KUA Lay Theng is a Partner in the Infrastructure, Construction & Engineering Practice.
Her area of practice focuses on advising parties in the construction industry for the entire life cycle of projects. This encompasses front-end/transactional work such as drafting, reviewing, negotiating and advising on all standard forms of building contracts and other related agreements in the building industry; project advisory work during the execution of the project and contentious work arising from the project especially in arbitration (both international and domestic), mediation and litigation.
Prior to joining WongPartnership, Lay Theng was a Partner at a leading law firm in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where she handled construction-related disputes. She has considerable construction industry sector experience within the region especially in South East Asia.
She was a former Deputy Registrar of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) where she supervised the administration of arbitration cases filed at the SIAC including the scrutiny of arbitral awards. She also dealt with the appointment of arbitrators by the SIAC in ad hoc arbitrations and arbitrations under the SIAC Rules.
Lay Theng is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators.
She is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the Building and Construction Authority Academy.
Lay Theng graduated from the University of Leicester and holds a Master of Laws degree from the National University of Singapore. She is admitted to the Singapore Bar, Malaysian Bar and the English Bar (Middle Temple).
Matters of significance in which Lay Theng has been involved in include acting for the following:
- A major contractor who is one of three members within a joint venture consortium which was awarded the main contract of approximately S$1.5 billion in respect of the development and construction of the Integrated Waste Management Facility by the National Environment Agency in Singapore (the "Project") including review of the contract agreements and advice on contractual claims. The client is engaged to carry out project management as well as civil, structural and landscaping works in the Project.
- Asplenium Land Pte. Ltd., the employer of a condominium project in disputes with its terminated main contractor in arbitration and various court proceedings including a landmark Court of Appeal decision which upheld the enforceability of a clause restricting the employer's ground to restrain a call on a performance bond to fraud only.
- A subcontractor in a dispute with a joint venture partner and obtained a court order to restrain statutory adjudication proceedings commenced by the JV partner for a claim in excess of S$355 million.
- A developer on various aspects of its project (both transactional and contentious) to reclaim and develop four islands in the Maldives into resorts to be operated by various luxury hotel chains and a staff campus worth US$500 million.
- A leading EPC contractor in its construction of a US$1.5 billion power plant and port facility in Bangladesh.
- A main contractor in its joint venture with other contractors in the construction of Tuas Terminal Finger Pier 3 valued over S$1.4 billion.
Related Practice
- Infrastructure, Construction & Engineering
Lay Theng is a recommended lawyer in The Legal 500 - The Client's Guide to the Asia Pacific Legal 2021 for Construction.
Contact Details
- d+65 6517 3788
- f+65 6532 5722
- elaytheng.kua@wongpartnership.com
Career & Qualifications
University of Leicester, UK (LL.B., Second Class (Upper Division) Honours)
National University of Singapore (LL.M.)
Middle Temple (Barrister-at-Law)