WongPartnership LLP

Business Establishment; Corporate Governance & Compliance; Mergers & Acquisitions; Professional Services; Sustainability & Responsible Business

Annabelle Yip is a Senior Consultant in WongPartnership LLP and a principal member of the Corporate Governance & Compliance Practice.

Her expertise also covers Mergers & Acquisitions, Sustainability & Responsible Business, Business Establishment and Employment.

Work Highlights

Significant transactions that Annabelle has been involved in include advising / acting for the following:

Frasers Property Limited in the acquisition of an approximately 47.82% stake in PGIM Real Estate AsiaRetail Fund Limited ("AsiaRetail") for up to S$970.5 million in aggregate, and for FCT Holdings (Sigma) Pte. Ltd. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Frasers Centrepoint Trust) in the acquisition of an approximately 18.80% stake in AsiaRetail for up to S$379.9 million in aggregate, from multiple fund investors. ESR Funds Management (S) Limited (the manager of ESR-REIT) in the merger with Viva Industrial Trust by way of a trust scheme of arrangement. The merger valued Viva Industrial Trust at S$936.7 million and created Singapore's fourth largest industrial REIT with approximately S$3 billion in property assets. This deal won Best Singapore Deal at the FinanceAsia Awards 2018 and M&A Deal of the Year (Midsize) at the ALB SE Asia Law Awards, 2019. Thai Beverage Public Company Limited ("THBEV") as Singapore compliance counsel for in the bid and subsequent acquisition by Vietnam Beverage Company Limited, in which THBEV has a 49% stake, of a 53.59% shareholding interest in Saigon Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Joint Stock Corporation (Sabeco), for approximately VND109,965.6 billion (approximately US$4.8 billion). SMRT Corporation Ltd. ("SMRT Corp"), SMRT Trains Ltd. ("SMRT Trains") and SMRT Light Rail Pte. Ltd. ("SLRT") on the transition of SMRT Trains to a new licence to be granted by the Land Transport Authority of Singapore ("LTA") to operate the North-South, East-West line and Circle line mass rapid transit systems and the Bukit Panjang light rail transit system under the new rail financing framework, and the transfer of ownership of the rail operating assets of SMRT Trains and SLRT, including trains and signalling systems, to the LTA (estimated at approximately S$991 million) in connection therewith, including seeking the approval of shareholders of SMRT Corp for the transfer. SMRT Corp in the S$1.2 billion offer by Belford Investments Pte. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited ("Temasek"), for all the issued ordinary shares in SMRT (other than those already held by Temasek) via a scheme of arrangement under Section 210 of the Companies Act (Chapter 50 of Singapore). Singapore Post Limited (“SingPost”) in connection with the review of the circumstances surrounding SingPost’s consideration and approval of the acquisition of TradeGlobal Holdings, Inc.

Publications & Legal Updates

LegisWatch - Issuance of the Code of Corporate Governance 2018 and Consequential Changes to the Listing Rules The Corporate Governance Review, Singapore Chapter – 1st – 3rd editions European Lawyer Series: Corporate Governance, Singapore Chapter -1st edition Corporate Governance International Series, Singapore Chapter – 2nd edition Boardroom Matters Volumes 1 and 2 published by the Singapore Institute of Directors

English, Mandarin.

Annabelle sits on the board of directors of UOL Group Limited, AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited and Checkpoint Theatre Limited.

Admitted, Singapore Bar, 1988; National University of Singapore (LL.B., Hons), 1987; King’s College London, University of London (LL.M.), 1991.