CAN-DO PERSONALITIES

RESTRUCTURING AND INSOLVENCY

Skaugen

Advising and assisting the Skaugen Group to apply in Singapore for protection under the s. 211B scheme moratorium regime. This resulted in the first reported Singapore court judgment (Re IM Skaugen SE and other matters [2018] SGHC 259) on the requirements of a scheme moratorium.

Pacific Radiance Group

Acting for a financial institutional (secured) lender in respect of the scheme moratoria applications by Pacific Radiance Limited and Pacific Crest Pte Ltd made in 2018 and successfully obtaining a carve-out of the lender’s secured assets from the moratoria orders.

FSL Trust Management Pte Ltd

Acting for the Agent bank of a syndicate of banks in respect of a scheme of arrangement application made by FSL Trust Management Pte Ltd, which was the first case seeking to restructure the obligations of a business trust through the placing of its trustee manager under a scheme of arrangement.

EMAS Group

Acting for and advising creditors against EMAS-AMC Pte Ltd (part of the EMAS Chiyoda Subsea Limited group undergoing restructuring under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code) regarding a stay order granted in Singapore and also acting for creditors against EMAS-AMC AS.

Swiber

Acting for creditors against a well-known offshore construction and support services provider undergoing judicial management in Singapore.

MF Global

Acting for the liquidators in the liquidation of a financial brokerage (Singapore office) resulting from the filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy by its ultimate parent company in the United States.

Lehman Brothers

Acting for an established financial institution against customer claims concerning structured products, following the filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy by its ultimate parent company in the United States.

Hin Leong Trading

Advising and acting for a major secured lender on the collapse of a well-known Singapore oil trader (Hin Leong Trading), its related vessel ownership group (Xihe Holdings) and its related bareboat charterer (Ocean Tankers), with an exposure of well over US$500 million. This matter has been the subject of headline news in Singapore and in international industry press, with allegations of fraudulent trading, and is one of the largest debt restructuring exercises in Singapore.

iflix

Advising the iflix group on its group restructuring and securing one of the first pre-pack schemes under Singapore’s Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act (No. 40 of 2018) since it came into force on 30 July 2020.

MARINE AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Charterers

Acting for charterer and guarantor in a dispute concerning an allegedly unseaworthy vessel in back-to-back charterparties. This matter spanned multiple actions in court and arbitration. For court actions, they included an injunction application against the owners to restrain winding up, defending owners’ claim against the guarantor and winding up application against the sub-charterer. These were in conjunction with two back-to-back LMAA arbitrations between the owners, charterers and sub-charterers.

Ship managers

Advising ship manager in reaching a settlement with ship owners in respect of disputes involving a South Africa vessel arrest.

Charterers

Advising charterer on various claims made by cargo interests and ship owners in a matter involving lost cargo at sea.

Freight forwarders

Acting for a freight forwarder in a claim for services provided to a customer.

COMMERCIAL LITIGATION

Financial institutions

Acting for financial institutions against claims of misrepresentations and failure in performing statutory obligations. Also acting for liquidators of an established financial brokerage in Singapore.

Charterers

Obtaining an injunction restraining the ship owner/beneficiary from calling on a bank guarantee.

Freight forwarders

Defending against a claim by an introducer for alleged commission.

SHIPPING

Hin Leong Trading

Advising and acting for a major secured lender on the collapse of a well-known Singapore oil trader (Hin Leong Trading), its related vessel ownership group (Xihe Holdings) and its related bareboat charterer (Ocean Tankers), with an exposure of well over US$500 million. This matter has been the subject of headline news in Singapore and in international industry press, with allegations of fraudulent trading, and is one of the largest debt restructuring exercises in Singapore.

First Ship Lease Trust

Advising Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi as agent of a fleet loan facility on the restructuring of the facility granted to First Ship Lease Trust (FSL Trust), a business trust listed on the SGX-ST, with approximately US$166 million remaining outstanding secured against FSL’s entire fleet of vessels through a Singapore scheme of arrangement (under the new Singapore scheme of arrangement regime). This was the first case seeking to restructure the obligations of a business trust through the placing of its trustee manager under a scheme of arrangement.

Skaugen

Advising and assisting the Skaugen Group to apply in Singapore for protection under the s. 211B scheme moratorium regime. This resulted in the first reported Singapore court judgment (Re IM Skaugen SE and other matters [2018] SGHC 259) on the requirements of a scheme moratorium.

TECHNOLOGY

iflix

Advising the iflix group on its group restructuring and securing one of the first pre-pack schemes under Singapore’s Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act (No. 40 of 2018) since it came into force on 30 July 2020.

Volatility Token Master Fund

Successfully acting for the client to obtain judgment against SealBlock Foundation Ltd in the Singapore High Court in a fintech dispute arising in connection to a Simple Agreement for Future Tokens. Also successfully acted for the client in a separate fintech dispute arising in connection with a Simple Agreement for Future Tokens and successfully obtained an arbitration award whereby the client was granted, amongst others, delivery up of cryptocurrency by the respondent distributor.

Cryptocurrency clients

Advising multiple clients on disputes arising in the cryptocurrency space, including issues of coin issuance agreements, fund management and investment and consultancy agreements.