Loo & Partners LLP

The firm: Loo & Partners LLP was founded in 1985 by Mr Loo Choon Chiaw as a niche practice, handling mainly banking, corporate and commercial work. It has developed good relationships over the years with leading law firms located in comprehensive network of correspondent law firms across the ASEAN countries, Hong Kong, Taiwan (ROC) and China (PRC) puts the firm in a strategic and unique position to serve its clients in their regional needs. In the recent years, the firm has built a dedicated practice to FinTech.

Areas of practice: The firm regards itself as a partner to its clients in meeting their daily business challenges. The emphasis of the firm’s current practice lies in banking, commercial, corporate and securities work. Within these categories, the firm provides the entire spectrum of legal advice and services.

Non-contentious transactions handled by the firm include incorporations, registrations and licensing applications, joint ventures, club and syndicated loans, project financing, aircraft and vessel financing, IPOs, private placements, bond issues, swap and derivative transactions, corporate rescues and restructuring, management buyouts, takeovers, mergers and acquisitions, compliance, initial coin offerings, security token offerings and tax planning.

The firm has its fair share of contentious work (both litigation and arbitration), ranging from simple contractual claims to complex admiralty practice, cargo claims and construction disputes. The firm’s niche clientele includes banking and financial institutions (both local and foreign), foreign central banks, Chinese (PRC) and Taiwanese (ROC) government-linked corporations, MNCs, local publicly listed companies and local SMEs aspiring to seek public listing.

Recent interesting transactions include acting for Bank of Taiwan in connection with its banking facility of NTD4bn; acting for Korea Development Bank in connection with its term loan facility of US$20m; advising on the syndication loan agreement of US$100m entered into by Daewoo Group; acting for Cathay United Bank in connection with its aircraft financing facility of US$48m; acting for Bank of Taiwan in connection with its ship finance of approximately US$59m granted to U-Ming Marine, a major player in the shipping industry; acting for Shanghai Pudong Development Bank in respect of its banking facility of US$100m granted to an Australian public company, and its loan facility of RMB500m granted to a PRC conglomerate, respectively; acting for Mega International Commercial Bank in connection with its various banking facilities; advising for Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank in respect of its compliance issues and the launch of a range of banking products; and acting for Param Mitra Group in respect of its credit facilities granted by a group of private equities. We also act for European banks, for instance,  from Austria: Bank Austria, from Liechtenstein:  LGT Bank and VP Bank. We regularly act for major banks in relation to large loans and corporate borrowers, which includes U-Ming Marine, a major player in the shipping industry, and Shougang International, one of the largest steel companies in the PRC, China Steel Corporation (the largest integrated steel producer in Taiwan and a listed entity on the Taiwan Stock Exchange)., and the BaoSteel Group (a PRC state-owned steelmaker, fourth biggest steelmaker in the world.) and Raffles Medical Group (a medical company listed on the mainboard of the Singapore Stock Exchange).

In mergers and acquisitions segments, the firm has advised its clients on various transactions, acting for United MS Electrical, a member of UMS-Neiken Group (a public listed company on Bursa Malaysia) in the acquisition of its remaining 50% shareholdings in Neiken Switchgear from Choo Chiang Holdings (a public listed company on Singapore Exchange); acting for the controlling shareholder of RJ Crocker, an engineering and architecture consultancy company in Singapore in connection to sale of its controlling shareholdings to Chun Wo Development, a public listed construction and property development group on the mainboard of Hong Kong Stock Exchange; and acting for Southern Graphic Systems Singapore, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Onex Corporation (a public listed company on Toronto Stock Exchange) for its acquisition of a company in Singapore.

On the capital markets side, the firm has advised clients on various transactions including acting for HPC Holdings, one of the leading construction companies in Singapore as the legal advisers as to Singapore law for its initial public offering exercise on the mainboard of Hong Kong Stock Exchange; acting for GlobalWafers in the legal due diligence on its Singapore subsidiaries in connection with the proposed issuance of global depository receipts of approximately NT$469m on the Taipei Stock Exchange; and acting in the listing preparation of several Singapore and Malaysian companies in connection with their Hong Kong listing exercises. In addition to the traditional capital markets front, the firm also has a dedicated FinTech practice, in particular, we have advised FinTech entities (with traditional business but which have embraced blockchain technology and caused business disruption to those in the industry who are ignoring the technology advancement at their own peril) in their Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) exercises.

The firm also undertakes compliance and corporate governance work, and advises on venture capital and private equity funds. Recent private equity funds which the firm has been working with in connection with their various South East Asian investments include Gobi Mavcap Asean. We have also acted for ICH Capital and ICH Gemini Pte Ltd, a Registered Fund Management Company, a private equity fund founded and headquartered in Singapore with a focus on focus on growth opportunities of middle-market businesses in Asia with an eye on the rest of the world such as USA and Europe.