The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2018) 

Antitrust and Competition - Tier 1
Banking & Finance – Tier 2
Capital Markets - Tier 4
Corporate M&A – Tier 1
Dispute Resolution – Tier 3
Intellectual Property - Tier 2
Islamic Finance - Tier 4
Labour and Employment – Tier 3
Projects and Energy – Tier 1
Real Estate and construction - Tier 4
Shipping – Tier 2
TMT – Tier 1

Leading Lawyers:
Christopher Lee - Banking & Finance, Corporate and M&A 
Deepak Pillai - TMT
Intan Haryati - TMT
Kuok Yew Chen - TMT
Ong Chee Kwan - Shipping

Next Generation Lawyer:
Kimberly Goh - Corporate and M&A

Antitrust and Competition
Christopher & Lee Ong’s competition team has earned a good reputation for its advice on cutting-edge instructions. It acts for a large number of corporations and multinationals on regional antitrust and trade legislation, which spans China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, India, Indonesia and other jurisdictions. Yon See Ting has more than 20 years of experience in the field, while corporate and M&A expert Kuok Yew Chen also specialises in competition and trade matters. Prudential Assurance, Nestlé Products, Mitsubishi Chemical Singapore and CIMB Bank are clients.

Banking & Finance
Christopher & Lee Ong is well-regarded for its expertise in project, corporate, Islamic and structured finance. Christopher Lee and Fiona Sequerah are the leading names in the practice. The group acts for an outstanding list of prominent local and international banking and financial institutions.

Capital Markets
Christopher & Lee Ong fields an ‘experienced capital markets team’, which provides a comprehensive range of services including IPOs, reverse takeovers, mandatory and voluntary takeovers, capital reductions and privatisations. Highlights included advising JcbNext on its privatisation via the takeover by two of its existing shareholders who acquired all the remaining shares not owned by them, in a deal valued at approximately RM57m. Christopher Lee leads the group.

Corporate and M&A
A ‘leading name in corporate and M&A matters’, Christopher & Lee Ong is a member of Rajah & Tann Asia Network. It provides ‘one-stop-shop’ services to an array of local and international clients to meet their needs in complex high-end cross-border transactions. It has acted for several publicly listed corporations in Malaysia on initial listings on stock exchanges, mandatory takeover offers and equity fund instructions. It is advising MM2 Asia on the acquisition of the business and assets of 13 cinema sites, plus an option for two additional ones in Terengganu and Sandakan from Lotus Fivestar Cinemas, with an aggregate value near RM118m, Kuok Yew Chen leads the advice. Yon See Ting and Kelvin Kho are acting for Valeo on its acquisition of Precico Electronics for the sum of RM132m. Other key practitioners include Christopher Lee, Lee Hock Chye, Yau Yee Ming and Por Chuei Ying.

Dispute Resolution
Christopher & Lee Ong’s well-reputed litigation practice acts for clients such as Cavium, Malayan Banking, Kuwait Finance House and Drill Stem Middle East. It is acting for Malayan Banking in court proceedings against Bank of Nova Scotia related to legal charges disputes. Ong Chee Kwan and John Matthew are recommended.

Intellectual Property
Christopher & Lee Ong successfully acted for Al Baik Fast Food Distribution in a trade mark claim initiated by Saudi corporation Al Baik Food Systems before the High Court to challenge the client’s registered trade name on grounds of wrongful registration. The team is also defending Phi Orion and five of its directors in court proceedings commenced by Juris Technologies for breach of confidential information and copyright. Sri Sarguna Raj, Ng Kim Poh and Steven Cheok lead the practice.

Islamic Finance
Christopher & Lee Ong’s Fiona Sequerah acted for the lender in a cash-line and combined Islamic trade line RM16.5m facility granted for working capital and for the import of chemicals used in the gas industry. Co-head of team Christopher Lee is also recommended.

Labour and Employment
Christopher & Lee Ong’s Rubini Murugesan regularly advises corporate clients on related employment matters.

Projects & Energy
Highlights for Christopher & Lee Ong have included advising a Vietnamese corporation, and its Malaysian parent company, on a $2.2bn project to develop a coal-fired thermal power facility at the Duyen Hai Power Complex (Vietnam), and acting for Petronas’ wholly-owned subsidiary Pengerang Power on the Pengerang co-generation plant in Johor, with a total project value of RM3bn. Christopher Lee, Eileen Yeoh and Shemane Chan lead the practice.

Real Estate and Construction
Christopher & Lee Ong receives praise for its innovative solutions to complex property-related instructions. It handles acquisitions, financing, development, leases and tenancies, ownerships and dispositions. The team has acted for Quill Commercial Properties on the sales of land located at Cyberjaya, Selangor together with 2 blocks of 10 storey office building with a transaction valued at RM450m.

Shipping
Work highlights for Christopher & Lee Ong included acting for a petroleum trader in arbitration proceedings against a government-linked port operator. Ong Chee Kwan and shipping expert Jainil Bhandari are the key contacts.

TMT
Deepak Pillai and Intan Haryati are the leading names in Christopher & Lee Ong’s TMT practice, both are recognised for their vast expertise in TMT-related matters and have gained a deserved reputation for handling cutting-edge work in the area. Kuok Yew Chen and Yau Yee Ming are also key members of the practice. The team is advising UEM Group on all legal aspects of its business and IT transformation, which comprises a comprehensive evaluation to identify the best technology to support their digital transformation. This work included negotiating and drafting all project documentation from the tender process to the execution of the contract. Other clients include The Association of Banks of Malaysia, Berjaya Corporation and Life Insurance Association of Malaysia.