravath, Swaine & Moore Subtotal without Legal AdvisorCovington & Burling 0

Legal Advisor Legal AdvisorAZB & Partners -Weil Gotshal & Manges 0

Luthra & Luthra Law Offices 0Kirkland & Ellis (*):tie Amarchand Mangaldas 0

Citi HSBC Holdings PLC

League tables, quarterly trend, and deal list are based on the nation of either the target, acquiror, target ultimate parent, or acquiror ultimate parent at the time of the transaction. Announced M&A transactions excludes withdrawn deals. Deals with undisclosed dollar values are rank eligible but with no corresponding Rank Value. Non-US dollar denominated transactions are converted to the US dollar equivalent at the time of announcement of terms. Geographic coverage includes SOUTH EAST ASIA: Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Timor-Leste; SOUTH ASIA: India, Afganistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka; MIDDLE EAST: United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Palestine, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Syria, Yemen

Khaitan & Co 0

CIMB Group Sdn Bhd UBS

Citi

Financial Advisor Financial AdvisorCredit Suisse Morgan Stanley

57.3

45.5 47.6

71.8 64.8

53.8

36.8 34.1

47.4 42.1

49.0

63.0

25.3

53.1

35.8 45.4 44.7

65.4

42.5 42.5

0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

1Q 10 3Q 10 1Q 11 3Q 11 1Q 12 3Q 12 1Q 13 3Q 13 1Q 14 3Q 14

No. of Transactions Ra

nk V

alue

US$

Bill

ion

Series1 Series2

ANY SOUTHEAST ASIA / SOUTH ASIA & MIDDLE EAST INVOLVEMENT ANNOUNCED M&A ACTIVITY - QUARTERLY TREND

NOTES: League tables, quarterly trend, and deal list are based on the nation of either the target, acquiror, target ultimate parent, or acquiror ultimate parent at the time of the transaction. Announced M&A transactions excludes withdrawn deals. Deals with undisclosed dollar values are rank eligible but with no corresponding Rank Value. Non-US dollar denominated transactions are converted to the US dollar equivalent at the time of announcement of terms. Geographic coverage includes SOUTH EAST ASIA: Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Timor-Leste; SOUTH ASIA: India, Afganistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka; MIDDLE EAST: United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Palestine, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Syria, Yemen. Data range is from 1 January to 2 March 2015

SOUTHEAST ASIA/ SOUTH ASIAANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGSSINGAPORE ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS

(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A) (*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)

INDIA ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGSINDIA ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS

(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A) (*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)

SOUTHEAST ASIA LEAGUE TABLES


SHARE

2 Skadden 1,209.9 2 13.7

3 Ashurst 1,025.4 1 11.7

4 Simpson Thacher & Bartlett 770.2 1 8.8

5 Al-Tamimi & Co 507.0 1 5.8

6 Chadbourne & Parke 175.0 1 2.0

7* Shearman & Sterling LLP 163.2 2 1.9

7* Kirkland & Ellis 163.2 1 1.9

9* PwC Legal LLP 162.1 1 1.8

9* Allen & Overy 162.1 1 1.8

CLIFFORD CHANCE


VALUE($mln)


DEALSMARKET SHARE

2* Weil Gotshal & Manges 1,193.2 1 8.5

2* Linklaters 1,193.2 2 8.5

4 Skadden 949.7 1 6.8

5* Cravath, Swaine & Moore 800.0 1 5.7

5* Covington & Burling 800.0 1 5.7

5* Debevoise & Plimpton 800.0 1 5.7

5* Luthra & Luthra Law Offices 800.0 1 5.7

9 Kirkland & Ellis 200.0 1 1.4

10 Amarchand Mangaldas 170.0 2 1.2


VALUE($mln)

AZB & PARTNERS


SHARE

2* Weil Gotshal & Manges 1,193.2 1 27.0

2* Linklaters 1,193.2 1 27.0

4* Cravath, Swaine & Moore 800.0 1 18.1

4* Covington & Burling 800.0 1 18.1

4* Debevoise & Plimpton 800.0 1 18.1

4* Luthra & Luthra Law Offices 800.0 1 18.1

8 Kirkland & Ellis 200.0 1 4.5


10 Khaitan & Co 89.4 1 2.0

AZB & PARTNERS


VALUE($mln)


VALUE($mln)


DEALSMARKET SHARE

2 AZB & Partners 339.0 3 4.6


4 Lee & Lee 126.2 1 1.7

5 Clifford Chance 13.5 1 0.2

6* Jones Day 0.0 1 0.0

6* Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel 0.0 1 0.0

6* Latham & Watkins 0.0 1 0.0

6* King & Spalding 0.0 1 0.0

6* Seward & Kissel 0.0 1 0.0

SKADDEN


DEAL NAME FIRM JURISDICTION VALUE(US$ MLN) DEAL TYPE

Hyundai Motor Co’schairman and son’ssale of shares inHyundai Glovis Co

Paul Hastings South Korea 1,100 Equity

Kim & Chang South Korea 1,100 Equity

Tencent Holdings’notes offering underits $5 bln GMTNprogramme

Davis Polk & Wardwell China, U.S. 2,000 Debt

Latham & Watkins China, U.S. 2,000 Debt

Global Law Office China, U.S. 2,000 Debt

Jun He Law Offices China, U.S. 2,000 Debt

Maples and Calder China, U.S. 2,000 Debt

China TraditionalChinese Medicineacquisition ofan 81.5 percent stakein Jiangyin Tianjiang

Kirkland & Ellis China, Hong Kong 1,340 M&A

Commerce & FinanceLaw Offices

China, Hong Kong 1,340 M&A

Grandall Law Firm China, Hong Kong 1,340 M&A

Jincheng Tongda & Neal China, Hong Kong 1,340 M&A

Japan Post Co’sproposed $5.1 blntakeover of Australia’sToll Holdings

Clayton Utz Japan, Australia 5,100 M&A

Herbert SmithFreehills Japan, Australia 5,100 M&A

Nishimura & Asahi Japan, Australia 5,100 M&A

Sun Hung Kai & Co’ssale of 70 percent ofits securities businessunit to China’sEverbright Securities

Clifford Chance China, Hong Kong 528 M&A

Dentons China, Hong Kong 528 M&A

Alibaba Group Holding’s investment in Chinese smartphone maker Meizu Technology Corp

Freshfields BruckhausDeringer China 590 M&A

Sidley Austin China 590 M&A

Maples and Calder China 590 M&A

Qingdao CityConstruction’sdebut bond issuance

Freshfields BruckhausDeringer China, U.S. 800 Debt

King & Wood Mallesons China, U.S. 800 Debt

Merger betweenChinese taxi-hailingapps Didi Dache andKuaidi Dache

Simpson Thacher& Bartlett China 6,000 M&A

Skadden, Arps, Slate,Meagher & Flom China 6,000 M&A

Fangda Partners China 6,000 M&A

Han Kun Law Offices China 6,000 M&A

NORTH ASIA DEALS: YOUR MONTH AT A GLANCE

$6 BILLIONM&AMERGER BETWEEN CHINESETAXI-HAILING APPS DIDI DACHEAND KUAIDI DACHE• Themergerisexpectedto

create one of the world’s largest smartphone-based transport services.

• DidiandKuaidiarebackedbyChinese Internet giants Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding, respectively.

$1.1 BILLIONEQUITYHYUNDAI MOTOR CO’SCHAIRMAN AND SON’S SALE OFSHARES IN HYUNDAI GLOVIS• HyundaiMotorCoChairmanChung

Mong-koo and his son Chung Eui-sun had sought to sell 13 percent of Hyundai Glovis to comply with new antitrust rules.

• Reutersreportedthatinvestorswalked away from an initial sale attempt in January, worried that the family may be pulling out from Hyundai Glovis..

$5.1 BILLIONM&AJAPAN POST CO’S PROPOSED$5.1 BLN TAKEOVER OFAUSTRALIA’S TOLL HOLDINGS• JapanPost, is one of the world’s

biggest financial institutions with net assets of some 13.8 trillion yen ($115 billion).

It said it would use logistics firm Toll’s own experience in doing offshore deals to step up acquisitions throughout Asia, Europe and North America.


DEAL NAME FIRM JURISDICTION VALUE(US$ MLN) DEAL TYPE

Sembcorp Utilities’acquisition of a60 percent stake inGreen Infra Ltd, anIDFC Alternatives Ltdinitiative

Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co

India N/A M&A

AZB & Partners India N/A M&A

Ant Financial’sacquisition of a25 percent stakein India’s One97Communications

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett India, China N/A M&A

Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co

India, China N/A M&A

Trilegal India, China N/A M&A

BlackRock’s sale ofAXA Tower in Singaporeto a consortium

Allen & Gledhill Singapore 890 M&A

WongPartnership Singapore 890 M&A

IPO of JasmineInternationalPCL’s Internet fundon the Stock Exchangeof Thailand

Allen & Overy Thailand 1,700 IPO

Clifford Chance Thailand 1,700 IPO

Shearman & Sterling Thailand 1,700 IPO

White & Case Thailand 1,700 IPO

Weerawong, Chinnavat & Peangpanor

Thailand 1,700 IPO

HDFC Bank’s share sale

Cravath, Swaine& Moore India, U.S. 1,600 Equity

Davis Polk & Wardwell India, U.S. 1,600 Equity

Amarchand &Mangaldas &Suresh A. Shroff & Co

India, U.S. 1,600 Equity

AZB & Partners India, U.S. 1,600 Equity

Coal India’s share sale to institutional and retail investors

Cleary GottliebSteen & Hamilton India 3,600 Equity

Herbert SmithFreehills India 3,600 Equity

Amarchand &Mangaldas &Suresh A. Shroff & Co

India 3,600 Equity

Khaitan & Co India 3,600 Equity

Export-Import Bank ofIndia’s notes issuancedue 2020 underits $6 billionMTN Programme

J. Sagar Associates India 500 Debt

SOUTHEAST ASIA DEALS: YOUR MONTH AT A GLANCE

$3.6 BILLIONEQUITYCOAL INDIA’S SHARE SALE TOINSTITUTIONAL ANDRETAIL INVESTORS• Indiaraisedabout$3.6billionby

selling a 10 percent stake in state-run Coal India, the world’s largest coal miner, in the largest ever equity deal in the local market.

• Thesharesalewillmovethegovernment closer to its target of raising $10 billion by selling minority stakes in state-owned companies.

N/AM&AANT FINANCIAL’S ACQUISITION OFA 25 PERCENT STAKE IN INDIA’SONE97 COMMUNICATIONS• AntFinancialServicesGroupisan

affiliate of China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

• Apersonwithknowledgeofthematter said the stake was worth more than $500 million.

• One97runsPaytm,anonlineplatform through which users can shop or pay utility bills, whereas Ant runs Paytm’s Chinese peer Alipay.

$1.7 BILLIONIPOIPO OF JASMINE INTERNATIONALPCL’S INTERNET FUND ON THESTOCK EXCHANGE OF THAILAND• TheIPOisThailand’sbiggestsince

December 2013.• JasmineBroadbandInternet

Infrastructure Fund offered 5.5 billion units, to which one-third were subscribed by Jasmine International.

• Inafilingtothestockexchange,Jasmine said it will use proceeds of the IPO to expand its broadband network.


NEWS

KWM to openin Singapore

King & Wood Mallesons will open an office in Singapore after being grant-ed a foreign law practice licence by the Attorney General’s Chambers.

The Singapore office is expected to ini-tially focus on international funds, energy and resources and China inbound and out-bound work, covering cross-border and do-mestic work in South East Asia, and support-ing Singapore-based clients on outbound investments.

“As the only global law firm headquar-tered in Asia, KWM is committed to building its global practice from a strong base in the region,” said Stuart Fuller, global managing partner of the firm, in a statement. “Singa-pore is a key market for our clients given its role as a financial and trading hub and a gateway for investments around South East Asia, North Asia and India. Our expansion into these markets through our office in Sin-gapore is the logical next step for the firm.”

The new office is expected to be open within the next couple of months after all the regulatory processes are completed.

King & Wood Mallesons currently has 32 offices across Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. Outside of China, its other Asian offices are in Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Withers in tie-up with KhattarWong

Private-client specialist law firm Withers has entered into a Formal Law Alliance (FLA) with Singa-pore’s KhattarWong. The FLA, which

comes into effect in April, will see the firms form “Withers KhattarWong,” and the entire KhattarWong partnership will also become partners at Withers.

Withers’ Singapore office currently has nine lawyers, including six partners, focus-ing on tax and estate planning, corporate, cross-border dispute resolution and arbitra-tion advice. The 70-lawyer KhattarWong’s practices include banking and finance, property, corporate and securities, criminal litigation; intellectual property and technol-ogy, litigation and dispute resolution, and tax and private client.

“Singapore is without question the finan-cial and legal centre of South East Asia and has the highest concentration of millionaire households in the world,” said Withers Sin-gapore office head Jay Krause in a state-ment. “The creation of Withers KhattarWong follows closely on the launch of Withers SBL, our new alliance in Australia and, taken to-gether, these developments give us a sub-stantially more significant presence through which we can assist clients in this hemi-sphere.”

Swedish intellectual property consul-tancy firm Awapatent has made a foray into Asia, establishing offices in Beijing and Hong Kong, and re-

cruiting Bird & Bird’s Greater China head of trademark portfolio management to oversee its Asian outfit.

The new offices will operate as a branch of the Awapatent Group under the name AWA Asia. Ai-Leen Lim, a former partner and Greater China head of trademarks at Bird & Bird, will lead AWA Asia as CEO and Princi-pal Counsel for the region. Lim will split her time between the two offices.

“We have had a strong focus on this im-portant and growing area, and a great inter-est from our clients for a number of years,

and had the am-bition to be more present in the re-gion,” said Mag-nus Hallin, CEO of Awapatent Group.

“With Ai-Leen Lim and her team we found the per-fect partner as our vision and goals for the future are totally aligned.”

The AWA Asia team comprises

seven IP professionals – including Lim – and provides clients with IP services ranging from filing, registration and IP-related transac-tions, to enforcement and dispute resolution.

The team in Asia is expected to grow to around ten IP professionals in the months to come, said Hallin.

AWA Asia’s Beijing office is a licensed PRC trademark agency that handles the fil-ing and enforcement of trademarks directly in China.

Awapatent has more than 170 IP profes-sionals based in 16 offices across Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Greater China.

Awapatent entersAsia, recruitsBird & Bird’sGreater Chinatrademark head

A view of the Central Business District in Singapore. REUTERS/Allison Ching

AI-LEEN LIM

SPONSORED ARTICLE 9WWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

Malaysian law firm Abdullah Chan & Co has entered into an associa-tion with London law firm Child & Child in the country. The tie-up

aims to service clients in Malaysia, as well as Malaysian investors looking at the UK.

Abdullah Chan is currently also in asso-ciation with Paris-headquartered law firm Cotty Vivant Marchisio and Lauzeral.

“With Cotty Vivant Marchision & Lauzeral, we already offered a strong proposition to Malaysian clients investing in France, the Emirates, Singapore, Myanmar and Japan,” said Abdullah Chan partner, Dato’ Muthanna Abdullah, in a statement. “With this distinc-tive association with Child & Child, we now offer an even stronger proposition to clients investing in these countries by being one of the few Malaysian law firms with additional reach in London and the United Kingdom.”

Malaysia’sAbdullah Chanin tie-up withLondon law firm

Brown Rudnick in alliances withtwo law firms in the UAE

Boston-headquartered law firm Brown Rudnick has signed collabo-ration agreements with two UAE law firms, namely Hikmat Fayad &

Associates and Walid Nasser & Associates.According to the agreements, Brown

Rudnick will partner with the two firms on transactions and disputes in the UAE. The local firms will handle Arabic-language transactional work and disputes before State Courts and in arbitration, while Brown Rud-nick will focus on common law and civil law transactions, and litigation and arbitration relating to the MENA region.

Hikmat Fayad & Associates was founded in Beirut in 1970 and in Dubai in 1977, and fo-cuses on litigation, arbitration and corporate work. Walid Nasser & Associates was found-ed in Beirut in the 1980s has an international transactional and disputes practice.

“We are thrilled to be joining forces with these two reputable law firms,” said Joseph Ryan, Brown Rudnick’s chairman and CEO, in a statement. “This unique collaboration

brings together firms from multiple jurisdic-tions to offer seamless, high quality transac-tional and disputes services in the UAE.”

Brown Rudnick’s MENA practice is lead by partners Nicholas Tse and Sebastien Bonnard, based in London and Paris respectively.

REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

BACKGROUNDAs reported by the press over the last few months, Hong Kong’s longest standing TV station, Asia Television Limited (“ATV”) has been plagued with financial woes and licensing problems. Apart from repeatedly defaulting on payments of employees’ wages, ATV has also defaulted on its carrier licence fee and fee for domestic free television programme service licence (“the Licence”). At the heart of ATV’s problems is a dispute among shareholders, as well as criticism of mismanagement of the station, which led the Communications Authority (“CA”) to advise the Chief Executive in Council (“CEC”) against renewing ATV’s free-to-air licence on 4 November 2014.

RECOMMENDATION BY THE CAThe regulation of broadcasting in Hong Kong is governed by the Broadcasting Ordinance (“BO”) and supervised by the CA. Most importantly, the BO contains restrictions on who may own and direct a broadcasting company.

The initial indication of problems came about when the CA investigated complaints on ATV’s incorrect reporting of the death of Jiang Zemin. As a result, ATV was fined of HK$300,000. The CA further imposed a HK$1 million fine on ATV after its investigations revealed that Mr. Wong Ching (ATV’s ultimate majority shareholder at that time and mainland property tycoon) was in control over ATV, in violation of the BO.

NON-PAYMENT OF LICENCE FEESATV has also failed to pay the Licence fees resulting in the CA imposing a penalty of HK$200,000 on ATV. The CA has directed ATV to settle the outstanding licence fees and interests in two instalments warning that failure by ATV to comply with this would lead to the CA imposing further sanctions on ATV.

TWELVE MONTH NOTICE PERIODThe BO stipulates that where the CEC decides not to extend or renew a TV licence, he shall notify the licensee at least 12 months before the expiry of the validity of the licence. Given that ATV’s Licence will expire on 30 November this year, the CA has indicated that that the BO makes provisions for the CEC to extend the term of a licence where it is necessary for the purpose of complying with the 12 month notice requirement.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTSJust prior to Chinese New Year, ATV managed to raise funds through the sale of some agricultural land as well as the copyright of 29 soap operas. ATV confirmed that all outstanding employee wages for December and January have now been paid. Furthermore, the CA has confirmed that it has received cheques from ATV in settlement of its outstanding Licence fees and interests.

At the time of writing, there has been no announcement by the CEC on the renewal of ATV’s Licence.

BIRD & BIRD

THE ATV CONUNDRUM

Amita Kaur Managing Associate Asia Dispute Resolution Group

A: Asia: Beijing, Hong Kong, shanghai, singapore & sydney

W: twobirds.com

Richard Keady Head of Asia Dispute Resolution Group


Thomson Reuters in strategicalliance with South Korea’sIn-House Counsel Forum

Atsumi & Sakai has established an of-fice in London, becoming the first Japanese firm to open its doors in the UK.

The London office, which operates under the name Atsumi & Sakai Europe Limited, advises clients on all aspects of Japanese law, with a focus on M&A, banking, capital markets and securities regulation.

Corporate partner Ryuichi Nozaki has re-located from Tokyo to head Atsumi & Sakai’s London office. He is supported by Tokyo-based senior partner Hiroki Mori, who over-sees the firm’s European practice group in Japan.

Atsumi & Sakai Europe also advises cli-ents on Chinese, Australian and U.S. law through lawyers based in the firm’s Tokyo of-fice who are qualified in those jurisdictions, the firm said in a statement.

The London office will also continue to provide advice on German law through its foreign law joint enterprise with Janssen For-eign Law Office.

Atsumi & Sakaiopens in London

NEWS

Thomson Reuters last month signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the South Korea’s In-House Counsel Forum (IHCF) in Seoul

with the objectives of mutual collaboration on legal education programs and industry events for legal professionals in Korea and promoting best industry practices.

The IHCF is one of Korea’s two largest

in-house counsel associations with a mem-bership of over 1,000 lawyers who repre-sent more than 500 companies. The other association is the Korea In-house Counsel Association (KICA) with whom Thomson Re-uters also signed an alliance agreement last March.

Under the terms of the MOU, IHCF mem-bers will able to have discounted access to Thomson Reuters’ legal education and re-sources, and also collaborate with the com-pany on its various events in South Korea.

”This strategic alliance is significant for us,” said Young S. Bang of Thomson Reuters, who signed the MOU with the president of IHCF, Larry Jo. “We are honored to be the only legal solutions provider as well as the only corporation in Korea that IHCF is part-nering with, and will continue delivering quality legal education and legal resources trusted by the legal community to IHCF members.

Magnusson opens its doors in Hong Kong

Baltic Sea Region law firm Magnus-son is set to open in Hong Kong af-ter entering into an association with local firm Advokatfirman Odebjer

Fohlin and bringing partners Kristian Odebjer and Paulo Fohlin on board.

The new office, which will operate under the name “Magnusson in association with

Odebjer Fohlin,” will focus on advising Chi-nese clients on their investments in the Bal-tic Sea Region, and will strengthen the firm’s international arbitration capabilities in Asia. Magnusson will not advise on Chinese law.

Odebjer and Fohlin, co-founders of Hong Kong firm Odebjer Fohlin, will oversee the new office.

Odebjer specialises in M&A, financings and due diligence, and will co-head Mag-nusson’s China group. Fohlin, a chartered arbitrator with more than 25 years of court litigation and arbitration experience, will join the firm as head of its international arbitra-tion group.

Both Odebjer and Fohlin are registered as foreign lawyers with the Law Society of Hong Kong.

Magnusson’s Hong Kong office will be its first in Asia. The firm currently employs about 200 lawyers across 13 offices in the Baltic Sea Region. REUTERS/Stringer


REGIONAL UPDATESINGAPORE

On 5 February 2015, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) issued, for consultation, a set of proposed guidelines on good drafting practices

for prospectuses (“Guidelines”). The Guidelines aim to encourage the use of plain English and presentation of information in prospectuses in a clear, concise and logical manner.

Under the Securities and Futures Act (Chapter 289) of Singapore, a prospectus is required to contain all information investors and their advisers would reasonably require in order to make an informed investment decision. MAS observed that prospectuses have grown in length and are often drafted in a technical or legalistic manner which investors find difficult to read and understand.

MAS had previously issued a consultation paper in October 2013 on proposals to improve the readability of prospectuses in order to facilitate retail investors’ understanding of key information disclosed in prospectuses. The Guidelines are therefore a further step taken by MAS to ease the understanding of investment information for investors.

The general principles set out in the Guidelines are briefly as follows:

(i) Use active voice instead of passive voice, such as “We pay fees on an annual basis” instead of “Fees are paid on an annual basis”;

(ii) Avoid using hidden verbs, such as “We will offer the securities to the public” instead of “An offering will be made to the public”;

(iii) Use personal pronouns (direct language), such as referring the issuer in first-person plural as “we”, “us”, and “our”, and referring an investor in second-person singular as “you” and “your”;

(iv) Use plain, everyday words, such as “send” instead of “despatch”;

(v) Avoid using legal, financial or technical business jargons;

(vi) Use short sentences;

(vii) Write in the positive and avoid using multiple negatives, such as “We will reject applications from any persons under the age of 21 years” instead of “We will not accept applications from any person who has not attained the age of 21 years”;

(viii) Avoid using defined terms excessively;

(ix) Avoid using vague boilerplate disclosures;

(x) Avoid “cutting and pasting” contractual terms in its entirety from legal documents;

(xi) Present information in a clear, concise and logical manner; and

(xii) Keep the length of the prospectus as short as necessarily possible by removing redundant information and using cross-references to information contained elsewhere in the prospectus.

Issuers and practitioners are encouraged to adopt the Guidelines when preparing prospectuses and other disclosure documents.

MAS ENCOURAGES THE USE OF PLAIN ENGLISH IN PROSPECTUS

MS. SARAH LIM MR. NICHOLAS CHANG Legal Associate (Corporate Practice) Manager, Corporate Finance Department T: (65) 6322 2254 T: (65) 6322 2236 F: (65) 6534 0833 F: (65) 6534 0833 E: [email protected] E: [email protected]

Loo & Partners LLP143 Cecil Street, Level 10, GB BuildingSingapore 069542www.loopartners.com.sg

Trowers & Hamlins is the first international law firm to apply for a qualified foreign law firm (QFLF) license in Malaysia. Nick White, partner, and regional manager, Malaysia, talks about the firm’s strategy in the country, as well as the

advantages of the QFLF approach.

How would you describe your Malaysia strategy?Our strategy is three-pronged:• ToserviceASEANclientsactiveintheUK,whetheritisinrela-

tion to real estate acquisition, real estate development, cor-porate and commercial ventures or mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance work, dispute resolution, or otherwise

• The same in relation to ASEAN clients active in theMiddleEast, where we have a longstanding presence and footprint, including our recently announced tie-up with the Saudi Ara-bian law firm Prima Law.

• ToassistwithASEAN in-countryprojectsofan internationalstandard, where our expertise is relevant. Our input would not be local law input but would be the expertise which we have and which we have accumulated from our work (including in “developing markets” such as parts of the Middle East).

What are some of advantages of the QFLF approach to Malaysia?The advantage of QFLF is that it is “standalone.” That means that we can continue to act as we do at present, be-ing involved with what I call the “A to Z” of Malaysian law firms, enabling us - without the practicalities involved in a tie-up - to work alongside firms who our clients direct us to, and also with the firm of our choosing when we have a “clean sheet of paper” enabling us to do so.

What changes or enhancements do you think a firm like yours can bring to the local legal market?One of our stated aims accords with the provisions of the liberali-sation regime, namely to assist in “knowledge transfer” to Malay-sian law firms and lawyers. That could be of note in a wide range of areas of law, from Islamic finance through to cross-border deals. We are also aiming for what we saw in the English market in the late 1980s following the entry of American lawyers, namely earlier penetration of lawyers and legal services into commercial activity - rather than being consulted late in the day or as a last resort. We would also expect the advent of the introduction of for-eign law firms into the Malaysian market to have an upward effect on legal fees. Not only do Malaysian law firms feel that fee levels are excessively compressed; many of their clients do too!

’QFLF would meanadvancement andflexibility’

NICK WHITE


RHT eyes IPOfundraising routewith Catalistlisting

NEWS

RHT Group of Companies, owned by the partners of RHTLaw Taylor Wessing, is seeking to raise funds on the Singapore Stock Exchange

Catalist Board by listing its holding company, RHT Holdings Limited.

The proposed listing is scheduled for the first quarter 2016 or earlier, according to a release, and “will provide funds for the Group’s international aspirations.”

RHT Group of Companies consists of RHT Compliance Solutions, RHT Corporate Ad-visory, RHT Capital and RHT Management Services. Together it provides services in the regulatory and compliance solutions, spon-sorship, post-listed compliance and secre-

Indonesia will crack down on corporate tax avoidance via transfer pricing this year to try and recoup 200 trillion rupiah ($15.6 billion) in lost state income, mainly in the

commodities sector, the new head of the tax office told Reuters.

President Joko Widodo’s administration, which took office in October, is planning to double its infrastructure spending this year to build ports, power plants and other proj-ects, and the tax office figure for lost income would cover more than two-thirds of that spending.

As a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP), Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, has one of the lowest tax takes in the region, trailing behind Malaysia, Singa-pore, Thailand and the Philippines, accord-ing to the World Bank.

Sigit Priadi Pramudito, the country’s di-rector-general of taxes, said in an interview that many Indonesian companies, particu-larly in the coal, palm oil, cocoa and other commodities sectors, were avoiding corpo-rate taxes by using transfer pricing.

He declined to give names, but said some of them were major companies.

Under the transfer pricing method, an Indonesian company sells its goods to a subsidiary in another country below market prices, and the subsidiary in turn sells them to the market.

This effectively reduces profits in Indone-

Indonesia to crack down oncorporate tax avoidance

sia and increases them in that foreign coun-try.

“There’s a lot of potential in this area. We suspect that all along, they have been us-ing the transfer pricing method,” Pramudito said. “This year we will chase them.”

The tax office has the authority to adjust the tax bill of a company if it suspects that a sale to a related entity is under-priced.

In the past, it was difficult to prove com-panies had under-priced their goods as the tax office lacked comparable data on market prices, Pramudito said.

But now it has collected more compre-hensive data and is increasing its number of officers, he said, adding that it could take such companies to a tax court and indeed had won some such cases.

Widodo plans to add 4,000 taxmen per year to its existing 36,000 to help achieve an ambitious tax revenue target of 1,489.3 tril-lion rupiah this year, up 30 percent from last year’s collection.

During his presidential campaign last year, Widodo pledged to increase tax collec-tion to 16 percent of GDP from about 12 per-cent, and the tax office is keen to close any loopholes.

The tax crackdown on the resources sec-tor comes at a time when the prices of com-modities have fallen to multi-year lows due to slowing global economic growth and am-ple supplies.

Azmi in alliance with Penang’s Ezri

Malaysian law firm Azmi & Associates is seeking to tap into the Penang

market after entering into a col-laboration arrangement with a Ezri & Co, an eight-lawyer firm in that state.

The collaboration will focus on the following practice areas: Corporate, commercial, personal data protection, Islamic banking, compliance, antitrust, maritime and insurance.

REUTERS/Edgar Su

tarial services, corporate governance adviso-ry, share registration, compliance solutions, data analytics, as well as professional train-ing and development.

“The inception of RHT Holdings and our decision to list on the SGX Catalist Board is a reflection of our longstanding success and our international ambitions,” said Tan Chong Huat, non-executive director of RHT Hold-ings, in a statement. “In three short years, RHTLaw Taylor Wessing LLP and the RHT Group have become premier names in Sin-gapore for legal and professional consulting services respectively. We now wish to tap into capital markets to accelerate growth both in Singapore and internationally.”

Ezri & Co mainly focuses on litigation, banking and real estate. Following this ar-rangement, the two firms will continue to operate as separate entities.

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Qualcomm to pay $975 mln toresolve China antitrust dispute

Qualcomm Inc has agreed to pay China a fine of $975 million, the largest in the country’s corporate history, ending a 14-month gov-

ernment investigation into anti-competitive practices.

The deal also requires Qualcomm to low-er its royalty rates on patents used in China, likely helping Chinese smartphone makers like Xiaomi Technology Co Ltd and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. It removes a major source of concern among Qualcomm inves-tors, sending shares of the U.S. chipmaker up 1.6 percent to $68.18 in after-hours trad-ing.

China’s expanding high-speed 4G net-work is driving demand for smartphones with leading-edge technology, but Qualcomm’s opportunities have been clouded by the an-titrust investigation, which has also contrib-uted to troubles collecting royalty payments from device makers.

Qualcomm said in a statement on Mon-day it would not contest the China’s National Development and Reform Commission’s (NDRC) finding that Qualcomm violated an antitrust law.

Asked whether the resolution in China could affect the outcome of ongoing anti-trust probes into Qualcomm in Europe and the United States, Qualcomm President Derek Aberle said, “We fully respect their authority, but we don’t believe it’s likely that

China is weighing a far-reaching counterterrorism law that would re-quire technology firms to hand over encryption keys and install security

“backdoors”, a potential escalation of what some firms view as the increasingly onerous terms of doing business in the country.

A parliamentary body read a second draft of the country’s first anti-terrorism law re-cently and is expected to adopt it soon.

The initial draft, published by the Nation-al People’s Congress late last year, requires companies to also keep servers and user data within China, supply law enforcement authorities with communications records and censor terrorism-related internet con-tent.

Its scope reaches far beyond a recently adopted set of financial industry regulations that pushed Chinese banks to purchase from domestic technology vendors.

The implications for Silicon Valley com-panies, ranging from Microsoft to Apple Inc , have set the stage for yet another confronta-tion over cybersecurity and technology pol-icy, a major irritant in U.S.-China relations.

“It’s a disaster for anyone doing business in China,” said one industry source. “You are no longer allowed a VPN that’s secure, you are no longer able to transmit financials se-curely, or to have any corporate secrets. By law, nothing is secure.”

Although the counterterrorism provisions would apply to both domestic and foreign technologies, officials in Washington and Western business lobbies argue the law amounts to unfair regulatory pressure tar-geting foreign companies.

“The true test will come with implemen-tation,” said Scott Kennedy of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Wash-ington. “Given the recent spate of AML-related (anti-monopoly law) cases against foreign firms, the regulations about the banking sector, and the reduction of foreign firms’ products on government procurement lists, there is good reason for foreign firms to be highly concerned,” Kennedy said.

China draftcounterterror lawstrikes fear inforeign tech firms

REUTERS/Albert Gea

other agencies will necessarily meet similar conclusions.” The U.S. chipmaker also cut its full-year earnings estimate because of the fine, which Qualcomm said would cost it about 58 cents per share, but it raised the lower end of its revenue forecast slightly.

“It removes a significant source of un-certainly from our business and really posi-tions our licensing group to really participate in the full growth of the wireless market in China,” Qualcomm Chief Executive Officer Steve Mollenkopf told Reuters in a phone in-terview. “It’s something we’re happy is over.”

Discussions in Beijing over one of the most contentious cases under China’s 2008 anti-monopoly law had intensified recently, culminating in meetings between Qual-comm senior executives and the NDRC in February.

Under the terms of the agreement, Qual-comm will offer licenses to its current 3G and 4G essential Chinese patents - widely used by Chinese device makers - separately from other patents.

Some on Wall Street have speculated that even limited concessions made to Qual-comm’s licensing business in China could affect the technology company’s licensing deals in other countries.

Qualcomm is just one of several overseas companies, including Microsoft Corp, that have come under investigation in China for allegedly anti-competitive practices.


Bakrie Telecom debt ploy exposes new foreign investor pitfall in Indonesia

An Indonesian telecommunication company found a creative way to ensure that its debt restructuring was approved over some creditors’

objections: it loaned itself money and then counted its own votes toward approving the plan.

The maneuver, which distressed debt in-vestors said was unprecedented, was vali-dated by a Jakarta court.

But investors who have sued PT Bak-rie Telecom Tbk and its subsidiaries in New York over a $380 million bond say they were barred from voting on the restructuring.

The bond’s trustee Bank of New York Mel-lon said that violated both the terms of the bond contract and the law, without specify-ing which country’s law, according to a letter to Bakrie Telecom seen by Reuters.

The dispute has shaken investor senti-ment in Indonesian corporate debt just as President Joko Widodo is pushing for more foreign investment and local companies are trying to raise capital to expand. FDI in In-

donesia totaled 307 trillion rupiah ($24.1 bil-lion) in 2014.

Bakrie Telecom said the bondholders were not eligible to vote on the restructuring plan because they weren’t direct creditors. The notes they bought were issued by a spe-cial purpose vehicle (SPV) in New York, which then lent the proceeds to Bakrie Telecom.

The SPV, representing $380 million of Bakrie Telecom’s debt, cast its votes in favor of the restructuring plan, which was over-whelmingly approved on Dec. 8. Creditor claims that were recognized by the Jakarta court administrators totaled more than $770 million.

“They are now the issuer and the credi-tor,” said Hal Hirsch, a lawyer representing a group of Bakrie Telecom investors who col-lectively own more than 25 percent of the bond that was set to mature in May. “They shake their own hands, they enter into their own agreement, and they have now effec-tively eviscerated any claim that the note-holders have.”

Bakrie Telecom does not recognize the bondholders as its creditors because the company and the SPV that issued the bond are “two separate legal entities”, Aji Wijaya, a lawyer representing Bakrie Telecom, said.

“Whoever the creditor is, the rules of the game here have to be followed,” Wijaya said, adding that creditors will not get any money back if the company goes bankrupt.

A Jakarta court approved the restructur-ing vote on Dec. 9. Hirsch said bondholders chose not to appeal the decision because “the additional time, cost and delay would have been sadly a waste.”

REUTERS/Dadang

IIn a bid to rival Singapore, Hong Kong is in-troducing sweeping tax measures aimed at making it a more attractive centre in Asia for global corporations to trade for-

eign exchange.Hong Kong is established as a regional

centre for company headquarters. But mul-tinationals have tended to choose Singapore to manage foreign exchange operations, drawn by a low-tax base and pro-business policies.

To counter that, Hong Kong will table a bill to remove hurdles that deter compa-nies from locating their treasury functions in Hong Kong, Financial Secretary John Tsang said last month.

At the heart of the tax changes is a pro-posal to make all inter-company interest tax deductible for corporate treasury centres, which should bring Hong Kong into line with Singapore.

The government also wants to slash the

headline tax rate on profits arising from spe-cific treasury activities to 8.25 percent, half the current rate and below Singapore's 10 percent rate.

"Singapore has been offering tax incen-tives for finance and treasury centres since 2004 and in that time has really built up its corporate FX and treasury capability," said James Badenach, financial services tax part-ner at EY in Hong Kong.

"With the liberalisation of the RMB (yuan), Hong Kong has a significant opportunity to close the gap with Singapore, but to capture its share of corporate FX flow it needs to at-tract more corporate treasury centres."

Hong Kong's average daily FX turnover as of April 2013 was $275 billion, ranking it third in Asia, well behind Singapore and Ja-pan, and fifth globally, data from the Bank of International Settlements shows.

Corporate treasury centres operate like a company's internal bank. They enter trades

to hedge currency risk and commodity price swings, manage borrowing and lending, re-invest idle cash, and raise capital.

About half of the 7,585 foreign or main-land companies operating in Hong Kong are regional headquarters or central offices that carry out treasury functions, an October 2014 survey by InvestHK and the Census and Sta-tistics Department shows.

More than 12,000 European and U.S. companies have operations in Singapore, many of which use the city as regional head-quarters, according to European Union and U.S. figures.

Until now, interest income earned by a corporate treasury centre on inter-group transactions, such as a loan to an overseas group company, was taxable in Hong Kong. Interest expense paid on the loan was not tax deductible.

Hong Kong seeks to rival Singapore as corporate FX hub


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ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSMARCH 2015SPONSORED ARTICLE18

Act”) enacted in 2011 in response to the 2008-09 financial crisis in the United States of America.9 The Dodd-Frank Act not only provides whistleblowers with confidentiality of identity, but also incentivises whistleblowing with monetary benefits of 10-30% of the money collected in a case where the whistleblower provides high-quality, original information that results in an SEC enforcement action with sanctions exceeding US$1 million.10

Singapore may not wish to go so far as to provide actual monetary incentives to whistleblowers who come forward with high-quality information. Apart from practical issues such as how the incentive programmes should be structured and where the funds for the monetary incentives may be sourced, such inducements could result in credibility issues if the evidence of a whistleblower is crucial for a conviction in any criminal proceedings which may result from the disclosure.11

In this regard, Singapore may wish to look at Australia’s Corporations Act 2001, which provided the model for many provisions in the SFA when the Securities and Futures Bill was first drafted in 2001.

Part 9.4AAA of Australia’s Corporations Act 2001 was implemented in 2004 to provide protection for whistleblowers who disclose information indicating that the company or an officer/employee of the company has or may have contravened a provision of the Corporations legislation.12 Part 9.4AAA is designed to prohibit employers from victimising the whistleblower who reports a suspected breach in good faith and on reasonable grounds.13 However, Part 9.4AAA does not protect whistleblowers from liability for any illegal act or wrongdoing in which they were involved and the whistleblowers can still be subject to criminal prosecution in relation to that act or wrongdoing.14

While Part 9.4AAA may seek to prohibit the victimisation of whistleblowers, the dynamics in a company will never be the same once it is known that an individual has blown the whistle on the management and/or colleagues. No legislation can deal with the complex inter-personal workplace relations issues arising as a consequence of a disclosure.15

Local legislation dealing with whistleblowing in other white-collared offences may perhaps be more insightful.

Legislations protecting whistleblowers in Singapore include section 36 of the Prevention of Corruption Act

On 22 September 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced an expected award of more than US$30million to a whistleblower living outside the United States of America, who provided key original information that led to a successful SEC enforcement action against an on-going fraud. To date, this award is the largest made by the SEC’s whistleblower program.1

In Singapore, there is presently no overarching legislation dealing with the issue of whistleblowers, how they should be protected and/or whether they should be accorded leniency in sentence on account of their early disclosure of offences. However, there are separate legislations offering protecting to whistleblowers in individual areas. In addition, where the whistleblower was a participant in the offence, case law provides that voluntary surrender and co-operation with the police or prosecution may accord some mitigating value in the court’s decision on sentence.2

Whistleblowers of securities offences in Singapore are not protected by any legislation at present. It is perhaps timely that legislation affording protection and/or leniency to this group of whistleblowers be considered.

Securities offences sanctioned by the Securities and Futures Act (Cap. 289) (“SFA”) include (i) insider trading3, (ii) false trading / market rigging4, (iii) making of false or misleading statements5, and (iv) the failure to disclose material information.6

Singapore’s securities market has moved from a merit-based regulation where the regulator decides what is disclosed to the market to a disclosure-based regime which empowers investors to make informed decisions based on publicly-available information.7 The disclosure-based regime demands an effective market enforcement regime which swiftly and firmly deals with any transgressions in order to preserve investor confidence in Singapore’s capital markets.8 An effective market enforcement regime will require that any and all transgressions be disclosed to the relevant authorities as soon as possible so that they can be swiftly dealt with.

Legislation protecting whistleblowers and/or affording leniency will be a step forward in facilitating an effective market enforcement regime.

The epitome of protection and incentives for whistleblowers may be the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank

TIME TO BLOW THE WHISTLE ON SECURITIES OFFENCES?

DREW & NAPIER

A: 10 Collyer Quay, Ocean Financial Centre #10-01, singapore 049315

T: (65) 6535 0733 F: (65) 6535 4906 E: [email protected] W: www.drewnapier.com

Wendell Wong Director, Dispute Resolution T: (65) 6531 2496 E: wendell.wong@ drewnapier.com

Priscylia Wu Associate, Dispute Resolution T: (65) 6531 2729 E: priscylia.wu@ drewnapier.com


DREW & NAPIER

(Cap. 241) which restricts disclosure of the identity of informers.

Another such legislation is section 89 of the Competition Act (Cap. 50B) which ensures the preservation of secrecy of all matters relating to the identity of persons furnishing information to the Competition Commission of Singapore (“CCS”). CCS has also gone one step further to administer a Leniency Programme available to businesses that are part of a cartel agreement.16 The Leniency Programme allows these businesses to apply to CCS for an immunity or a reduction of up to 100% of the financial penalties where the business gathers and provides CCS with the necessary information and evidence relating to the cartel.17

Legislation ensuring that the identity of informers are protected (as in the Prevention of Corruption Act and Competition Act) may be a cautious first step in encouraging individuals possessing highly useful information to come forward.18 Such individuals are typically officers, employees or parties related to the company with information which they have obtained as a result of their internal position.

The whistleblowers’ internal position also mean that they may require a higher level of encouragement to come forward as whistleblowers may fear possible reprisals from their colleagues or employers upon their disclosure of incriminating information and/or evidence.

A bolder reform Singapore can consider, above simply protecting the identity of informers, may be a leniency programme (not unlike the Leniency Programme administered by CCS) for whistleblowers who participated in the very act or wrongdoing they seek to disclose. This leniency programme will expressly provide whistleblowing as a mitigatory factor where the whistleblower provides information which will allow the police to commence an investigation into a securities offence or add significant value to an on-going investigation.19

The advantages of whistleblowing are largely acknowledged and include the facilitation of successful prosecution of offences which are otherwise difficult to detect.20 Given Singapore’s interest in preserving investor confidence in Singapore as a leading and world-class capital market which requires an effective market enforcement regime able to swiftly and firmly deal with any transgressions, a reform of the whistleblower protection and adoption of a leniency programme in the SFA is timely and progressive.

1 SEC Press Release “SEC Announces Largest-Ever Whistleblower Award” <http://www.sec.gov/News/PressRelease/Detail/PressRelease/1370543011290#.VOmZA_mUf_M>2 Sentencing Practice in the Subordinate Courts (LexisNexis, 3rd Ed, 2013) at p 149-1503 SFA, section 218

4 Id, section 1975 Id, section 1996 Id, section 2037 Singapore Parliamentary Debates (5 October 2001) vol 73 at cols 2127-2128 (BG Lee Hsien Loong, Deputy Prime Minister)8 Id at cols 21359 White House, Wall Street Reform: The Dodd-Frank Act <http://www.whitehouse.gov/economy/middle-class/dodd-frank-wall-street-reform>10 Supra n 1.11 Paul Latimer, “Whistleblowing in the Financial Services Sector (Part 2)” (2004) 23 University of Tasmania Law Review 176 at p 18712 Australia Corporations Act 2001 (C2015C00003), section 1317AA13 Corporate Law Economic Reform Program (Audit Reform and Corporate Disclosure) Act (2004) Explanatory Memorandum at para 5.38114 Id at para 5.38615 Supra n 11, at 199 and 20416 CCS, Applying for Leniency <https://www.ccs.gov.sg/working-with-ccs/applying-for-leniency>17 CCS, Procedures under the leniency programme <https://www.ccs.gov.sg/working-with-ccs/applying-for-leniency/procedures>18 Paul Latimer and A J Brown, “Whistleblower Laws: International Best Practice” (2008) 31 UNSWLJ 766 at 77519 CCS, Eligibility for leniency application <https://www.ccs.gov.sg/working-with-ccs/applying-for-leniency/eligibility>20 Supra n 1; Supra n 16

About Drew & Napier LLCDrew & Napier’s Criminal Practice comprises an exceptional team of lawyers from across our firm. We provide our clients with a single access point for representation on commercial, securities, and non-commercial crimes.

We draw our expertise from specialists across Drew & Napier’s practice groups including Banking & Corporate, Tax, Intellectual Property, and Dispute Resolution.

Our lawyers have dealt with an extensive range of criminal matters and we have experience in regulatory, trial and appeal processes. We are committed to providing support for our clients at every stage of the criminal justice process from investigations to prosecutions in court. Our clients include major corporations, listed companies and individuals.

Find out more at www.drewnapier.com.

COVER STORY20 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSMARCH 2015

> As an organization, Asian Legal Business (ALB) aims to map the legal market in the region a variety of ways. Our law awards, held annually now in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea are among the most prestigious ones for the legal industry in Asia, and we also do a host of rankings every year. The award winners (and nominees), as well as the firms that make our rankings, give us an indication as to which law firms are winning the headline-grabbing deals, acting as counsel in important disputes, and keeping both their clients and their employees happy in the process.

The ALB Power List 2015 thus pulls together all this information and uses it to pick the most influential law firms in the region on the basis of work done, clients satisfied and talent acquired and retained. Since some firms have more a regional reach than others, we have two lists: the Domestic Power List, for firms that are most influential in their home countries, and the Regional Power List, which lists the most “powerful” firms across Asia. The lists are in alphabetical order.


REUTERS/Vincent West

COVER STORY 21WWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

MANILA HONG KONGCEBUwww.romulo.com | +632.555.9555ROMULO MABANTA BUENAVENTURA SAYOC & DE LOS ANGELES

THE DOMESTIC POWER LIST

ALLEN & GLEDHILLSINGAPOREsingapore’s largest domestic law firm in the ALB Top 50 Rankings for 2014, Allen & Gledhill picked up numerous awards and accolades in the past year, including Real Estate Law Firm of the Year at the ALB southeast Asia Law Awards. And as singapore had an immense M&A year in 2014, A&G made the top tier of ALB’s M&A Rankings 2014 for singapore. Early on in the year, it launched a Myanmar firm in Yangon, which came months after the establishment of Allen & Gledhill (Laos) in Vientiane.

DEACONSHONG KONGDeacons remains Hong Kong’s largest domestic firm by some distance: The ALB Top 50 Rankings for 2014 had the firm at 253 fee-earners, with the second-placed firm well back at 86. Apart from a raft of nominations at The Macallan ALB Hong Kong Law Awards 2014, the firm came away with Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year. It was also voted by its employees as an “Employer of Choice” in Hong Kong, and made the M&A Rankings for the sAR as well.

HADIPUTRANTO, HADINOTO& PARTNERSINDONESIADespite being dethroned as Indonesia’s largest law firm by ABnR in 2014, HHP had an otherwise good year, being named Deal Firm of the Year, Energy and Resources Law Firm of the Year and Indonesia Law Firm of the Year at the inaugural ALB Indonesia Law Awards, apart from being involved in a host of crucial deals such as XL Axiata’s Acquisition of Axis Telekom, which was named Indonesia Deal of the Year. It was named in the top tier of the ALB M&A Rankings for Indonesia as a result.

KIM & CHANGSOUTH KOREAThe second annual ALB Korea Law Awards, held late last year, saw Kim & Chang win an impressive nine awards, including Korea Deal of the Year, Deal Firm of the Year, and Korea Law Firm of the Year. It certainly has the numbers on its side; the firm has about 1000 fee-earners, more than twice the number of its nearest competitor. The firm was also named in the top-tier of the ALB 2014 M&A rankings, capping off a successful year for the firm.

THE DOMESTICPOWER LIST> Allen & Gledhill (Singapore)> Deacons (Hong Kong)> Hadiputranto, Hadinoto & Partners

(Indonesia)> Kim & Chang (South Korea)> Mori Hamada & Matsumoto (Japan)> Rajah & Tann (Singapore)> Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura

Sayoc & De Los Angeles (Philippines)

> Shearn Delamore & Co (Malaysia)> Tilleke & Gibbins (Thailand)> VILAF (Vietnam)

THE REGIONALPOWER LIST> Allen & Overy> Baker & McKenzie> Clifford Chance> Freshfields> Herbert Smith Freehills> Hogan Lovells> King & Wood Mallesons> Linklaters > Maples and Calder> Mayer Brown JSM


MORI HAMADA& MATSUMOTOJAPANApart from a number of deal award wins at the ALB 2014 Japan Law Awards, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto was named The Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan Award Litigation specialist Law Firm of the Year, the Japan Deal Firm of the Year, and – the icing on the cake – the Japan Law Firm of the Year. It also made the top tier in Japan in both the M&A and the IP rankings. Aside from a new office in Yangon, it was also involved in key deals like the skylark IPO.

RAJAH & TANNSINGAPORERajah & Tann bolstered its disputes credentials last year after being named as the Arbitration Law Firm of the Year at the ALB 2014 southeast Asia Law Awards, and also underlined its M&A prowess by being involved in the southeast Asia Deal of the Year. In the various rankings, it was named in the top tiers of both the IP Rankings and M&A Rankings for singapore. The icing on the cake was the launch of its AsEAn law firm network, Rajah & Tann Asia.

ROMULO MABANTABUENAVENTURA SAYOC& DE LOS ANGELESPHILIPPINESOne of the largest law firms in the Philippines, Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura sayoc & De Los Angeles won the Philippines Deal Firm of the Year at the ALB 2014 southeast Asia Law Awards. Aside from being feted as a top-tier firm in the ALB M&A Rankings 2014 for the Philippines, it was also named as an Employer of Choice, one of only two firms to receive the honour from that country. It was additionally involved in key deals like Robinsons Retail Holdings’ IPO.

SHEARN DELAMORE & COMALAYSIAshearn Delamore was named as a top-tier firm in ALB’s IP and M&A Rankings for 2014, and is currently the second-largest law firm in the country, according to the ALB Top 50 Largest Law Firms 2014. The firm was involved in the takeover of Fraser & neave by TCC Assets and Thai Beverage Public Co, the deal that emerged the joint winner for the M&A Deal Firm of the Year at the Malaysia Law Awards.

TILLEKE & GIBBINSTHAILANDAt the end of 2013, Tilleke & Gibbins had expanded its reach in three new countries in the AsEAn region – Indonesia, Laos, and Myanmar – but it is in its key markets, namely Thailand and Vietnam where it remains most strong. It was named as the Employer of Choice in both those countries, and made the M&A rankings there too, but it is in IP where it remains a formidable force, making the top tier in both Thailand and Vietnam. More expansion is expected in 2015.

VILAFVIETNAMVietnam International Law Firm (VILAF) was prominent in the ALB rankings in 2014, being named in the top tier of the M&A Rankings, and also named an Employer of Choice (one of only two in that country), apart from being ranked as the second-largest law firm in Vietnam. Last year it advised Mondelez International on its agreement to pay $370 million to buy an 80 percent stake in the snack business of Vietnamese company Kinh Do. some months before that, it advising Vingroup on Vingroup Joint stock Company on its $200 million U.s. dollar high-yield bond issuance, the first offshore public bond from a privately owned Vietnamese company, as well as the first from a Vietnamese real estate operator.

THE REGIONAL POWER LIST

ALLEN & OVERYAllen & Overy had two big awards nights last year, at the ALB 2014 southeast Asia Law Awards -- where it picked up awards in 10 categories, including the southeast Asia Law Firm of the Year and the Emerging Markets Law Firm of the Year – and the China awards, where among other accolades, it was jointly named Real Estate Law Firm of the Year – International. It was a ranked M&A firm in multiple countries, and was the fifth-largest international law firm in Asia, according to the ALB Top 50.

BAKER & MCKENZIEAsia’s largest international law firm by lawyer numbers, Baker & McKenzie was particularly prominent at The Macallan ALB Hong Kong Law Awards 2014, and also enjoyed recognition at the southeast Asia and China Law Awards. At the Hong Kong awards, it was named both Tax and Trusts Law Firm of the Year and Wealth Management Law Firm of the Year. Additional, Bakers and its network/affiliate firms in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines were named as Employer of Choice in ALB’s annual list.

CLIFFORD CHANCEClifford Chance is Asia’s second-largest international law firm, with more than 450 fee-earners in Asia, according to the ALB Top 50. At the ALB 2014 China Law Awards, it was named as the International Law Firm of the Year, won Dealmaker of the Year – International, and also was on the CnOOC/nexen Financing deal, which won the Energy & Resources Deal of the Year. In ALB’s M&A rankings for 2014, Clifford Chance was a top-tier firm in China, Hong Kong and singapore, and was also ranked in Japan and Thailand.

FRESHFIELDSEvidence of Freshfields’ regional reach was provided by the recognition it received last year in ALB’s China, Hong Kong, Japan and southeast Asia law awards. stephen Revell of Freshfields was named southeast Asia Managing Partner of the Year in the southeast Asia awards, where it was also on award-winning deals. At The Macallan ALB Hong Kong Law Awards 2014, Robert

RICARDO J ROMULOSenior Managing Partner

DANG DUONG ANHHanoi Managing Partner

COVER STORY 23WWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

Ashworth was named the IPP Wealth Advisers Ltd Award Dealmaker of the Year. The firm is the sixth-largest international law firm in Asia, and was ranked for M&A in numerous markets.

HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLSAsia’s ninth-largest international law firm was successful in a variety of ALB awards last year, primarily in Hong Kong, southeast Asia and Korea, with the occasional awards also in Japan and China. In Hong Kong, it was named Dispute Resolution Law Firm of the Year, in Korea it was on the Debt Market Deal of the Year, and at the ALB 2014 southeast Asia Law Awards, it took home Corporate social Responsibility Law Firm of the Year. Additionally it won M&A rankings recognition for multiple countries.

HOGAN LOVELLSHogan Lovells was a prominent feature in ALB’s IP rankings last year, being ranked in China, Hong Kong, Japan and Vietnam, and also made the M&A rankings in those countries. It is currently the eighth-largest international law firm in Asia, with 252 fee-earners, including 54 partners, according to the ALB Top 50 Largest Law Firms. In the past year, it also expanded its offices across Asia with some key partner hires in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and singapore, and continued to do the same into 2015.

KING & WOOD MALLESONSUnderstandably, much of King & Wood Mallesons’ awards wins last year came in China and Hong Kong. In the ALB 2014 China Law Awards, KWM’s Xu Ping was named Dealmaker of the Year for China. The firm also won four key firm-category awards, including International Arbitration Law Firm of the Year, and Wang Ling was named Managing Partner of the Year. It also won Corporate Citizenship Law Firm of the Year at The Macallan ALB Hong Kong Law Awards 2014, and was ranked for IP and M&A in China.

LINKLATERSAs Asia’s third-largest international law firm, with 316 fee-earners (including 60 partners, according to the ALB Top 50, Linklaters was ranked in multiple Asian countries for M&A last year, including China and singapore, where it made the top tier. At The Macallan ALB Hong Kong Law Awards 2014, it was named Deal Firm of the Year, while at the ALB 2014 southeast Asia Law Awards, it was on both the Debt Market Deal of the Year, and the Equity Market Deal of the Year.

MAPLES AND CALDERWinning the Offshore Law Firm of the Year at The Macallan ALB Hong Kong Law Awards 2014 capped off a successful night for Maples and Calder, which was also on

the Hong Kong Deal of the Year, the M&A Deal of the Year and the Debt Market Deal of the Year. At the ALB 2014 China Law Awards, the firm was also named Offshore Law Firm of the Year, in addition to being on the Debt Market Deal of the Year, the M&A Deal of the Year, and the TMT Deal of the Year.

MAYER BROWN JSMOne of the top ten largest law firms in Asia by fee-earner size, Mayer Brown JsM won the Insolvency and Restructuring Law Firm of the Year, Insurance Law Firm of the Year and Real Estate Law Firm of the Year award at the The Macallan ALB Hong Kong Law Awards 2014 to mark a successful year for the firm. Also, in both the IP and M&A rankings last year, it ranked in both China and Hong Kong. The firm also has a presence in Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and singapore.

METHODOLOGYLaw firms and lawyers are

picked on the basis of awards and nominations at ALB’s

various law awards in 2014, appearances in ALB’s various rankings and lists in that year, and also on market feedback.

INDONESIA24 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSMARCH 2015

THE AsEAn ECOnOMIC COMMUnITY (AEC) Is DUE TO BE EsTABLIsHED BY THE EnD OFTHE YEAR, WHICH sHOULD EnCOURAGE TRADE AnD ATTRACT InVEsTMEnT InTO THE REGIOn.THE LIBERALIsATIOn AnD InTEGRATIOn OF AsEAn MEMBERs’ CAPITAL MARKETs HAs BEEn A

KEY FOCUs AREA In THE LEAD UP TO THE AEC. sOME AnALYsTs HAVE CLAIMED THAT THEsUCCEss OF THE AEC’s CAPITAL MARKETs WILL BE HEAVILY DEPEnDEnT On THE PARTICIPATIOnOF InDOnEsIA, AsEAn’s LARGEsT ECOnOMY AnD MOsT POPULOUs nATIOn. BUT HOW READYIs InDOnEsIA? MEAnWHILE, InDOnEsIA’s LEGAL MARKET HAs BEEn BUsY, WITH A nUMBER OF

LOCAL FIRMs LOOKInG TO FORGE ALLIAnCEs WITH REGIOnAL AnD InTERnATIOnAL PLAYERs InPREPARATIOn FOR THE nEW AEC ERA. KANISHK VERGHESE REPORTs

THE AECAPPROACHES:

IS INDONESIA READY?


REUTERS/Sigit Pamungkas

The establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by the end of 2015 is intended to encour-age trade and investment between

member nations, and to make ASEAN a major global player by transforming the region into a single trading bloc. Each of the

ten member countries are at different stages of development as they prepare to integrate their markets. However, the readiness of Indonesia, ASEAN’s largest economy and most populous nation, has been a cause for concern, especially in the area of capital markets integration. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s

legal industry has been abuzz with the formation of alliances between local firms and their regional and international coun-terparts as they prepare for the AEC.

The AEC aims to create a single mar-ket and production base with a free flow of goods, services, capital and labour.


Member nations have been working – albeit at varying speeds – to align their regula-tions and structures in preparation for the AEC. Indonesia, which makes up nearly 40 percent of ASEAN’s $2.3 trillion economy, is considered a core component to the AEC’s success. From Indonesia’s point of view, the government has done quite a lot of preparation, but far from enough, says Fikri Assegaf, partner and co-founder of Assegaf Hamzah & Partners. “In terms of foreign direct investment, effort has been made to comply and open certain areas up to investment from ASEAN countries, such as the advertising sector,” says Assegaf. However, many in Indonesia argue that the country might not be ready for full-fledged market liberalisation, which has led the newly elected government to pursue pro-tectionist policies. “The perception here is that the country is more on the losing side because it is already the largest market with the largest population in the region. But there are some doubts over if the do-mestic players are ready to compete with the regional players in Indonesia or in the region,” says Tjahjadi Bunjamin, a founding partner at Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung.

THE ASEAN TRADING LINKThe liberalisation and integration of ASEAN members’ capital markets has been a key focus area in the lead up to the AEC. The de-velopment of an integrated capital market in the AEC will enable the free flow of capital within the region, and should mould ASEAN into an asset class for international inves-tors. The ASEAN Trading Link is a vital cog to this development. The Link connects par-ticipating exchanges through an electronic network, essentially allowing investors to freely trade securities in any participating member’s market. Analysts claim that the success of the AEC’s capital markets will be heavily dependent on Indonesia’s par-ticipation. However, so far, only Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have joined the Link.

Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) recently admitted that the country’s stock market still faces a number of chal-lenges that need to be addressed before it is integrated into the regional economy. One difficulty for foreign companies looking to list in Indonesia is that their prospectuses must be audited by an auditing commission recognised by OJK. “One of the things that the government and regulators are strug-gling with is in the context of AEC, how do they make that fit with our Capital Market Law of 1995, which still assumes that audi-tors, securities companies and other sup-porting professionals to be an Indonesian entity or have an Indonesian presence,” says Melli Darsa, founder and managing partner of Melli Darsa & Co. “The Capital Market Law has been in the works to be amended for so long. One would think they would have amended the law to accom-

modate commitments under the AEC to be better implemented, but it still hasn’t been changed,” says Darsa.

As it stands, foreign companies are permitted to list on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) by issuing Indonesian Depositary Receipts. However, no foreign company has gone down that route to date. “One reason for this could be that we are still at the very early stages of improving the governance and regulatory aspects of our capital markets. There has been a dramatic improvement on various fronts, but more improvements to the standards can still be made,” says Assegaf.

Despite the movement towards market integration, competition is still fierce be-tween ASEAN nations in many industries. It is therefore possible that this perceived regulatory inaction could be due to the IDX and OJK still viewing financial hubs like

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo claps during plenary session of the 25th ASEAN summit at Myanmar InternationalConvention Centre in Naypyitaw November 12, 2014. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

“WE nEED TO sEE CLEAR GUIDAnCE FROM THE nEW GOVERnMEnT In TERMs OF PREPARInG OURsELVEs FOR THIs LIBERALIsATIOn. I AM sURE OPEnInG UP THE MARKET WILL ULTIMATELY BE GOOD FOR InDOnEsIA, BUT IT TAKEs TIME, AnD THE InDUsTRY nEEDs TO ADJUsT ITsELF.”Tjahjadi Bunjamin, Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung

INDONESIA 27WWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

Singapore as a major rival. For example, if all of ASEAN’s exchanges were to join the Trading Link where securities can be freely traded across markets, companies may choose to focus their listings on the more liquid and mature exchanges, at the expense of other bourses in the AEC.

FORMING ALLIANCESThe creation of the AEC is likely to spur more cross-border transactions and in-vestment, albeit perhaps not immediately. This potential increase in deal flow should trickle down to Indonesia’s law firms. While the current law in Indonesia prohibits in-ternational law firms from opening in the country, a number of local firms have forged cooperation agreements with regional law firms in the past 12 to 18 months to broaden their ASEAN reach. Jakarta-based Makes & Partners entered into an alliance with Singapore’s WongPartnership last August, while Rosetini & Partners inked an agree-ment with Japanese firm Nishimura & Asahi in September. Others have looked to align themselves with international law firms. Linda, Widyati & Partners entered into an association with Clifford Chance in early 2014, while IP boutique K&K Advocates and business law firm Nurjadin Sumono Mulyadi & Partners formed an alliance with Bird & Bird last June. Hanafiah Ponggawa & Partners joined RHTLaw Taylor Wessing’s ASEAN+ network in late 2013.

Assegaf Hamzah & Partners, meanwhile, formed an alliance with Singapore’s Rajah & Tann in 2013. Then in August last year, Rajah & Tann combined its eight regional and associated law firms within Southeast Asia to form Rajah & Tann Asia, an integrat-ed platform for cross-border transactional and dispute resolution services across the region. “Clients abroad are looking at firms that are able to provide local expertise and solutions across ASEAN. Our tie-up with Rajah & Tann Asia is a response to that growing requirement,” says Assegaf.

However, Assegaf Hamzah & Partners has no immediate plans to enter into formal agreements on a larger scale, he says. “We work with a number of international firms and we want to maintain the ability to do so. By tying up with one international firm, you are closing doors to your relationships with others,” says Assegaf.

For some law firms, remaining indepen-dent is the preferred modus operandi. “If your firm is at a manageable size and you know what your niche market is, you’d like the flexibility of working with any law firm at any one time. In fact, the Indonesian clients really rely on us to help them find the best law firm that can do work in the region at any given time,” says Darsa. Melli Darsa & Co. recently ended its alliance with Squire Patton Boggs to focus on its best friend re-lationships with regional and international law firms. “With Squire Patton Boggs, al-though we entered into the alliance as part of its independent network, people read more into it. It didn’t benefit us because we weren’t really integrated and indeed our relationship was focused on more long-term strategies in any event like moving beyond our core securities and public M&A practice. As such, we decided that it is better to stay independent, which allows us to realign our relationship with several of the premium U.S. firms which generally do not have any presence in Indonesia,” says Darsa.

While foreign firms are prohibited from opening offices in Indonesia, the country’s Ministry of Law is able to issue up a recom-mendation for up to five foreign lawyer work permits to be employed in each local firm, says Bunjamin. “Many industry players hope that the government will consider allowing the issuance of more than five foreign lawyer permits per firm, considering the industry is also growing. The five permit limit has been in place for a long time, but the industry has grown significantly since then, so it would be good for business if the limit was raised,” he says.

‘WAITING ON THE SIDELINES’The creation of the AEC this year should strengthen the competitiveness and bar-gaining power of ASEAN countries in the global marketplace. At the same time, the free flow of goods, services, labour and capital will undoubtedly spark some competition between ASEAN countries. For Indonesia, this could pose a chal-lenge. “The extent of the AEC attracting big deals in Indonesia also depends on how the country is perceived as an invest-ment target. Laws have to be clearer, and regulators have to understand that foreign investment is required and be less protec-tionist. Investors are literally waiting on the sidelines, but Indonesia might not be completely ready yet for full integration,” says Darsa.

The Indonesian government needs to play a pivotal role in getting Indonesia ready for the AEC, and clear regulations regarding the implementation of the AEC could help Indonesia’s businesses – both big and small – and legal industry benefit from a fully integrated market and trading bloc. “We need to see clear guidance from the new government in terms of preparing ourselves for this liberalisation. I am sure opening up the market will ultimately be good for Indonesia, but it takes time, and the industry needs to adjust itself,” says Bunjamin.

The key benefit of the AEC for Indonesia is that the ASEAN countries will be able to present themselves as one market and one community, says Assegaf. “When you pres-ent the AEC as one trading bloc, which will be the third biggest market in the world, that will attract more investors into this region and add to economic growth,” he says. “For many years, we have been talking about the AEC in 2015 as if it was so many years in the future. But we are already in 2015, so maybe people will begin to properly discuss real implementations of the AEC blueprint.”

“WHEn YOU PREsEnT THE AEC As OnE TRADInG BLOC, WHICH WILL BE THE THIRD BIGGEsT MARKET In THE WORLD, THAT WILL ATTRACT MORE InVEsTORs InTO THIs REGIOn AnD ADD TO ECOnOMIC GROWTH.”Fikri Assegaf, Assegaf Hamzah & Partners

Q&A28 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSMARCH 2015

PEnG XUEFEnG, THE FOUnDER OF DACHEnG LAW OFFICEs, sPEAKs TO SHANGJING LI ABOUTHOW THE MERGER WITH DEnTOns CAME ABOUT, IssUEs THAT REMAIn TO BE IROnED OUT,AnD WHY MORE CHInEsE LAW FIRMs sHOULD COnsIDER THE MERGER ROUTE

‘I HOPE THE INDUSTRY WILL BECOME AWARE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF GOING GLOBAL’

ALB: Can you tell us how the merger came about? Who made the first move?Peng: Dacheng Law Offices had been seeking a globalised development path for a while. We laid down our five development goals more than ten years ago: Standardisation, scale, professionalism, branding and globalisa-tion. So globalisation has been one of our objectives.

To be frank, Dentons wasn’t the only major international law firm we approached. But of all the law firms we approached, we decided to choose Dentons… and for good reasons. We had collaborated with Dentons in the past, but talks formally started only half a year ago, when Joe Andrew, their global chairman, and Elliott Portnoy, their global CEO, came to Beijing to visit Dacheng.

We share many things in common, includ-ing our values, philosophy when it comes to development, and a globalisation-oriented strategic vision – we are a perfect match for each other in all these respects. They are an established firm with a history of 270 years, whereas we are recognized as a major player in a dynamic part of the world. We each have our unique attributes which are highly complementary.

ALB: Could you shed some light on your motivations behind the merger?Peng: As mentioned earlier, we had long been interested in a merger, and globalisa-tion has always been an objective. We set up offices in Europe, the U.S. and other places in Asia, and built up our overseas presence through such an expansion model. However, our development remained slow. It was un-satisfactory to us. More importantly, it failed to meet the actual needs of our clients.

Today, we have entered a consolidation

Q&A 29WWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

phase, and our offices overseas have started working together with Dentons. We have five major regional divisions worldwide. Dacheng’s offices in Europe and North America have merged with Dentons, while Dentons’s Asian offices became part of our network.

I have been asked many times: Did Dacheng acquire Dentons or was acquired by Dentons? I think the answer is: We are join-ing hands to create a new law firm. As we go ahead, the question to be asked is not who is the acquiror. We have strategic consensuses, shared values and objectives.

ALB: Could you walk us through the overall organisational structure after the merger?Peng: It will be a process of direct assimila-tion. Dentons lawyers in Asia will join our corresponding practice groups directly ac-cording to our existing internal department set-up. Similarly, our staff in Europe and North America will also be moved directly to relevant Dentons departments.

The process will be completed through regional integration of offices. There won’t be a Dentons New York office and a separate Dacheng New York office. We are now one fam-ily, so there will be a single office in any location.

ALB: Do you think the merger will result in any loss of opportunities in terms of coop-eration with other multinational law firms?Peng: The deal doesn’t cover the entire world, and we don’t rule out the possibility of part-nering with other top law firms in areas not covered. The networks of Dentons and ours combined only cover around 50 countries in the world. We don’t have any office in the re-maining countries. Of the over 200 countries worldwide, we have presence in less than one-third. There is plenty of room for us to build partnerships with other law firms.

ALB: So does that mean you will not be able to work with other international law firms in areas where you already have offices?Peng: This is true in some sense, but we won’t need such resources going forward. For example, other international law firms may have large teams in New York. But we already have a large team there, so we don’t need to look any further.

ALB: After the merger, will there be some kind of uniform, globalised fee structure for different offices across the world?Peng: During the three-year transition pe-riod, the merger will follow the Swiss Verein model under which there will be regional profit pools, and accounting systems are kept

separate. After that, we aim to become a fully integrated firm. However, we will need to keep certain legal issues in mind.

Under Chinese law, there are certain restrictions when it comes to these arrange-ments, but many feel the laws will change soon. Needless to say, it would be ideal if such changes happen, so we can evolve smoothly. If realized, they will be good news for the en-tire legal profession in the country, and will make revenue generation more globalised.

ALB: How will decision-making work in the future?Peng: Our new law firm will have a global governance structure and separate manage-ment teams for the five major regions.

We have a global board, a global advisory committee and a global management com-mittee. Currently, the global board consists of members from the five major regions and I am the incumbent chairman, with my first term of office lasting for four years. The global advisory committee also consists of board

members of the five major regions, and I am also acting as its chairman. For the global management committee, the CEO is Elliott Portnoy, and Joseph Andrew serves as the global chairman overseeing management operations at a more macro level.

We have gaps to fill in our global cover-age. For example, South America, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and India are all on our radar.

ALB: What is the biggest challenge after the merger?Peng: The most difficult challenge is the massive workload. We have a lot of things to to do, such as resolving conflicting protocols, increasing business cooperation and carrying out market expansion through joint efforts. We are facing a complicated situation, and ev-eryone needs to take a pragmatic approach. I always stress that we must tackle one task at a time. The most urgent task facing us now is to make sure the transition is seamless for our clients.

ALB: What do you expect to achieve after the three-year transition period?Peng: We hope we will become the stron-gest law firm in the world, not only in terms of scale but also professionalism, industry expertise, geographical and jurisdiction coverage. It’s easier said than done. We are fully aware that to achieve this goal we need to cope with the many tasks down the road one by one.

We are undergoing a process of integra-tion, including building professional teams, client resources, historical institutional sys-tem of social resources. They are all works in progress.

ALB: Do you think more law firms in China will follow Dacheng’s footsteps to merge with foreign firms in the next a few years? Why?Peng: This is certainly our hope. The Chinese economy is now closely integrated with the outside world, but legal services in China have not really reached beyond Chinese borders.

Nevertheless, clients have ventured abroad, taking the need for legal services with them. Therefore, service providers need to follow suit. Otherwise they will begin falling be-hind, and face the risk of being eliminated over time.

The only solution is to catch up with the first movers. King & Wood made it to overseas markets first, setting a good example. And now, Dacheng has also gone overseas. But two firms alone are not enough. I hope the legal industry will become aware of the value and importance of going global, and law firms can join hands to catch up. Otherwise, the services provided for clients will remain incomplete, only covering the domestic side of things.

I personally believe that in a market like China, even 100 more mergers among large law firms will not be enough to fully satisfy market demand. Legal professionals should appreciate this from a pragmatic perspective, and make concerted efforts towards this com-mon purpose.

“I PERsOnALLY BELIEVE THAT In A MARKET LIKE CHInA, EVEn 100 MORE MERGERs AMOnG LARGE LAW FIRMs WILL nOT BE EnOUGH TO FULLY sATIsFY MARKET DEMAnD. LEGAL PROFEssIOnALs sHOULD APPRECIATE THIs FROM A PRAGMATIC PERsPECTIVE.”

ISLAMIC FINANCE30 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSMARCH 2015

REUTERS/Nayef Hashlamoun

THE RAPID RIsE TO PROMInEnCE OF IsLAMIC FInAnCE HAs, On THE FLIP sIDE,EXPOsED A sHORTAGE OF BOTH FInAnCE AnD LEGAL PROFEssIOnALs sKILLED In

THE FIELD. RANAJIT DAM FInDs OUT HOW LAW FIRMs AnD InsTITUTIOns InMALAYsIA ARE WORKInG TO FILL THE GAP In sKILLED LAWYERs

NEEDEDLAWYERS

Almost two years ago, COMCEC, a multilateral economic and com-mercial cooperation platform for the Islamic world, released a sur-

vey found that Malaysia was experiencing a shortage of sharia experts. According to the survey, capital markets was the most affected area with an 88 percent talent gap, followed by the legal and takaful (insurance) sectors, both at 63 percent, and banking the least affected at 50 percent. Fast forward to 2015, and that skills shortage still persists,

particularly in legal, as law firms can attest. “There is a shortage of Islamic finance talent in Malaysia, particularly at mid-level,” says Azman bin Othman Luk, deputy managing partner of Rahmat Lim & Partners in Kuala Lumpur.

Additionally, in spite of Malaysia’s bur-geoning reputation in the sphere, the skilled Islamic finance practitioners appear to be concentrated within the nation’s capital. “In Malaysia, not many law firms have the exper-tise on Islamic banking and finance sector

particularly on sophisticated transactions,” says Ahmad Lutfi Abdull Mutalip, managing partner of Azmi & Associates. “Most law firms capable of advising on sophisticated Islamic finance transactions are big law firms in the Klang Valley. The knowledge and skills on this subject have not yet spread properly to the other parts of the country.”

The shortage of lawyers is critical, be-cause, as Malaysia’s International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) puts it, legal aspects are enormously important


AZMI & ASSOCIATES

Norsuria Jani Legal Executive Azmi & Associates singapore

Like any commercial agreements, disputes may arise from Islamic finance agreements and special attention be given to agreements that have cross-border transactions elements. To ensure the enforceability of Islamic finance cross-border transactions and rights of the parties are still protected, a reliable legal recourse should be provided. Singapore has a robust infrastructure for dispute settlements in parallel with its resilient position in legal, financial and economic infrastructures. We explore the suitability of such mechanisms for potential disputes arising from cross-border Islamic finance transactions.

SINGAPORE’S ADJUDICATION SYSTEMSingapore’s judiciary system sets an impressive benchmark and with its most respected system, financial market players would generally feel secure because of the effective and substantial commercial requirements. As such, they are considerably advantageous for potential disputes arising from Islamic finance agreements. However, there is still no judicial precedent in Singapore on Islamic finance disputes to support such conviction. In fact, the suitability of such medium to accommodate Islamic finance intricacies is continuously debatable as the governing legislations for the adjudication system do not provide a specific avenue for Islamic finance transactions to be tried.

Shariah court has its unique presence in the Singapore courts system. However, it is restricted to Muslim personal laws only as provided under the Administration of Muslim Law Act (Cap.3) (AMLA). Sadly, civil courts are the only options available for disputes over Islamic wealth management matters such as law of inheritance (faraidh) and endowment (waqf). By this, Islamic finance disputes could easily fall within the civil courts jurisdiction.

Singapore being a Commonwealth country has a higher inclination to adopt legal principles established in prominent Islamic finance cases tried in the English courts.2 Hence, the Singapore existing laws would not be desirable to try disputes in relation to cross-border Islamic finance agreements.

The newly launched Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) on 5 January 2015 could shed some light on Islamic finance industry as a whole. SICC serves to deal with transnational commercial disputes. Interestingly, a quite significant number of International judges are also appointed to hear cases in SICC.3 This could be one of the suitable platforms to try cross border Islamic finance disputes as the SICC has jurisdiction to hear if:

a. the claim has international and commercial characteristics;b. the litigants have submitted to the SICC’s jurisdiction under

a written jurisdiction agreement; andc. the litigants do not seek any relief in the form of, or

connected with, a prerogative order.

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (ADR): MEDIATIONFor the purpose of cross-border Islamic finance transactions, the relevant avenue could be private commercial mediation under the Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC) as it is tailored to a wide range of cases including international commercial transactions.

Typically, SMC provides mediation services on disputes over commercial matters such as banking. Although to date, there is no record found in SMC dealing with Islamic finance disputes, such disputes are deemed to be within the purview of commercial matters.

Another significant milestone in the Singapore legal industry is the establishment of the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) on 5 November 2014.4 One unique service it offers is a hybrid form of mediation with arbitration named Arb-Med-Arb Service, under the collaboration of both the SIMC and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC).5 The hybrid service starts with arbitration first and attempt mediation at the second stage and arbitration again takes place when the dispute is still unsettled. Overall, this international mediation centre would provide an effective medium for disputes in relation to Islamic finance cross-border transactions.

ADR: ARBITRATIONCross-border Islamic finance transactions can incorporate clauses to arbitrate within the international domain and adopts the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model.

Arbitration provides autonomy to parties by giving them flexibility to choose the substantive law to be tried and governed in the related disputes based on their mutual agreement.

The institutional framework for international arbitration practices in Singapore is mainly led by the SIAC. The comprehensive SIAC rules alongside with well-organized facilities can effectively facilitate international arbitration and cross-border Islamic finance transactions could be considered too.

PROSPECTSThe dearth of local judges, qualified mediators and arbitrators who are competent to hear Islamic finance cases is greatly felt in Singapore.

To bridge this gap, Shariah expert opinions can be referred to by the civil courts through invoking Section 31 of the AMLA which empowers the Fatwa Committee of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore to issue fatwa or decrees on Muslim law upon request, but such reference could give legal binding effect only on Shariah aspects of Islamic finance.

There is still an absence of legal recognition and rules on the dispute settlement mechanisms in Singapore to cater to the intricacies of Islamic finance disputes.

Having comprehensive guidelines would substantiate the Singapore’s support for Islamic finance practices in cross border transactions. This also would certainly facilitate the nation’s pavement to be a leading International Financial Centre for the Islamic finance industry.

A: 14th Floor, Menara Keck seng 203 Jalan Bukit Bintang 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

T: (603) 2118 5000 W: www.azmilaw.com

DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISMS IN SINGAPORE FOR CROSS-BORDER ISLAMIC FINANCE TRANSACTIONS1

1 An article which has been reproduced from a paper titled “Alternative Dispute Resolution in Singapore for Islamic Finance” presented at Islamic Business Management Conference 2014, August 18, PWTC, KL.

2 Such as Islamic Investment Company of the Gulf (Bahamas) Ltd v Symphony Gems NV &Ors [WL 36969 Q.B.Com.Ct.Feb 13 2002, unreported] and Shamil Bank of Bahrain EC v Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd [2004] 1 W.L.R 1784.

3 Singapore International Commercial Court Website, http://www.sicc.gov.sg

4 It was officially launched on 5 November 2014 as reported in Today, http://www.todayonline.com/new-singapore-international-mediation-centre-launched

5 Singapore Mediation Centre website, <http://www.mediation.com.sg/>

Farhah Hayati Mamat Partner Azmi & Associates Kuala Lumpur

ISLAMIC FINANCE32 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSMARCH 2015

for Islamic finance. “All the Islamic finance products and services are presented in form of legal documentation for approval by the sharia board and the regulators, and also the engagement between the Islamic finance institution and the customer is based on agreement signed and agreed upon in form of legal documents,” says Ahcene Lahsasna, deputy director of the Centre of Research and Publication at INCEIF. “Lawyers are behind the drafting of these legal documents in Islamic finance. Hence there is a need for existing and future lawyers to be trained in Islamic finance to ensure high quality in le-gal documentation and full compliance with sharia in form and substance.”

HIRING CHALLENGESOne of the main challenges law firms have in hiring experienced Islamic finance lawyers is that, given the limited number of sharia experts in the country compared to the ac-

tual number of jobs available, job-hopping becomes quite frequent. “The demand for qualified and skilled Islamic finance lawyers is high especially from the banking industry while the resources are scarce,” says Ahmad Lutfi. “There are constant attractive offers from the industry for experienced Islamic finance lawyers.”

The sheer sophistication of some Islamic finance products does not help either. “Whilst there are various university and professional courses now available which are able to provide new lawyers with technical ground-ing in Islamic finance principles, finding and retaining high quality lawyers who have actual, in-depth Islamic finance experience remains a significant challenge,” notes Azman. “The sophistication of some Islamic financing products invariably requires that the lawyers in question have already devel-oped significant experience and capabilities in conventional finance. With only a small

number of Malaysian law firms handling tier one Islamic finance transactions, the pool of high-quality candidates is rather small.”

UP TO SPEEDLaw firms are looking to overcome these challenges by ramping up their training, internally and externally. “Our strategy is to train exceptional candidates which had been identified from the law school to join the team and to provide them with the necessary train-ing and exposure from the beginning,” says Ahmad Lutfi. “Our lawyers are dealing with complex transactions most of the time and we consider that those real transactions are the best training ground for our lawyers. At the same time, the firm invests in continuous learning programs for our lawyers such as Islamic finance courses both at the interna-tional and local levels.”

Similarly, for Rahmat Lim & Partners, says Azman, the focus to date has been to “grow

capabilities internally through structured on-the-job training, continuing legal educa-tion, and encouraging associates to acquire Islamic finance qualifications from entities such as INCEIF.”

Currently, INCEIF is offering a number of post-graduate programmes such as M.Sc. in Islamic finance, Ph.D. in Islamic Finance, and Masters in Islamic Finance Practice (MIFP), to go with customised executive programmes in Islamic finance. “These programmes offer academic and practical knowledge relating to Islamic banking and finance industry in general,” says Lahsasna.

REQUIRED SKILLSSo what kinds of skills are law firms look-ing for in the Islamic finance practitioners that they hire? Azman says that they should be able to couple strong fundamentals in conventional finance, with a solid under-standing of basic Islamic finance principles

and concepts. “As Islamic finance products and structures are constantly evolving, they also need to be adaptable, and quick to understand and be able to work with new products and structures,” he says. “Given the increasing number of high-end cross-border Islamic finance transactions, a good com-mand of written and spoken English is always advantageous.”

For Ahmad Lutfi of Azmi & Associates, it is very important to have sound knowledge in banking and securities law and to be coupled with essential knowledge on the sharia princi-ples governing Islamic banking transactions. “A good Islamic banking lawyer must possess the necessary expertise and knowledge on the operational aspects and requirements in the conventional banking system as to ensure that the similar standards, at least, can be applied in Islamic banking practice,” he adds.

Lahsasna says that Islamic finance re-quires some specific qualities and skills within its professionals, including its lawyers. “One is the ability to understand and apply sharia principles into commercial transactions in developing financial products, he says. “This requires two kinds of knowledge: Firstly, the sharia aspects in business and finance where the lawyers should understand sharia con-tracts, their principles, terms and conditions, and related sharia features such as the rules of contracts combination and the like; and secondly, finance requirements. Both should be understood to ensure a proper drafting of the legal documentation.”

In other words, he says, the skills that Islamic finance lawyers should be well-versed in would mainly be those related to sharia matters under the umbrella of fiqh muamalat (rules related to commerce and trading); and the Islamic law of contracts. “These skills would be extremely beneficial for the lawyers to identify the relevant financial contracts that their customers are, or should be, involved with, their underlying sharia contracts and any discrepancies or issues that the custom-ers should be aware of associated with the contracts,” he adds.

Finally, lawyers should also be well versed in alternative dispute resolution. “As Islamic finance continues to grow, it is only to be expected that the number of legal cases and disputes in the field will also grow,” says Lahsasna of INCEIF. “Thus Islamic finance lawyers should be well-equipped with rele-vant skills and knowledge to manage matters related to conflict resolution and arbitration. Islamic finance lawyers are required to fill these gaps and to ensure that progress in the industry is based on sound footing.”

“THE DEMAnD FOR QUALIFIED AnD sKILLED IsLAMIC FInAnCE LAWYERs Is HIGH EsPECIALLY FROM THE BAnKInG InDUsTRY WHILE THE REsOURCEs ARE sCARCE. THERE ARE COnsTAnT ATTRACTIVE OFFERs FROM THE InDUsTRY FOR EXPERIEnCED IsLAMIC FInAnCE LAWYERs.” Ahmad Lutfi Abdull Mutalip, Azmi & Associates

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Q&A34 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSMARCH 2015

JUsTIn WALKEY, CHAIRMAn OF BIRD & BIRD AsIA PACIFIC, sPEAKs TO KANISHK VERGHESE ABOUT THEFIRM’s KEY OBJECTIVEs In AsIA, ITs GROWTH sTRATEGY,AnD THE CHALLEnGEs IT FACEs In An InCREAsInGLYCOMPETITIVE EnVIROnMEnT

ALB: It has been just over two years since you relocated from London to Hong Kong as the Chairman of Bird & Bird Asia Pacific. What were some of the key objectives you laid out for the firm’s practice in Asia upon taking on this role, and what are the firm’s key strategic goals for Asia in 2015?Walkey: The larger strategy has been to effectively build on three pillars of work: international clients’ inbound investment, the local client base’s regional activity, and the outbound work back into the wider firm network.

Initially, Bird & Bird’s Asia practice was not entirely reflective of the firm’s practice mix back in Europe. One of the objectives was to try and balance the practice mix in a way that more closely reflects the mix that we enjoy back in Europe. Intellectual property (IP) and IP litigation is a very important part of our business and our service offering, but it makes up a greater percentage of our practice in Asia. We are looking to balance this with corporate and commercial transactional work as well as non-IP dispute resolution work.

We need to build up our resources in the transactional space, and to strengthen our reputation for that work as well. In order to do that, as with any international law firm, you need capabilities across a lot of different disciplines and practice

areas. We are looking to build a larger local client base to complement the traditional international client base that we have enjoyed. To do that, you need local capability that is relevant to what the major local clients want.

ALB: Bird & Bird has been acquiring that local capability, merging with Truman Hoyle in Australia and forging alliances in Korea and Indonesia in 2014. Are there any further expansion plans in the pipeline?Walkey: China is a dynamic and highly competitive market. We are looking at evolving our offering in China to adapt to recent and future changes in the market. For example, we currently have offices in the traditional locations like Beijing and Shanghai. It is possible that we may look at other cities in China, especially in areas where the new IP courts are coming up.

ALB: Aside from organic growth, it seems that Bird & Bird in Asia is more inclined to expand through alliances with local firms rather than through mergers. Would that be a fair assumption?Walkey: I think it depends on the market. We do have this model of cooperation agreement first and see where it leads you. And sometimes it may lead you to the door

because you don’t work very well together or the culture is not right or there’s no fit. And sometimes within a jurisdiction where it is possible for Bird & Bird to trade as Bird & Bird, it might lead you to opening up as it did for us in Australia. In Australia, the cooperation agreement led to a merger. The arrangement with what used to be Truman & Hoyle – now Bird & Bird Australia – was only ever a platform to get us started. We’re building off that platform now, and growing out the bits of the business that we needed that weren’t necessarily there on day one.

If we look at a market like Korea for example, we could have gone in under the Free Trade Agreement with some of the other British and U.S. firms. But when we analysed the market, we had no particular requirement to practice Korean Law. The model for us was really based on outbound work. A similar analysis can be drawn for the Japanese market. There are lots of businesses in both Korea and Japan that perfectly fit the profile for Bird & Bird, and it’s the outbound side of these businesses that is really the focus for us. Entering into an alliance with Hwang Mok Park in Korea gave us access to a top ten corporate Korean law firm with excellent local relationships. That was Bird & Bird’s approach in Korea. It is a different approach to everybody else in the market, and we have some nice stories to tell already, which demonstrate that our approach is working well with both Bird & Bird and Hwang Mok Park.

ALB: Are there any key practice areas that the firm’s Asia Pacific group will focus on in 2015?Walkey: The aviation finance business is extremely active and we see quite a lot of potential for growth there. Indonesia and Malaysia have been key jurisdictions for aviation finance, but we are turning our attention now to China and Hong Kong for that. The life sciences area is going to be subject to a major push and for us in 2015, as well as energy and utilities and the technology and communications industries. Another area for potential growth is in the licensing and franchising space.

In terms of regions, China continues to dominate conversations because of the sheer size of its market. There are some very interesting developments going on there at the moment, with some early

‘WE HAVE SOMENICE STORIES TO TELL ALREADY’

Q&A 35WWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

signs pointing to the possible loosening of certain regulations and steps toward the liberalisation of the legal market.

ASEAN is bound to offer many opportunities, especially as we move towards the creation of the ASEAN Economic Community at the end of 2015. Indonesia is a massive economy in ASEAN, and is now moving in to a consumer-driven phase that suits our type of business. This explains why we planned out cooperation

agreements with K&K Advocates and Nurjadin Sumono Mulyadi & Partners in Indonesia last year. You can see the appeal for a general counsel at a major multinational of being able to go to one law firm that can offer key services across the ASEAN countries, rather than having to approach different law firms country by country. We will be looking to improve our ASEAN coverage in 2015 through our service hubs in Singapore (ATMD Bird &

Bird) and Malaysia (Tay & Partners) and by building on our network of relationship firms in the region.

ALB: Competition in Asia has intensified in recent years with a number of international firms growing their presence in the region, and several local firms beefing up their practices. Does this pose a major challenge for Bird & Bird in Asia? How does the firm aim to stay ahead of the pack?Walkey: Some of the local firms are regionalising quite successfully, particularly in Southeast Asia, and are offering a pretty competitive service and quality of service in the region in a way that we can’t ignore as an international firm. That’s coupled with other phenomena like Japanese firms establishing in the region for the first time. If you stand back from it all, it’s hardly surprising that the focus of the world is on the potential for growth in places like ASEAN and China.

I believe the Bird & Bird offering is differentiated in the marketplace, and that is going to be the key for us. If the market doesn’t want to buy the deep industry knowledge and value added services we offer in the region, then we will find trading challenging. But the indications are that the market is becoming more interested in getting more specialised services, and what we are offering is well received. But I don’t ignore the fact that it is a very competitive environment. You have to be smart in the way you structure your offerings to maintain a margin and remain price competitive as well.

I think the biggest challenge in growing our business here in a sustainable way is to get the correct blend of local expertise with international expertise. I believe you need both in order to succeed in Asia. Clients need that local market knowledge blended with international standards and expertise. Ultimately, it’s all about the people. You need to find the right people with the right skill sets and build a culture for them to thrive in.

“CLIEnTs nEED THAT LOCAL MARKET KnOWLEDGE BLEnDED WITHInTERnATIOnAL sTAnDARDs AnD EXPERTIsE. ULTIMATELY, IT’s ALL ABOUTTHE PEOPLE. YOU nEED TO FInD THE RIGHT PEOPLE WITH THE RIGHTsKILL sETs AnD BUILD A CULTURE FOR THEM TO THRIVE In.”

ARBITRATION36 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSMARCH 2015

BOOKEnDED BY THE FORMATIOn OF THE sICC In THE BEGInnInG, AnD THEARRIVAL OF THE AsEAn ECOnOMIC COMMUnITY AT THE EnD, 2015 Is sHAPInG UP TO BE

A PROMIsInG YEAR FOR ARBITRATIOn In sInGAPORE, FInDs ED LANE

A BIG YEAR

IN THE OFFING

Arbitration in Singapore in 2015 will benefit from increased multi-lateral legal agreements to recognize the wealth city-state’s enforcement of

judgments, possibly through avenues such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) or a formal treaty, according to lawyers interviewed by ALB.

Singapore’s regional and trading part-ners might elect to consider a formal treaty,

according to Jonathan Choo, a partner at Olswang, though such a process would take time. But he notes that for many commercial agreements there is a strong base of support among clients to have Singapore’s judiciary as touchstone.

“About 50 percent or more of the cases at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) involve firms from outside of Asia,” Choo says. “They highly trust the judi-

ciary here as a key factor as well as cost and, of course, the infrastructure available.” For example, many Indian companies now look to use SAIC as a preferred venue over London because local firms are on par in expertise with senior counsel from abroad, though he notes that that took time.

“Local firms have developed the expertise once squarely with foreign legal counsel so that has made Singapore even more attrac-


tive,” he adds. He also says the speed of the government in passing the International Arbitration Act (IAA) shows that change can happen here quickly.

For Edmund J. Kronenburg, managing partner of Braddell Brothers, the factors behind an increase in the number of offshore disputes determined in Singapore can be put down to a short checklist.

“Singapore has the following main attri-butes conducive to being a dispute resolution hub,” Kronenburg says. “It is perceived as a neutral venue. It is trusted by both East and West while not being so much a part of the East or West that it appears pre-disposed to the former or latter. Its courts are efficient and fair; and its Bar offers quality legal rep-resentation at reasonable cost, compared with Hong Kong, London or Paris which are all global arbitration hubs.”

C h o u S e a n Yu , a p a r t n e r w i t h WongPartnership, said international firms have voted with their feet in the case of not-ing Singapore in contracts as the place for arbitration, if needed.

“The increase in such disputes resolved through international arbitration has mainly come about because of the increased use of Singapore-seat arbitration clauses as the agreed mode of dispute resolution in interna-

tional contracts,” Chou says. “Singapore has become a popular seat for arbitrations be-cause of its strong reputation for facilitating international arbitration, principally through the fact that the Singapore courts (being the supervisory court over any arbitration seated in Singapore) are independent and very well-versed in arbitration matters.”

A CHANGING MIXChoo notes the mix of clients has also changed as the nature of business around the globe becomes increasingly focused on intel-

lectual property and Internet connectivity. Singapore has a base in maritime, insurance and oil and gas work in arbitration, counsel said. As a trend going forward however, an area broadly defined as tech and media has come to the fore.

One reason is that the room for disputes in agreements involving software and content as well as equipment favors a jurisdiction in Asia with regional acceptance, Choo says.

“I think that a sizeable number of offshore disputes that are determined in Singapore will continue to originate from the construc-

“WHAT THE CREATIOn OF THE sICC EFFECTIVELY ALLOWs Is FOREIGn LEGAL AnD JUDICIAL TALEnT TO ADD VALUE TO THE EXIsTInG ATTRIBUTEs OF sInGAPORE, In CAsEs OF An OFFsHORE nATURE. IF sInGAPORE LAWYERs POsITIOn THEMsELVEs CORRECTLY, THEY WILL BEnEFIT FROM THIs VALUE-ADD THROUGH COLLABORATIOns WITH THE FOREIGn LEGAL TALEnT In sUCH CAsEs.”Edmund Kronenburg, Braddell Brothers

In AKM v AKN [2014] 4 SLR 245 (“AKM v AKN”), an interesting recent decision peppered with references to the Lord of the Rings (to anonymize the parties), the Singapore High Court set aside an SIAC arbitral award on the basis that the tribunal had failed to properly consider the losing party’s arguments, and hence deprived it of natural justice.

The Singapore High Court found inter alia that the tribunal had in its award (i) failed to deal with an important aspect of the losing party’s arguments; (ii) misstated the losing party’s position; (iii) failed to mention concessions by the opposing party; (iv) failed to analyse the losing party’s submissions; and (v) departed in a significant respect from the submissions of both parties, and in particular, from the submissions of the winning party.

The decision has been regarded as bold by various commentators, given that in an earlier decision by the Singapore Court of Appeal - BLC v BLB [2014] 4 SLR 79, it was said that a Singapore court – when faced with an application to set aside an award for an alleged failure to consider a party’s arguments – should be wary of such

allegations; the court had to look “at the entirety of the arbitral award instead of “assiduously combing an arbitral award microscopically in attempting to determine if there was any blame or fault in the arbitral process”. In contrast, the Singapore High Court in AKM v AKN appeared to have engaged in a close examination of the arbitral award, devoting a significant part of its judgment to how the award was written.

It is unclear whether AKM v AKN will survive on appeal. What is certain however is that arbitrators now have a timely reminder to ensure that in their awards, the parties should be able to see their main arguments set-out accurately, and then ruled upon. Additionally, we may now see SIAC arbitrators employing a procedural tool akin to ‘terms of reference’ (a feature of ICC arbitrations) where each party states its case, on which both parties as well as the tribunal then sign-off, to prevent similar setting-aside applications being made against their awards. Such a practice has its merits - both the tribunal and the parties can use that document as a convenient checklist to ensure that all arguments made by the parties are adequately ventilated and dealt with.

BRADDELL BROTHERS LLP

SETTING ASIDE AWARDS FOR FAILURE TO CONSIDER PARTIES’ ARGUMENTS?

Mr Kevin Ho (65) 6499 9483 [email protected]

A: One Raffles Place, #34-03 singapore 048616

T: (65) 6499 9490 F: (65) 6499 9499 W: www.braddellbrothers.com

Ms Grace Loke (65) 6499 9487 [email protected]


tion, insurance and maritime sectors,” Choo says “Moving forward, I expect that in line with the growing trend for international tech-nology and media businesses to target the immense market potential within the ASEAN region and in India, we will soon also start to see more disputes from the technology and media sectors being determined through arbitration in Singapore.”

At the end of 2015, the ASEAN region enters into an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) pact that has laid the ground work for harmonized regulations across banking, drug and medical device regulations and the ability to clear services as well as goods trade in the 10-nation - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam - bloc of more than 600 million people with a combined GDP over $2.3 trillion, equivalent to the world’s seventh largest economy.

Indeed, India, China and the U.S. are often invited to attend ASEAN meetings as

observers and eagerly use the chance to push broader agreements on market access for companies, which Chou says will only become more evident.

“We have started to see many more dis-putes where the subject matter concerns investments in India and China and I believe there will be a continued upward trend in such disputes,” he says. “We have also started to have investment treaty disputes being heard in Singapore (which have no other connection with Singapore) and this is also expected to increase.”

But Singapore won’t be the only arbitra-tion centre benefiting from the advent of the AEC. “Implementation of the AEC will liberalize goods and services across the ASEAN region and see a marked increase in regional and international investment,” says Datuk Professor Sundra Rajoo, direc-tor of the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA). “The arrival of the AEC will therefore bring attention to and raise

awareness of existing arbitration provisions in the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA). KLRCA is the key regional arbitration centre named in the ACIA, and with its combined ASEAN community pres-ence and state of the art facilities is poised to provide specialist dispute resolution services throughout this new era of ASEAN growth.”

One other area to watch is the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact pushed hard by the United States as a way to open services and trade across twelve countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam.

THE SICC EMERGESStill, in the world of business as in govern-ments not everyone gets along and litiga-tion remains very alive as an option, an area Singapore has setup a framework on as well through the Singapore International

Traffic passes Saint Andrew’s Road in front of the old City Hall and Supreme Court Building at dusk in Singapore. REUTERS/Tim Chong

ARBITRATION 39WWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

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Commercial Court, a division of the Singapore High Court and part of the Supreme Court of Singapore designed to deal with transna-tional commercial disputes.

The SICC, in Singapore style, started as an idea by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon in 2013 and by dint of committee work, govern-ment support and, of course, many lawyers, was officially launched on Jan. 5, 2015. Parties must submit to SICC jurisdiction under a written agreement and agree to other terms related to procedure.

A discussion of how it fits in with SIAC and the legal community shows wide ac-ceptance because it deepens legal avenues and business.

“It is a positive development for both clients and legal professionals alike,” Kronenburg of Braddell says. “What the creation of the SICC effectively allows is foreign legal and judicial talent to add value to the existing attributes of Singapore, in cases of an offshore nature. If Singapore lawyers position themselves correctly, they will benefit from this value-add through collaborations with the foreign legal talent in such cases.”

Choo of Olswang notes, however, it re-mains a work-in-progress.

“The SICC is still relatively new, so naturally, practitioners will have questions as to how it will function,” he says. “However, it has re-ceived plenty of news coverage since its launch. This in turn has sparked much interest and dis-cussion within the legal community here, which is always a good thing. I expect that it won’t be long before there is greater clarity on the topic, particularly once we start to hear about the

first few cases heard at the SICC. I think that at least initially, the limited cross-border enforce-ability of SICC judgments will perhaps be the biggest impediment to the SICC’s popularity, particularly when considered alongside the use of arbitration as a dispute resolution forum. However, as far as Singapore is concerned, the important point here is that parties have the various dispute resolution options available to them in Singapore and can pick the most appropriate option for their dispute.”

“I EXPECT THAT In LInE WITH THE GROWInG TREnD FOR InTERnATIOnAL TECHnOLOGY AnD MEDIA BUsInEssEs TO TARGET THE IMMEnsE MARKET POTEnTIAL WITHIn THE AsEAn REGIOn AnD In InDIA, WE WILL sOOn ALsO sTART TO sEE MORE DIsPUTEs FROM THE TECHnOLOGY AnD MEDIA sECTORs BEInG DETERMInED THROUGH ARBITRATIOn In sInGAPORE.”Jonathan Choo, Olswang


“sInGAPORE WILL nEED TO REMAIn ABREAsT OF ALL DEVELOPMEnTs In THE InTERnATIOnAL ARBITRATIOn sPHERE. CURREnTLY, IT Is LOOKInG InTO ALLOWInG FOR THIRD PARTY FUnDInG AnD POTEnTIALLY MORE sOPHIsTICATED DAMAGEs-BAsED COsTs ARRAnGEMEnTs FOR InTERnATIOnAL ARBITRATIOns sEATED In sInGAPORE.”Chou Sean Yu, WongPartnership

India aims to amend arbitration law to lure foreign investors

India plans to amend its arbitration law, setting time limits for courts and easing judicial rules to decide corporate dis-putes, as it seeks to attract more foreign investment, Law Minister Sadananda Gowda has said.

Many domestic and foreign com-panies, such as British telecoms major Vodafone, prefer Singapore, Hong Kong and London as arbitration venues, since winning final settlements from Indian courts can take years.

The World Bank rates India 186th out of 189 countries for its enforcement of contracts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised judicial reforms and other steps to lift India up the World Bank’s Doing Business Index.

“Billions of dollars are blocked in legal disputes in India,” Gowda told an industry event. “There is a need to establish a speedy, cost-effective and efficient dis-putes resolution mechanism.”

Parliament was expected to approve amendments to the arbitration law in the coming session, he added.

The government also plans to set up separate commercial courts to speed the resolution of corporate disputes, a move that could unlock billions of dollars in investments, Gowda said.

A government panel has suggested limiting courts’ authority to overrule arbitration awards and fixing time limits and fees to settle legal cases.

The government earlier deferred plans to issue an executive order to amend the law, as it wanted parliamentary approval, Gowda said.

Sums ranging in the billions of dollars are leaving India every year in arbitra-tion costs headed overseas, industry chamber ASSOCHAM said in a report, with Singapore the most popular site for arbitration cases filed by Indians.

Scores of projects worth more than 4 trillion rupees ($64 billion) are under litigation in different courts and tribunals, the report said.

“Delay in the timely disposal of high-value cases is leading to a drop in GDP,” says D.S. Rawat of ASSOCHAM.”

And Chou of WongPartnership says he sees it as complimentary. “The functions and objectives of the SICC are clear,” he notes. “It is intended to be a specialist international commercial court with procedures which are intended to be effective in dealing with complex disputes involving foreign laws. Cross-border enforceability may admittedly appear to be a concern for parties who in-tend to use the SICC. Serious positive efforts are however currently being undertaken by Singapore to enhance the enforceability of a SICC judgment.”

Going forward, Kronenburg says a key for continued growth is highly dependent on the strength of the judiciary.”Singapore’s Judiciary should therefore continue to hold the trust of the arbitration community by releasing well-reasoned, pro-arbitration decisions, that other Model Law jurisdictions can refer-to as precedents,” Kronenburg says. “In that regard, being ‘pro-arbitration’ is not the same as being ‘pro-enforcement’. Enforcement of an award might sometimes be ‘anti-arbitration’. For instance, to blindly enforce an award that offends basic arbitra-tion principles on jurisdiction cannot be ‘pro-arbitration’. The Singapore Court of Appeal has demonstrated that it understands that fine, sometimes overlooked, distinction in its Astro-Lippo decision in Oct 2013, in which it refused to enforce a substantial part of a SIAC arbitral award that tribunal actually lacked jurisdiction to make.”

Indeed Chou says that the ability to set precedent and adapt at the same time is a balancing act that never ends.

“Singapore will need to remain abreast of all developments in the international arbitration sphere,” he says. “Currently, it is looking into allowing for third party funding and potentially more sophisticated damages-based costs arrangements for international arbitrations seated in Singapore [both of which are currently prohibited under domes-tic restrictions].”

All three lawyers note that the depth of legal talent has to grow to keep up with new

services and areas of practice - something that has apparently not escaped the atten-tion of property developers in the Central Business District where a slew of gleaming office complexes house many of the top firms with office space set to grow.

Office rents in the city’s central business district jumped 14 percent last year, even as luxury home prices slumped 6 percent, ac-cording to Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.

The real estate firm said consolidation of

several offices into Grade A space by consult-ing and law firms, more so than banks, is driving about 1.15 million square feet of new office space that will come on stream in 2015, rising to 1.6 million square feet in 2016 and 4.7 million in 2017.

Indeed, the demand for Grade A office space extends to Maxwell Chambers in Singapore, which houses top international alternative dispute resolution institutions under one roof.

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Why Seoul?

Why Seoul IDRC?

11F Seoul Global Center 38 Jong-ro, Jongro-gu, 110-792, Seoul, Koreawww.sidrc.org / [email protected]

Seoul is strategically located in the center of East Asia, making it an ideal neutral venue for the resolution of the international disputes. Korea has a strong and supportive arbitral framework, which closely follows the UNCITRAL Model Law. Further, Korea is a longstanding party to the New York Convention, which allows awards rendered in Korea to be easily enforced in more than 140 jurisdictions worldwide.

Seoul IDRC is a new hearing center that understands the needs of arbitration practitioners. The Center is well known as a department store for international arbitration, which offers the users the following unique features:

Seoul IDRC's hearing and break-out rooms have been tailored to facilitate the efficient conduct of arbitration proceedings and to meet the demands of complex international arbitration. The Center offers the latest in hearing system technology, including advanced video-conferencing to enable the simultaneous participation of arbitrators, counsels, parties and witnesses from all over the world.

Seoul IDRC holds the offices of various arbitral institutions such as the AAA/ICDR, the HKIAC, the ICC, the KCAB, the LCIA, and the SIAC.Seoul IDRC has a cooperation agreement with the WIPO and the PCA.

Seoul IDRC offers affordable hearing room rates which include secured rooms with individual locks, complimentary coffee, tea and water, complimentary Samsung smart PC tablets and Apple IPad minis, and complimentary use of movable Full HD screens and data viewers.

Seoul is conveniently connected to other global and regional commercial centers through its award- winning Incheon airport-as well as Gimpo airport within the city. Seoul IDRC is also surrounded by top-of-the-class hotels and restaurants.


The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) is celebrating its centenary this year with a series of conferences around the world, and the final one will be held in singapore in september. Richard Tan, chairman of the singapore branch of CIArb, and board members Francis Xavier sC and Paul sandosham talk about what to expect at the event, as well as how CIArb is helping singapore in its journey to become a global disputes hub.

What are some of the highlights of CIArb’s Centenary Year conference in Singapore?The Singapore Conference will be the final Centenary Conference after events in Birmingham, Hong Kong, London and Zambia. The Honourable Chief Justice of Singapore and current patron of CIArb, Sundaresh Menon, will be the keynote speaker at the conference. Internationally renowned arbitration practitioners and judges will be speakers at the conference. The conference will also see the launch of the CIArb Guidelines, which set out good arbitration practice.

Singapore has developed into a global arbitration hub in the past few years. In what ways has the Singapore branch of CIArb assisted in this?The Singapore branch has since its incorpo-ration provided training in arbitration. The branch runs several courses each year from the most basic courses, such as Introduction to International Arbitration, up to Award Writing. Candidates from all over Asia often attend these courses conducted in Singapore. CIArb is the only globally recognized ac-creditation for arbitrators and mediators. Members of the Singapore branch have also conducted arbitration training courses for judges and arbitration practitioners from various countries beyond Singapore includ-ing in Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Maldives.

The conference is titled “The Age of Innovation.” How is arbitration in Singapore, and the CIArb in particular, embracing innovation?Arbitration is evolving. As CJ Menon highlight-ed at the ICCA Congress held in Singapore in 2012, this is the golden age of arbitration. Arbitration has become hugely popular as a means of dispute resolution. With this evolution of arbitration, there is a need for innovation to address accompanying chal-

lenges, both current and potential, that cannot be resolved through conventional solutions.

I n S i n g a p o r e , t h e S i n g a p o r e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Arbitration Centre (SIAC) Rules have embraced innova-tion in dealing with the speed and effi-ciency of arbitration. The SIAC Rules intro-duced a provision for the appointment of an emergency arbitrator to assist parties who require emergency relief before the con-stitution of a Tribunal. An emergency arbi-trator is appointed within one business day and an award or order can be made in as little as two days after having heard

and considered submissions from the parties. The SIAC is the leading arbitral institution for emergency relief based on number of applica-tions for the appointment of an emergency arbitrator filed to date.

The SIAC Rules also introduced the Expedited Procedure for cases with a value below S$5 million or in cases of exceptional urgency. This has proved to be very popular with a total of 44 cases filed just in 2014 alone. Finally, SIAC has collaborated with the newly launched Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) to offer an Arb-Med-Arb service.

CIArb, likewise, is constantly adapting to keep pace with the evolving international business landscape, and facilitating the use

of innovative solutions to address the con-currently evolving nature of disputes which inevitably arise. For example, the Singapore IP Hub Master Plan was formulated to de-velop Singapore as a choice venue for IP dispute resolution, tapping on IP, technol-ogy and innovation as modern key drivers of economic growth globally. The Singapore branch followed suit by focusing its attention on the IP, media and technology sector by co-organizing a symposium for IP and arbi-tration experts and well as business leaders to address key issues and new solutions in the IP/IT space.

The new CIArb Guidelines, mentioned above, will introduce new innovative mea-sures to make the arbitration process more efficient and user-friendly.

What do the next few years hold for CIArb in Singapore?We anticipate that the membership of CIArb will continue to grow in Singapore. There are currently over 370 members in the Singapore branch. CIArb will continue to conduct ar-bitration courses both locally as well as in the region, giving internationally recognized accreditation to successful candidates on these courses.

With the introduction of the Singapore International Commercial Court, the launch of the SIMC and the continued growth and success of the SIAC, training and education will be all the more important to produce the next generation of dispute resolution practitioners in Singapore and the region, as Singapore becomes the hub for dispute resolution in the region.

‘WITH THE EVOLUTION OF ARBITRATION, THERE IS A NEED FOR INNOVATION’

Richard Tan

Francis Xavier

Paul Sandosham

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In-House Legal Summits, ALB provides authoritative and unbiased insights, and unmatched networkingand business development opportunities, to legal professionals throughout Asia Pacific.

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E-newsletter subscription: http://tinyurl.com/9nv2j4l

• LAW AWARDS• IN-HOUSE LEGAL SUMMITS

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To find out more, contact Amantha Chia at [email protected] or (65) 6870 3917

EVENT44 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSMARCH 2015

WInnERs REVEALED

IN-HOUSE AWARD CATEGORIESIn-House Tax Team of the Year

• GEJapanCorporationTax

LAW FIRM AWARD CATEGORIESTax Dispute Law Firm of the Year

• NagashimaOhno&Tsunematsu

Tax Dispute Lawyer of the Year

• YukoMiyazaki–NagashimaOhno&Tsunematsu

Tax Law Firm of the Year

• NagashimaOhno&Tsunematsu

TAX & ACCOUNTINGAWARD CATEGORIESBig Four Tax Team of the Year

• DeloitteTohmatsuTaxCo.

Indirect Tax Team of the Year

• TokyoKyodoAccountingOffice

International Tax Team of the Year

• GrantThorntonTaiyoTaxCorporation

TAX & ACCOUNTINGAWARDS


nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu emerged a big winner from the ALB Japan Tax & Accounting Awards 2014. The Awards, which were jointly researched and conducted in november by ALB and Thomson Reuters’ Tax & Accounting division in Japan, celebrate Japan’s leading tax law firms, tax lawyers, in-house teams and accounting firms.

The winners were selected by an independent panel of judges – all tax experts – comprising private practitioners, managing partners and academics. ALB would like to thank Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting and the judges for their support.

nagashima Ohno took home three prizes,

including the renowned Tax Dispute Law Firm of the Year and Tax Law Firm of the Year awards. Yuko Miyazaki, a partner at nagashima Ohno, was crowned the Tax Dispute Lawyer of the Year.

Deloitte Tohmatsu Tax Co. won the award for Big Four Tax Team of the Year, while Tokyo Kyodo Accounting Office bagged the prize for Indirect Tax Team of the Year. Accounting firm Grant Thornton Taiyo Tax Corporation took home the prestigious award for International Tax Team of the Year.

The Awards also recognised in-house teams in Japan, with GE Japan Corporation picking up the gong for In-House Tax Team of the Year.

EVENT 45WWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business EVENT 45WWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

Edwin WhatleyCo-chairACCJ Taxation Committee

Koji FujitaTax PartnerAnderson Mori & Tomotsune

Eiichiro NakataniTax PartnerAnderson Mori & Tomotsune

Yoshiaki MutoManaging PartnerBaker & McKenzie

Makiko TakewakiTax PartnerDLA Piper

Kenji NakamuraTax PartnerGilford Sato & Associates

Yoichi IshizukaManaging PartnerGrant Thornton Taiyo Tax Corporation

Masao YoshimuraTax Law ProfessorHitotsubashi University

Yuri MatsubaraTax Law ProfessorMeiji University

Atsushi OishiTax PartnerMori Hamada & Matsumoto

Eric RooseTax PartnerMorrison & Foerster LLP

Shigeki MinamiTax PartnerNagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

Takashi ShaidaTax PartnerNagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

Fumihiro KomamiyaTax Law ProfessorNiigata University

Masakazu IwakuraHead of TaxNishimura & Asahi

Richard OkamotoManaging PartnerOkamoto & Company

Yoshito UenoTax PartnerSidley Austin Nishikawa

Hidehiro UtsumiTax PartnerTMI Associates

Ryutaro UchiyamaTax PartnerTokyo Kyodo Accounting Office

Mitsuhiro HondaTax Law ProfessorUniversity of Tsukuba

Tetsuya WatanabeTax Law ProfessorWaseda Universiry

SPECIAL THANKS GO TO

SUPPORTED BY PROUDLY PRESENTED BY


Kadir Andri & Partners and shearn Delamore & Co are leading the nominations for the second annual ALB Malaysia Law Awards 2015 with 10 each, with Wong & Partners not far behind at nine. Among shearn Delamore’s nominations is Managing Partner of the Year, while both firms have been nominated for Malaysia Deal Firm of the Year.

Clifford Chance has the most nominations among international law firms with eight, which is also the number of nominations for Albar & Partners, Adnan sundra & Low and skrine. Clifford Chance is in the running for the International Deal Firm of the Year, as are Linklaters, norton Rose Fulbright and Watson, Farley & Williams Asia Practice.

Four in-house teams are tied for the most nominations at the awards, namely AmInvestment Bank, CIMB Investment Bank, Maybank and Maybank Investment Bank, which have three nominations each.

The awards ceremony will be held at the InterContinental Kuala Lumpur on March 27.

KADIR AnDRI, sHEARn LEAD nOMInATIOns

27 MARCHINTERCONTINENTAL KUALA LUMPUR

Kadir Andri & Partnersshearn Delamore & CoWong & PartnersAdnan sundra & LowAlbar & PartnersClifford ChanceskrineRaja Darryl & LohLee Hishammuddin Allen & GledhillWatson, Farley & Williams Asia Practice

101098888766

OVERALLNOMINATIONS TOTAL

Boustead Heavy Industries CorpMaybank Group of Companiessun Life Malaysia Assurance

222

TOTAL IN-HOUSENOMINATIONS(excluding deals)


EVENT 47WWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

DEALMAKER OF THE YEARDatuk Syed Zaid Albar - Albar & PartnersRaymond Tong - Clifford ChanceMunir Abdul Aziz - Wong & Partners

KLRCA AWARD ARBITRATIONLAW FIRM OF THE YEARClifford ChanceKadir Andri & PartnersLee Hishammuddin Allen & GledhillMahWengKwai & AssociatesRaja, Darryl & LohSkrineTay & Partners

BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICESLAW FIRM OF THE YEARAdnan Sundra & LowAlbar & PartnersKadir Andri & PartnersNorton Rose FulbrightRaja, Darryl & LohShearn Delamore & CoWatson, Farley & Williams Asia PracticeWong & PartnersZaid Ibrahim & Co

LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENTLAW FIRM OF THE YEARLee Hishammuddin Allen & GledhillRaja, Darryl & LohShearn Delamore & CoSkrineTay & PartnersZul Rafique & Partners

LITIGATION LAW FIRM OF THE YEARAzmi & AssociatesKadir Andri & PartnersLee Hishammuddin Allen & GledhillMahWengKwai & AssociatesRaja, Darryl & LohShearn Delamore & CoSkrineTay & Partners

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTYLAW FIRM OF THE YEARLee Hishammuddin Allen & GledhillRaja, Darryl & LohShearn Delamore & CoSkrineTay & PartnersWong & Partners

ISLAMIC FINANCELAW FIRM OF THE YEARAdnan Sundra & LowAlbar & PartnersKadir Andri & PartnersLee Hishammuddin Allen & GledhillNorton Rose FulbrightWong & PartnersZaid Ibrahim & Co

REAL ESTATE LAW FIRM OF THE YEARMahWengKwai & CoRaja, Darryl & LohShearn Delamore & CoSkrine

SCL MALAYSIA AWARD ENERGY,PROJECTS AND INFRASTRUCTURELAW FIRM OF THE YEARAdnan Sundra & Low

Albar & PartnersClifford ChanceKadir Andri & PartnersSkrineWatson, Farley & Williams Asia Practice

MARITIME LAW FIRM OF THE YEARJoseph & PartnersShearn Delamore & CoSkrineWatson, Farley & Williams Asia Practice

MALAYSIA DEAL FIRM OF THE YEARAdnan Sundra & LowKadir Andri & PartnersRaja, Darryl & LohShearn Delamore & CoWong & Partners

INTERNATIONAL DEALFIRM OF THE YEARClifford ChanceLinklatersNorton Rose FulbrightWatson, Farley & Williams Asia Practice

MANAGING PARTNER OF THE YEARDatuk Syed Zaid Albar - Albar & PartnersRobert Lazar - Shearn Delamore & CoAdeline Wong - Wong & PartnersDato’ Zulkifly Rafique - Zul Rafique & Partners

MALAYSIA LAW FIRM OF THE YEARFINALISTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON THE NIGHT.

BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICESIN-HOUSE TEAM OF THE YEARCIMB Group of CompaniesMaybank Group of Companies

TMT IN-HOUSE TEAM OF THE YEARAstro Malaysia HoldingsHewlett-Packard (M)Telekom Malaysia

INSURANCE IN-HOUSE TEAMOF THE YEAREtiqa TakafulSun Life Malaysia Assurance

ENERGY AND RESOURCESIN-HOUSE TEAM OF THE YEARExxon Mobil CorpM3nergySapuraKencana Petroleum

IN-HOUSE LAWYER OF THE YEARMahajan Vasudevan Nair - Asian Football ConfederationRazida Abdul Razak - Boustead Heavy Industries CorpMohd Nazlan Ghazali - Maybank Group of CompaniesRaphael Kok - Shell MalaysiaHema Latha Sinnakaundan - Sun Life Malaysia Assurance

MIARB AWARD MALAYSIAIN-HOUSE TEAM OF THE YEARFINALISTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON THE NIGHT.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATIONS

eLawyer Recruitment provides legal recruitment services to law firms and corporations since 2008. We have successfully placed more than 300 legal talents including legal executive (associate), legal manager (senior associate) and general counsel (partners) level roles. Our portal www.eLawyer.com.my attracts more than 7,000 registered members as at today and 500,000 hit per month.

The Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA), established in 1978, was the first regional centre established by AALCO in Asia to provide institutional support as a neutral and independent venue for the conduct of domestic and international arbitration proceedings in Asia. It is a non-profit, non-governmental and independent international body, and was also the first centre in the world to adopt the UnCITRAL Rules for Arbitration as revised in 2010.

The Malaysian Corporate Counsel Association.was established in 2006, and membership in the MCCA is open to any person who holds a degree in law from a tertiary institution who is not in professional legal practice. The MCCA’s vision is to be the premier organisation for the promotion and facilitation of networking, knowledge-sharing and continuing legal education for the corporate counsel community in Malaysia thereby enhancing their value to any organisation in which they serve, and raising their profile among the legal fraternity and the general public

The Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators (established in 1991) is a non-profit organisation and its main aim is to promote the determination of disputes by arbitration. The Institute also promotes and facilitates the practice and study of arbitration and other alternate dispute resolution methods. For more information, please visit www.miarb.com.

SCL, Malaysia is a national society admitting members from all states of Malaysia. The society’s main aim is to promote education, study and research in the field of construction law and related subjects. The society works with institutions and organizations both locally and internationally to promote these objects and to provide a platform for its members and others stakeholders to come together to discuss issues relating to construction law and related fields.

ALB SUPPORTS

PROUDLE PRESENTED BY

NOMINATIONS FORKEY CATEGORIES

EVENT 47WWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

Senior Counsel, Legal & Compliance› Regional role

› Aggressive business growthOur client is a young and fast-paced organisation which is undergoing rapid business growth. Reporting to the General Counsel, you will be responsible for putting in place and driving the Compliance function for the region. This includes the development and implementation of sound policies, procedures, standards of conduct and training as well as ensuring ongoing compliance with external and internal requirements. Part of your portfolio also involves providing legal support and advice to the business. You are a qualified Lawyer with at least 8 years of PQE gained within an in-house and practice environment.

Senior Legal Counsel› Leading multinational, diverse business streams

› Fast-growing companyOur client is a fast-growing global conglomerate with diverse business streams. As a Senior Legal Counsel, you will work with the current legal team and support the APAC General Counsel in the full spectrum of commercial and corporate transactional work. You will be involved in compliance and litigation issues to mitigate business risk. You must possess a strong commercial and corporate transactional experience gained from a highly regarded law firm or multinational. With at least 6 years of PQE, you must have demonstrated strong negotiation and communication skills. Prior exposure to Construction and/or IT is preferable.

Dispute Resolution Associate› Prestigious global law firm

› High growth potentialOur client is a leading business law firm with a strong reputation for their lawyers’ quality providing first class commercial advice. In this key role, you will be involved in international arbitration, commercial litigation and other modes of dispute resolution. You must be a Singapore qualified lawyer with a strong academic record and a minimum of 5 year’s PQE gained from a prestigious law firm. Prior exposure to TMT related disputes work will be advantageous but not a must. Having strong communication and people skills is a must as you will liaise with a wide array of stakeholders.

Please contact Ng Lay Hoon (Reg. no: R1108753) quoting ref: H2636280 or visit our website.

Please contact Isis Descormiers (Reg. no: R1440080) quoting ref: H2640220 or visit our website.

Please contact Isis Descormiers (Reg. no: R1440080) quoting ref: H2646550 or visit our website.

To apply for any of the above positions, please go to www.michaelpage.com.sg quoting the reference number, or contact the relevant consultant on +65 6533 2777 for further details.

LegalSpecialists in legal recruitment

www.michaelpage.com.sg #154

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SPECIALISTS IN LEGAL RECRUITMENTMICHAEL PAGE LEGAL

Get Connected. Stay Ahead.

Join Asian Legal Business (ALB) for the inaugural ALB Philippines In-House Legal Summit on the 29th April 2015 in Manila. A first legal event of its kind in the Philippines, the Summit will bring together senior-level corporate counsel, business leaders and private practitioners under one roof to discuss a wide range of key legal issues and resolve the most pressing business challenges faced by in-house counsel today.

Topics to be discussed include regulatory changes in the Philippines, due diligence and Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), foreign investment and ASEAN integration, anti-corruption and compliance, dispute resolution and the evolving role and career path of the in-house counsel in the Philippines.

Free places are available to in-house legal experts. For more information, please contact Trang at +65 6870 3711 or email [email protected]. Register now at www.regonline.com/PHIHLS2015 and get the latest regulatory updates to ensure success for your organisation in 2015.

EVENT SPONSORS ONLINE LEGALRECRUITMENT SPONSOR

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. One platform, expanding possibilities.

4th Asia Pacific Regional Forum Conference 18 — 20 March 2015 Singapore

Westlaw Asia Launch Event Kuala Lumpur 27 March 2015 Malaysia Register at: http://goo.gl/GwI1X6

15th National Lawyers Convention 20 — 22 March 2015 Cebu City, Philippines

Westlaw Asia Launch Event Hong Kong 31 March 2015 Hong Kong Register at: http://goo.gl/d24T1o

Find out more today at www.westlawasia.com or at these events:

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Asian Legal Business March 2015

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