WongPartnership’s Specialised Practices comprise lawyers who are recognised experts in their fields. Our Specialised Practices contribute depth in the solutions and advice which we are able to provide to our clients in specialised areas ranging from corporate governance, tax to competition.
Our lawyers will be able to offer you the tailored, professional advice you require to conduct your business and affairs in Singapore and around the world.
Competition
& Regulatory
Crime: Litigation,
Investigations & Prosecution
Employment
Private Wealth
Corporate Governance
& Compliance
Our Competition & Regulatory Practice is at the forefront of developments in competition policy, and we are well placed to lead clients through their relationships and dealings with government authorities. We take a lead role in any interaction with the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS), handling all aspects of competition compliance in Singapore such as merger control analysis, confidential guidance and notifications to the CCS, as well as the coordination of multijurisdictional merger filings for our clients.
• Acted as Singapore counsel to Luxottica Group S.p.A. (“Luxottica”) in relation to the merger control filing of the proposed multibillion-dollar merger between Luxottica and Essilor International (Compagnie Generale d’Optique) S.A. with the Competition Commission of Singapore;
• Acted for Nippon Chemi-Con Corporation and Singapore Chemi-con (Pte.) Ltd. (“SCC”) in respect of the investigation by the Competition Commission of Singapore of SCC’s involvement in cartel conduct with other Japanese suppliers of aluminium electrolytic capacitors;
Our Crime: Litigation, Investigations & Prosecution team is a dedicated commercial crime practice that handles corruption, financial market and securities offences, as well as technology crime, across all major industry sectors.
• Acted for Mr Ong Jenn in respect of criminal proceedings for drug-related proceedings in Singapore. The prosecution has proceeded on various different charges. One set of proceeded charges was for allegedly abetting the trafficking of cannabis in a conspiracy with an individual who was a seller of the drugs. Mr Ong claimed trial to these charges and the matter was heard before the State Courts in 2017;
• Acted for a Singapore-based oil trading company that was being investigated by both Singapore and foreign anti-corruption authorities in respect of allegations that employee(s) of the company may have been involved in cross-border corrupt practices. As external counsel, we conducted investigations and carried out witness interviews to ascertain facts, assess veracity of statements based on contemporaneous documents, advised on potential wrongdoing and/or liability, steps to be taken in relation to the various authorities and damage limitation, and reviewing and improving the corporate governance and processes of the client. The investigations spanned a number of years, and recently concluded with no criminal charges and/or further action having been laid against the client and/or any of its officers and employees;
• Advised a local company in relation to multi-jurisdictional corruption investigations involving the CPIB in Singapore and the FBI in the United States of America. The CPIB investigations in Singapore were commenced following investigations by the FBI into a multi-national company. Eventually, two officers/ employees employed by that company were charged in the USA for engaging in a scheme to defraud the company through kickbacks from raw material suppliers. Our client was engaged in commodities trading with an annual turnover of about $200 million. We were engaged to assist our client in relation to the ongoing investigations and we also conducted a review of the company’s practices. Investigations were eventually ceased with no action taken against our client or any of its officers;
Our Employment Practice is cross-disciplinary in nature and our team encompasses lawyers well-versed in corporate practice as well as disputes work. We draw on the best of both worlds in providing practical solutions for our clients in all aspects of employment law.
• Acted for Mr Ricardo Leiman and Rothschild Trust Guernsey Limited, in respect of their multi-million dollar claim against Noble Resources Limited and Noble Group Limited for unpaid dividends, bonuses, stock options and shares granted to Mr Leiman during his term as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer of the Noble Group;
• Advised Asahi Kasei Plastics Singapore Pte Ltd on a review of proposed changes to its collective agreement with the Chemical Industries Employees Union;
• Advised on transfer of employees and assets in Singapore, in connection with $130 million acquisition by Microsemi Corporation of the high performance timing business of Vectron International, a Knowles Corporation subsidiary;
• Acted for SMRT to review its HR Disciplinary Procedures & Guidelines. SMRT employs about 9,500 people, and is the premier multi-modal land transport provider in Singapore. Its core businesses are in rail operations, maintenance and engineering as well as in bus, taxi and automotive services;
Drawing on expertise from across our various practice groups, our Private Wealth Practice has been advising high net-worth individuals, families, international private banks and trust companies, foreign government officials and royalty from diverse nationalities and residencies over the years. Our focus is asset protection, succession and estate planning across generations, estate and trust administration, charitable giving and tax planning.
• Advised an ultra-high net worth individual (who has just exited her ownership of a bank) in the structuring of a trust and investing entity for the family’s wealth, and assisting in the establishment of a family office in Singapore; obtaining the regulatory clearance from MAS for the underlying investing entity; and providing regulatory and legal advice as well as legal documentation to support the application to the MAS for the section 13X tax exemption scheme for the private investment fund structure to hold the family wealth;
• Acted for an individual, who is the beneficial owner of a group of multinational companies worth S$1.5 billion to review the integrity of the trust structure set up previously for succession and asset protection, its durability and ability to withstand attacks by pending claims and divorce proceedings as well as the validity of the transfer of the assets into the trust;
• Acted as counsel for Tuyet Minh Pham in a dispute in the High Court of Singapore over a bank account held in the joint names of one Thomas Hooft (deceased) and herself. This dispute related to the beneficial ownership of the funds in the account;
• As a continuation of the structuring of the family trust for the client before the listing of the family’s business in a REIT in Singapore, we acted for and advised the second generation of the family as to the set-up of their respective trusts for succession planning and asset protection. This entailed planning for family members, assets and income stream which are allocated in various jurisdictions;
Our Corporate Governance & Compliance Practice provides a comprehensive suite of corporate governance and compliance services to public and private companies. We advise directors, board committees and management on their duties and responsibilities including corporate governance best practices and strategies.
• Advised Singapore Post Limited on the review of the circumstances surrounding the company’s consideration and approval of the acquisition of a US e-commerce company, TradeGlobal Holdings Inc in November 2015 for around US$170 million;
• Advised Next-Generation Satellite Communications Limited in relation to findings made in an investigation into its acquisition of Multi Skies Nusantra Limited and its subsidiaries, including on its continuing obligations under the Listing Rules and Companies Act;
• Advised the directors and former directors of a company listed on the Singapore Exchange in relation to potential breaches and offences pertaining to disclosure of material information;
• Advised an international bank on an incident occurring in Malaysia involving loss of customer data, in respect of potential issues under personal data protection legislation, banking legislation, and risk-management measures, as well as assisting in addressing queries from various regulatory authorities; and
• Assisted the Chinese subsidiary of a local listed company on an internal investigation into certain potentially questionable contracts with and payments made to three PRC entities.
Tier 1 in Private Wealth and Tax – Singapore
The Legal 500: Asia-Pacific – The Client’s Guide to the Asia-Pacific Legal Profession 2019
Employment Firm of the Year
Asia Legal Awards 2017
Employment Firm of the Year
Asian-Mena Counsel’s Firms of the Year 2018