About

2018 marks BNP Paribas’ 50th anniversary in Singapore, the bank’s regional hub in Southeast Asia. One of the most prominent financial institutions globally, BNP Paribas employs around 2,500 employees in the region across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The 30-strong legal team takes pride in being at the forefront of supporting the bank’s ambitions in Southeast Asia and is comprised of a diverse mix of lawyers across eight nationalities. As testament to the skilled expertise and in-depth institutional know-how, the legal team provides integral solution-driven support to the bank’s corporate and institutional banking, global markets, capital markets, wealth management and securities services divisions as well as transversal functions, with the result that the team is exceptional at remaining flexible and innovative while achieving multiple objectives simultaneously. Some of the recent deliveries include the large-ticket loan facilities for OUE Hospitality Trust in Singapore, the IPO and new listing on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange of VietJet in Vietnam, and the TNB Global Ventures Capital Berhad sukuk in Malaysia. Key projects include the expansion and launch of innovative wealth management and securities services platforms in the region, including the BNP Paribas Client Experience program involving a series of market-leading digital solutions. BNP Paribas has excellent legal talent throughout its divisions, and leading the Southeast Asia legal function is head of legal Michelle Ng. Other prominent figures in the legal team include head of corporate banking legal Jude Ryan, head of securities services legal Collette Lo, and syndicated loans and supply chain financing expert Eugene Phua, who was cited in the inaugural GC Powerlist Southeast Asia in 2017. Pillars of the team comprise members of the specialist Corporate Banking Legal, Global Markets Legal, Securities Services Legal, Transversal Legal and Wealth Management Legal divisions, as well as the teams in Indonesia, Malaysia (led by head of legal Marwalis Mohd Kassim), Thailand and Vietnam (led by head of legal Binh Minh Tran).