Senior Counsel
Chairman & Senior Partner
WongPartnership LLP
I am pleased to present WongPartnership’s inaugural Interactive Year in Review. As technology becomes increasingly entrenched in our lives, digital innovation must be a cornerstone of our firm’s growth. This digital electronic lookback on the past months is a reminder of how organisations must embrace digital innovation in all aspects of practice. I am pleased to say that we are rising to the challenge.
We were the first Singapore law firm to adopt artificial intelligence to optimise legal services for our clients. While this is the start of a long journey, the initiative has helped us to achieve greater efficiency in managing corporate and business transactions. We have also created a platform for our lawyers called WPGenerate that allows them to use legal technology for automation. Similarly, we have created a platform for our clients called WPGateway that will allow them to subscribe to a new client service that harnesses this legal technology. We have also collaborated with NUS Law to organise the first ever LegalTech Competition that sought to raise awareness of technology as an enabler to help pro bono organisations improve the way they offer legal assistance. On the FinTech front, we have been at the forefront of developments and have been collaborating with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) since 2017, for the annual FinTech Festival.
To foster growth in the start-up and venture capital network and eco-system, we launched a new Start-Up / Venture Capital Practice last year. We are also partnering industry stakeholders and the government in key initiatives such as being part of the core working group for Venture Capital Model Investment Model Agreements by the Singapore Academy of Law launched in 2018 and providing legal training for start-ups as part of Infocomm Media Development Authority’s SG:D Spark programme.
Apart from technology, we have continued to excel professionally, ranking highly in Chambers and Legal 500 as a top-tier firm in multiple practice areas. We have also clinched the “Best National Firm for Women in Business Law” award for a record fifth time at the Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Asia Women in Business Law Awards as well as the “Country Award for Singapore” for a record seventh time last year. To enhance our services, we have also placed more emphasis on developing cross-disciplinary teams to cover specialised areas like FinTech, and a new dedicated commercial crime practice that handles corruption, financial market and securities offences, as well as technology crime, across all major industry sectors.
Regionally, we are celebrating six years of continued success in Myanmar. With WPG, our regional law network, we have been working closely with our member firms across jurisdictions. Through our China office, we acted for a subsidiary of Keppel Land China in its disposal of a 51% shareholding in the holding company of Beijing Aether Property Development Co., Ltd., valued at US$297.9 million. In India, we acted for Tencent Holdings Limited as Singapore counsel in its investment in Flipkart, which operates India’s leading e-commerce marketplace, as part of a consortium which includes Microsoft and eBay in a US$1.4 billion fundraising round; and subsequently also acted for Walmart Inc. as Singapore counsel in its acquisition of a 77% stake in Flipkart for US$16 billion. This is an award winning deal, recently recognised at both FinanceAsia Achievement Awards 2018 and Asia Legal Awards 2019.
Together with Makes & Partners in Indonesia, we advised KKR Asia Limited in connection with the proposed investment by KKR Jade Investments Pte. Ltd. In Malaysia, we collaborated with Foong & Partners where we acted for OldTown in a voluntary conditional general offer to acquire all the issued ordinary shares of OldTown not already held by the offeror. In the Middle East, we partnered with Al Aidarous Advocates and Legal Consultants to advise a Malaysian-based contractor with respect to its claim for AED16.2 million against a leading bank in the United Arab Emirates. In the Philippines, our alliance with leading Filipino law firm ZGLaw has brought us together to work on a Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) arbitration involving a dispute with claims over US$600 million. We are also active in Thailand, where we acted as Singapore counsel to Thai Beverage Public Company Limited in its acquisition of Myanmar Supply Chain and Marketing Services Co., Ltd. and Myanmar Distillery Co., Ltd. for approximately US$742 million.
Our success would not have been possible without our valued clients, partners and friends. We thank you for your continued support and look forward to more years of a winning partnership.
Senior Counsel
Chairman & Senior Partner
WongPartnership LLP
Senior Counsel
Chairman & Senior Partner
WongPartnership LLP
I am pleased to present WongPartnership’s inaugural Interactive Year in Review. As technology becomes increasingly entrenched in our lives, digital innovation must be a cornerstone of our firm’s growth. This digital electronic lookback on the past months is a reminder of how organisations must embrace digital innovation in all aspects of practice. I am pleased to say that we are rising to the challenge.
We were the first Singapore law firm to adopt artificial intelligence to optimise legal services for our clients. While this is the start of a long journey, the initiative has helped us to achieve greater efficiency in managing corporate and business transactions. We have also created a platform for our lawyers called WPGenerate that allows them to use legal technology for automation. Similarly, we have created a platform for our clients called WPGateway that will allow them to subscribe to a new client service that harnesses this legal technology. We have also collaborated with NUS Law to organise the first ever LegalTech Competition that sought to raise awareness of technology as an enabler to help pro bono organisations improve the way they offer legal assistance. On the FinTech front, we have been at the forefront of developments and have been collaborating with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) since 2017, for the annual FinTech Festival.
To foster growth in the start-up and venture capital network and eco-system, we launched a new Start-Up / Venture Capital Practice last year. We are also partnering industry stakeholders and the government in key initiatives such as being part of the core working group for Venture Capital Model Investment Model Agreements by the Singapore Academy of Law launched in 2018 and providing legal training for start-ups as part of Infocomm Media Development Authority’s SG:D Spark programme.
Apart from technology, we have continued to excel professionally, ranking highly in Chambers and Legal 500 as a top-tier firm in multiple practice areas. We have also clinched the “Best National Firm for Women in Business Law” award for a record fifth time at the Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Asia Women in Business Law Awards as well as the “Country Award for Singapore” for a record seventh time last year. To enhance our services, we have also placed more emphasis on developing cross disciplinary teams to cover specialised areas like FinTech, and a new dedicated commercial crime practice that handles corruption, financial market and securities offences, as well as technology crime, across all major industry sectors.
Regionally, we are celebrating six years of continued success in Myanmar. With WPG, our regional law network, we have been working closely with our member firms across jurisdictions. Through our China office, we acted for a subsidiary of Keppel Land China in its disposal of a 51% shareholding in the holding company of Beijing Aether Property Development Co., Ltd., valued at US$297.9 million. In India, we acted for Tencent Holdings Limited as Singapore counsel in its investment in Flipkart, which operates India’s leading e-commerce marketplace, as part of a consortium which includes Microsoft and eBay in a US$1.4 billion fundraising round; and subsequently also acted for Walmart Inc. as Singapore counsel in its acquisition of a 77% stake in Flipkart for US$16 billion. This is an award winning deal, recently recognised at both FinanceAsia Achievement Awards 2018 and Asia Legal Awards 2019.
Together with Makes & Partners in Indonesia, we advised KKR Asia Limited in connection with the proposed investment by KKR Jade Investments Pte. Ltd. In Malaysia, we collaborated with Foong & Partners where we acted for OldTown in a voluntary conditional general offer to acquire all the issued ordinary shares of OldTown not already held by the offeror. In the Middle East, we partnered with Al Aidarous Advocates and Legal Consultants to advise a Malaysian-based contractor with respect to its claim for AED16.2 million against a leading bank in the United Arab Emirates. In the Philippines, our alliance with leading Filipino law firm ZGLaw has brought us together to work on a Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) arbitration involving a dispute with claims over US$600 million. We are also active in Thailand, where we acted as Singapore counsel to Thai Beverage Public Company Limited in its acquisition of Myanmar Supply Chain and Marketing Services Co., Ltd. and Myanmar Distillery Co., Ltd. for approximately US$742 million.
Our success would not have been possible without our valued clients, partners and friends. We thank you for your continued support and look forward to more years of a winning partnership.