Asian Legal Business April 2015

APRIL 2015ASIA EDITION

MCI (P) 178/01/2015Issn 0219 – 6875

KDn PPs 1793/07/2013(025520)

R H T L A W ’ S TA N C H O N G H U AT: ‘ F I R M S M U S T L O O K O U T S I D E L E G A L S E R V I C E S ’

CAPITAL TIMESWill Hong Kong’s hotIPO streak continue?

PAGE 40

BUILDING BRIDGESThe importance oflegal networks

PAGE 18

UP TO SPEEDJapan introduces new IP laws

PAGE 20

INSIDE

n APPOINTMENTS

3

4

6

16

n BIG STORY

n LEAGUE TABLES

n DEALS

ASIA’S BESTLAW FIRMS TOWORK FOR

DATE: 7 MAY 2015LOCATION: JW MARRIOTT KUALA LUMPUR

Featuring leading privacy experts from Asia-Pacific, Europe and North-America, ALB’s 2nd Annual Data Protection Conference will teach legal and compliance professionals, CIOs, CTOs and CPOs to to move beyond simple compliance, and establish a culture of accountability and information integrity.

In conjunction with the Privacy Awareness Week 2015 and supported by leading privacy and technology associations, the conference consider the most critical data protection and information security issues including: Privacy by Design; the regulation of data users and processor; data protection in the employment setting; cross-border data transfer; cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT).

TOP REASONS TO ATTEND• Enjoyregulatoryinsightsandenforcementexperiences

by senior government officials from Japan, the European Union, Thailand, Malaysia and more!

• Getupdatedonthefinalguidelinesandenforcementplansfor Malaysia’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA)

• Streamlineyourcompany’sprivacygovernancestructuresfrom design through to implementation

• Masterwhatittakestobecomeawell-preparedprivacyofficer• Meetandpartnerleadinglegal,privacyandcompliance

heads, CIOs and CTOs from government, the healthcare, finance, technology, telecommunications, real estate and energy industries

To book, please visit www.regonline.com/data_protection_2015.Book 5 delegates and save an additional 20%. For enquiries, call Sheila at (65) 6870 3252

or email [email protected]. For sponsorship opportunities,call Amantha at (65) 6870 3917 or email [email protected]

WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM/CONFERENCES/DATA-PROTECTION-MALAYSIA-2015

REGISTER BEFORE10 APRIL AND

SAVE US$100!

BY JOINING THIS EVENT, YOU WILL LEARN• ThenutsandboltsofPrivacyImpactAssessmentsand

Privacy Management Programmes• Howtocapturebothlegalandtechnicalrequirementsin

your data protection framework: Privacy by Design and Privacy-Enhanced Technologies

• Thebuildingblocksofacomprehensivestakeholderman-agement plan to control employee and third party data usage and flow

• TheinsandoutsoftheAPECCrossBorderPrivacyRulesSystemandwhatthismeansforamoresecurecross-bor-der data transfer

• HowtoselecttherightsecurityandcontractualmeasurestooptimisedataaccessandusagebyyourCloudServiceProviders(CSPs)

• Practicaltipsonhowtoprotectyourpersonaldataintheworld of Big Data, the Internet of Things and disruptive innovation

• Howtopreventandmanageoperationalandreputationaldamage from data breaches

PRIVACY EXPERTS FROM APAC, EUROPE & THE AMERICAS

DR.ZAINALABIDINSAITDeputy Director-General,Personal Data Protection Department (PDPD) Malaysia

TUANHAJIABUHASSANISMAILformer Commissioner,Personal Data Protection Department (PDPD) Malaysia

CÉCILE DE TERWANGNEExpert, Data Protection Unit,Council of Europe

HIROSHIMIYASHITAFormer Privacy Officer,Cabinet Office of Japan

NAKORNSERIRAKConsultant & former Freedom of Information & Privacy Expert,Information Commissioner’s Office, Prime Minister’s Office, Thailand

TREVORHUGHESPresident,International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)

ANNELIESMOENSHead of Sales and Operations, Information Integrity Solutions; former Deputy Director, Compliance (Australian privacy regulator)

TERRYMCQUAYPresident & Founder,Nymity

LILYKHAIRIHead of Legal,Shell Malaysia

MAY-ANN LIMExecutive Director,Asia Cloud Computing Association

DANA SIMBERKOFFChief Compliance & Risk Officer,AvePoint, US

• EVELYNDESOUZA Compliance & Data

Privacy Leader, Cisco Systems, US, Chair, Data

Governance Work Group,

Cloud Security Alliance

• ABUBAKARMUNIR Professor of Law, University of Malaya,

Data Protection Consultant to the Governments of Indonesia, Qatar and Saudi Arabia

• SAMPFEIFLE Publications Director, International

Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)

• KATSUMIKOJIMA Country Compliance

Officer, Japan, Sanofi K. K.

Sponsor Supporting Organisations ALB supports Proudly presented byOnline LegalRecruitment Sponsor

BENGERBERGlobal Privacy Officer,Standard Chartered Bank

CONTENTS 1WWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

BRIEFS— The Big Story— League Tables— Deals Spotlight: North Asia Southeast Asia— News— Regional Updates— Appointments

34

678

1016

NEWS

20

“THE CURRENT NUMBER OF PATENT INFRINGEMENT CASES FILED ANNUALLY IS QUITE LOW, AT AROUND 150 IN JAPAN, WHICH IS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN IN THE U.S., GERMANY OR CHINA.”Takanori Abe, Abe & Partners

Networking timeAs Asian law firms find their clients’ business increasingly moving across borders, a number are looking to find partners they can trust in different jurisdictions. This is bringing into increasing focus the role played by independent law firm networks in building these bridges. Ranajit Dam finds out more

A boost for rights holdersAmendments to Japan’s intellectual property laws, which were passed in 2014, took effect on April 1 this year. Some marquee changes include the introduction of non-traditional trademarks and a new patent opposition system in Japan. Kanishk Verghese reports

‘Firms must look outside of legal services’In only about four years since its founding, RHTLaw Taylor Wessing has shown itself

18

20

38

to be one of the more progressive-minded law firms in the region. The affiliation with Taylor Wessing came fairly early on, but more recently the firm has launched its ASEAN+ group, ventured beyond traditional legal services and is planning to list a holding company early next year. Tan Chong Huat, the firm’s managing partner describes the firm’s evolution to Ranajit Dam

Gathering momentumAfter a strong showing in 2014, Hong Kong’s IPO market is set to carry the momentum forward into 2015, with a strong pipeline of companies looking to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. On the liquidity front, the signs look positive with the Hong Kong-Shanghai Stock Connect starting to bear fruit, and the introduction of a similar scheme between Hong Kong and Shenzhen’s stock markets penciled for later this year. Kanishk Verghese reports

40

FEATURES

COVER STORY

22Employer of Choice 2015ALB’s annual Employer of Choice survey picks the best firms in Asia to work for. They include the Korean firms Bae, Kim & Lee, Kim & Chang and Yulchon; the Chinese firms Chance Bridge Partners, Guangda Law Firm and Hengdu Law Offices; India’s Trilegal; Singapore’s Drew & Napier; and Thailand’s Weerawong, Chinnavat & Peangpanor.

A bull statue is seen in front of flags of (L-R) Hong Kong Exchange, China and Hong Kongoutside the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.REUTERS/Bobby Yip

40

EDITORIAL2 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSAPRIL 2015

MANAGING DIRECTORKlaus [email protected]

PUBLISHERAmantha [email protected]

MANAGING EDITORRanajit [email protected]

DEPUTY EDITORKanishk [email protected]

JOURNALISTShangjing [email protected]

COPY EDITORKaruna [email protected]

SENIOR DESIGNERJohn [email protected]

TRAFFIC / CIRCULATION MANAGERRozidah [email protected]

ACCOUNT MANAGERSYvonne CheungAccount Director (China)(852) 2847 [email protected]

Shyanne ChenAdvertising Sales Manager (Indonesia and Malaysia)(65) 6870 [email protected]

Sardor YangibayevSales Executive (Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam)(65) 6870 [email protected]

Henry ChengAccount Manager (Hong Kong)(852) 2847 [email protected]

DIRECTOR, EVENTSColin [email protected]

CONFERENCE AND MARKETING MANAGERTrang Chu [email protected]

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS is available by subscription. Please visit WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM for details.

Copyright is reserved throughout. No part of this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the express permission of the editor. Contributions are invited, but copies of work should be kept, as ALB can accept no responsibility for loss.

MCI (P) 178/01/2015ISSN 0219 – 6875KDN PPS 1793/07/2013(025520)

THOMSON REUTERS18 Science Park Drive Singapore 118229 / T (65) 6775 5088 / F (65) 6333 090010/F, Cityplaza 3, Taikoo Shing, Hong Kong / T (852) 3762 3269 / F (852) 2154 6425www.thomsonreuters.com

What most motivates an employee when they go into work everyday? Is it just the money? Or the chance to learn something important? The feeling that they are part of an important mission, be it for their employer, or for something greater? Perhaps the chance to really make a difference,

to their colleagues, their industry or society as a whole? The answer is far from easy; indeed, if it was, there wouldn’t be so much literature dedicated to employee “engagement.” Companies today as a rule need to provide a lot more to their employees to ensure they attract and retain the best talent. Law firms are no different.

As this year’s ALB Employer of Choice Survey, which picks Asia’s best law firms to work for, finds, it is a number of things, but there is no defined formula. But one thing is certain: As Asia’s lawyers become more demanding, law firms need to look at defining a mission, an identity and a culture, i.e. creating a place that is “cool” to work in and their employees can identify with. “Are our employees engaged enough?” might be the wrong question to ask. Instead, it should be “Is our firm a place that excites people to come to work every day?”

RANAJIT DAMManaging EditorAsian Legal BusinessThomson [email protected]

THE NEW

WORKPLACE

ERRATA:On page 16 of the March issue of ALB, it was incorrectly stated that Andrew Dale was moving to RHTLaw, when in fact he was moving to Ropes & Gray. On page 21 the list incorrectly had Nishimura & Asahi instead of Mori Hamada Matsumoto. And finally, on pages 36-39, certain quotes of Edmund Kronenburg and Chou Sean Yu were misattributed. Please visit http://tinyurl.com/albmarch for the most up-to-date version. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted.

REUTERS/Toby Melville

3BRIEFSINSIDE LEAGUE TABLES 4 / DEALS 6 / NEWS 8 / REGIONAL UPDATES 10 / APPOINTMENTS 16

Never mind three-letter acronyms like JLV, FLA and all that: Singa-pore’s legal industry (and those watching it) might just have

emitted a bit of a collective OMG after the Stamford Law-Morgan Lewis merger was announced last month. Instead of the usual routes of the Joint Law Venture or the For-mal Law Alliance, both of which are restric-tive from a foreign law firm’s perspective, and subject to periodic licence renewals, Morgan Lewis Stamford (as the new firm is being called in the city-state from Apr.1) has resulted in the creation of “the only fully in-tegrated firm in Singapore that can practice across all legal service areas.” It will be fully integrated with the 28 other Morgan Lewis offices globally, and is expected to serve as the centre for the global firm’s Asia practice.

For Morgan Lewis, in a mood that can at very least be described as expansionist – wit-ness the 750 lawyers taken on from Bingham (including 226 partners) while the Stamford

deal was still being negotiated – the merger allows it access to Singapore’s controlled legal market, and the ability to practice in areas like litigation or in front of regulatory agencies, which will now be undertaken by Singapore-qualified lawyers. More impor-tantly, the JLV and FLA structures haven’t al-ways resulted in massive success for all for-eign firms, so this is one move that you can be sure that the international players will be watching very closely.

Watching equally closely will be the Sin-gaporean law firms, as this could be an im-portant sign as to how the local legal market could evolve. “JLVs and FLAs, by their very name and description, do not permit the full integration that allows a full alignment of business, financial and operational interests so that the parties can take full advantage of a combination,” said Lee Suet-Fern, senior director of Stamford Law, when asked why the “full internationalization” route was pre-ferred. “It also elevates our practice into the

global legal arena and will provide extensive opportunities for our lawyers, many of whom are Singapore qualified legal practitioners, to undertake much larger, more complex and in-depth cross-border legal transactions for many of the largest and most dynamic global corporations. Hence, this model, un-precedented in extent and structure, pro-vides more advancement opportunities for both Stamford Law lawyers and Singapore’s legal fraternity.”

Additionally, it gives local firms another option for seeking global exposure. “We will lead Morgan Lewis’ expansion thrust in Asia under the Morgan Lewis Stamford brand,” she added. “This merger allows us to take advantage of the extensive depth and breadth of knowledge and skills that a very successful global international law firm like Morgan Lewis possesses as well as their huge client base of top global businesses.” For ambitious Singapore law firms, this could just be the fillip they need.

04.2015

THE BIG STORY

Game changerSTAMFORD LAW’S UNPRECEDENTED MERGER WITH MORGAN LEWISHAS OPENED UP A WHOLE NEW VISTA OF POSSIBILITIES FOR BOTHSINGAPORE AND INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRMSBy RANAJIT DAM

4 briefs ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSAPRIL 2015

I. LEAGUE TABLE - NORTH ASIA LEGAL AND FINANCIAL RANKINGSNORTH ASIA Announced M&A Legal Rankings - Based on Value NORTH ASIA Announced M&A Financial Rankings - Based on Value

RankValue

(US$mln)No. of Deals

Market Share Rank

Value (US$mln)

No. of Deals

Market Share

1 73,547.2 10 32.1 1 62,960.5 10 27.52 57,050.1 5 24.9 2 56,584.3 13 24.73 47,296.1 10 20.7 3 47,889.6 9 20.94 45,494.2 2 19.9 4 45,486.4 5 19.95 45,415.8 2 19.8 5 29,033.1 9 12.76 21,407.4 4 9.4 6 23,369.9 12 10.27 14,043.8 10 6.1 7 22,362.9 40 9.88 13,738.8 23 6.0 8 20,913.3 7 9.19 11,133.4 3 4.9 9 16,090.0 4 7.010 10,737.7 9 4.7 10 15,215.5 28 6.7

(*tie) Based on Rank Value incl. Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A) (*tie) Based on Rank Value incl. Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)

II. LEAGUE TABLE - LEGALCHINA Announced M&A Legal Rankings HONG KONG Announced M&A Legal Rankings

RankValue


Market Share Rank

Value (US$mln)

No. of Deals

Market Share

1 11,661.7 4 11.0 1 72,663.8 5 84.22 11,639.3 3 10.9 2 45,523.8 2 52.73 11,133.4 3 10.5 3* 45,410.8 1 52.64 10,737.7 9 10.1 3* 45,410.8 2 52.65* 9,944.8 2 9.3 3* 45,410.8 1 52.65* 9,944.8 2 9.3 6 15,381.2 1 17.87 6,301.5 12 5.9 7 10,527.5 3 12.28 5,917.4 16 5.6 8 1,546.8 2 1.89 5,199.9 3 4.9 9* 1,514.6 1 1.810 5,023.4 2 4.7 9* 1,514.6 1 1.80 - 0 0.0


JAPAN Announced M&A Legal Rankings SOUTH KOREA Announced M&A Legal Rankings

RankValue


Market Share Rank

Value (US$mln)

No. of Deals

Market Share

1 13,738.8 23 27.9 1 2,327.4 12 26.62 10,474.0 5 21.3 2 2,133.9 15 24.43 6,021.2 2 12.2 3 2,028.2 16 23.24 3,042.8 2 6.2 4 1,401.4 6 16.05 3,000.0 1 6.1 5 1,215.4 6 13.96* 2,773.6 1 5.6 6 209.6 9 2.46* 2,773.6 1 5.6 7* - 1 0.06* 2,773.6 1 5.6 7* - 1 0.09 2,773.3 5 5.6 7* - 1 0.010 2,763.3 2 5.6 7* - 1 0.0


II. LEAGUE TABLE - FINANCIALCHINA Announced M&A Financial Rankings HONG KONG Announced M&A Financial Rankings

RankValue


Market Share Rank

Value (US$mln)

No. of Deals

Market Share

1 16,763.0 8 15.7 1 61,760.5 7 71.52 11,639.3 4 10.9 2 56,422.8 12 65.43 11,133.4 3 10.5 3 45,486.4 5 52.74 8,317.1 6 7.8 4 45,410.8 3 52.65 6,661.6 4 6.3 5 26,272.3 5 30.46 5,033.3 2 4.7 6 15,381.2 1 17.87 5,009.2 6 4.7 7 10,934.5 4 12.78 4,854.6 8 4.6 8 10,718.7 5 12.49* 4,433.3 1 4.2 9 10,640.5 4 12.39* 4,433.3 2 4.2 10* 10,357.2 2 12.0


Notes:

Data accurate from 1 January to 30 March 2015

Linklaters Somerley

Legal Advisor Financial Advisor

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer HSBC Holdings PLC

Skadden Goldman Sachs & CoStikeman Elliott Anglo Chinese Corp FinanceAllens UBS

Latham & Watkins Moelis & CoJun He Law Offices Nomura

Herbert Smith Freehills JP MorganClifford Chance Mizuho Financial GroupMori Hamada & Matsumoto Lazard

Studio Pedersoli e Associati Allens

Legal Advisor Legal Advisor

Clifford Chance Freshfields Bruckhaus DeringerLinklaters Skadden

LEAGUE TABLES

ANY NORTH ASIA INVOLVEMENT ANNOUNCED M&A ACTIVITY - QUARTERLY TREND

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Slaughter & MayMori Hamada & Matsumoto Travers Smith

Ligerion ZAO Herbert Smith FreehillsKing & Wood Mallesons Mori Hamada & MatsumotoFangda Partners Allen & Overy

Latham & Watkins Stikeman ElliottJun He Law Offices Linklaters

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS SNAPSHOT

Nomura Nomura

Mizuho Financial Group Moelis & CoSomerley JP MorganGuotai Junan Securities CITIC

Lazard Anglo Chinese Corp FinanceCITIC Goldman Sachs & CoUBS

Rothschild SomerleyHSBC Holdings PLC

Legal Advisor Legal Advisor

Mori Hamada & Matsumoto Shin & KimFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Lee & KoHerbert Smith Freehills Kim & ChangShearman & Sterling LLP Bae Kim & LeeSimpson Thacher & Bartlett Yulchon LLCGernandt & Danielsson Yoon & Yang

0

League tables, quarterly trend, and deal list are based on the nation of either the target, acquiror, target ultimate parent, or acquiror ultimate parent at the time of the transaction. Announced M&A transactions excludes withdrawn deals. Deals with undisclosed dollar values are rank eligible but with no corresponding Rank Value. Non-US dollar denominated transactions are converted to the US dollar equivalent at the time of announcement of terms. North Asia includes China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld

Mannheimer Swartling Advokatbyra Clifford ChanceAdvokatfirman Vinge WilmerHaleJones Day Skadden

Bank of America Merrill Lynch Mizuho Financial Group

UBS

Financial Advisor Financial Advisor

JP Morgan

103.6 83.2

127.2 135.8 110.8 114.6

126.2 125.2

95.4 114.4

146.8 134.0

93.7 117.7 128.3

148.7 142.5

202.8

162.1 162.1

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

40 60 80

100 120 140 160 180 200 220

1Q 10 3Q 10 1Q 11 3Q 11 1Q 12 3Q 12 1Q 13 3Q 13 1Q 14 3Q 14

No. of Transactions Rank

Val

ue U

S$ B

illio

n Series1 Series2

ANY NORTH ASIA INVOLVEMENT ANNOUNCED M&A ACTIVITY - QUARTERLY TREND

NOTES: League tables, quarterly trend, and deal list are based on the nation of either the target, acquiror, target ultimate parent, or acquiror ultimate parent at the time of the transaction. Announced M&A transactions excludes withdrawn deals. Deals with undisclosed dollar values are rank eligible but with no corresponding Rank Value. Non-US dollar denominated transactions are converted to the US dollar equivalent at the time of announcement of terms. North Asia includes China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan. Data range is from 1 January to 30 March 2015

JAPAN ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS

(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)

HONG KONG ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS


SOUTH KOREA ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS


RANK LEGAL ADVISOR VALUE($MLN) DEALS MARKET

SHARE

2 Lee & Ko 2,133.9 15 24.4

3 Kim & Chang 2,028.2 16 23.2

4 Bae Kim & Lee 1,401.4 6 16.0

5 Yulchon LLC 1,215.4 6 13.9

6 Yoon & Yang 209.6 9 2.4

7* Clifford Chance - 1 0.0

7* WilmerHale - 1 0.0

7* Skadden - 1 0.0

7* Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld - 1 0.0

RANK LEGAL ADVISORVALUE($MLN)

DEALSMARKET SHARE

2 Skadden 45,523.8 2 52.7

3* Stikeman Elliott 45,410.8 1 52.6

3* Linklaters 45,410.8 2 52.6

3* Allens 45,410.8 1 52.6

6 Herbert Smith Freehills 15,381.2 1 17.8

7 Mori Hamada & Matsumoto 10,527.5 3 12.2

8 Allen & Overy 1,546.8 2 1.8

9* Slaughter & May 1,514.6 1 1.8

9* Travers Smith 1,514.6 1 1.8

SHIN & KIM

DEALS: 12 MARKET SHARE: 26.6

VALUE($mln)

NORTH ASIA LEAGUE TABLES


SHARE

2 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 10,474.0 5 21.3

3 Herbert Smith Freehills 6,021.2 2 12.2

4 Shearman & Sterling LLP 3,042.8 2 6.2

5 Simpson Thacher & Bartlett 3,000.0 1 6.1

6* Gernandt & Danielsson 2,773.6 1 5.6

6* Mannheimer Swartling Advokatbyra 2,773.6 1 5.6

6* Advokatfirman Vinge 2,773.6 1 5.6

9 Jones Day 2,773.3 5 5.6

10 Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton 2,763.3 2 5.6

MORI HAMADA & MATSUMOTO


VALUE($mln)

CHINA ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS



DEALSMARKET SHARE

2 Linklaters 11,639.3 3 10.9

3 Latham & Watkins 11,133.4 3 10.5

4 Jun He Law Offices 10,737.7 9 10.1

5* Studio Pedersoli e Associati 9,944.8 2 9.3

5* Ligerion ZAO 9,944.8 2 9.3

7 King & Wood Mallesons 6,301.5 12 5.9

8 Fangda Partners 5,917.4 16 5.6

9 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 5,199.9 3 4.9

10 Mori Hamada & Matsumoto 5,023.4 2 4.7


VALUE($mln)

FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER


VALUE($mln)

CLIFFORD CHANCE

5briefsWWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

MIDDLE EAST ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS

I. LEAGUE TABLE - SOUTHEAST ASIA AND MIDDLE EAST SOUTHEAST ASIA / SOUTH ASIA Announced M&A Legal Rankings MIDDLE EAST Announced M&A Legal Rankings

RankValue


Market Share Rank

Value (US$mln)

No. of Deals

Market Share

1 5,306.9 6 24.1 1 3,502.4 2 26.02 3,694.8 10 16.8 2 3,242.2 1 24.03 3,242.2 1 14.7 3 2,704.6 2 20.04 2,637.8 20 12.0 4 1,705.4 4 12.65 2,528.5 2 11.5 5 1,543.3 1 11.46* 1,423.5 2 6.5 6 1,277.2 3 9.56* 1,423.5 2 6.5 7 1,025.4 1 7.66* 1,423.5 1 6.5 8 770.2 1 5.76* 1,423.5 1 6.5 9 507.0 1 3.86* 1,423.5 1 6.5 10 175.0 1 1.3


II. LEAGUE TABLE - LEGALSINGAPORE Announced M&A Legal Rankings MALAYSIA Announced M&A Legal Rankings

RankValue


Market Share Rank

Value (US$mln)

No. of Deals

Market Share

1 5,306.9 6 41.1 1 24.0 1 1.82 3,694.8 9 28.6 2* 0.0 1 0.03 3,242.2 1 25.1 2* 0.0 1 0.04 2,528.2 1 19.6 2* 0.0 1 0.05* 1,423.5 2 11.0 0 0.0 0 0.05* 1,423.5 2 11.0 - 24.0 4 1.85* 1,423.5 1 11.0 - 1,311.8 116 98.25* 1,423.5 1 11.0 0 0.0 0 0.05* 1,423.5 1 11.0 - 1,335.8 120 100.010 339.0 3 2.6 0 0.0 0 0.0


INDIA Announced M&A Legal Rankings INDONESIA Announced M&A Legal Rankings

RankValue


Market Share Rank

Value (US$mln)

No. of Deals

Market Share

1 2,637.8 20 45.8 1 0.3 1 0.02* 1,193.2 1 20.7 2 0.0 1 0.02* 1,193.2 1 20.7 0 0.0 0 0.04 822.8 4 14.3 - 0.3 2 0.05* 800.0 1 13.9 - 919.7 25 100.05* 800.0 2 13.9 0 0.0 0 0.05* 800.0 1 13.9 - 920.0 27 100.08 655.4 8 11.4 0 0.0 0 0.09 472.6 3 8.2 0 0.0 0 0.010 343.4 3 6.0 0 0.0 0 0.0


II. LEAGUE TABLE - FINANCIALSOUTHEAST ASIA / SOUTH ASIA Announced M&A Financial Rankings MIDDLE EAST Announced M&A Financial Rankings

RankValue


Market Share Rank

Value (US$mln)

No. of Deals

Market Share

1 4,435.4 2 20.1 1 6,082.6 4 45.12 3,588.2 4 16.3 2 4,247.9 5 31.53 3,242.2 1 14.7 3 4,146.7 5 30.74 2,855.6 4 13.0 4 3,242.2 1 24.05 2,670.7 4 12.1 5 2,704.6 3 20.06 1,498.5 3 6.8 6 2,096.5 2 15.57 1,453.2 3 6.6 7 1,934.3 2 14.38 1,423.5 1 6.5 8* 1,543.3 1 11.49 1,212.3 2 5.5 8* 1,543.3 1 11.410 1,200.0 2 5.5 8* 1,543.3 1 11.4


Notes:

Credit Suisse Citi

League tables, quarterly trend, and deal list are based on the nation of either the target, acquiror, target ultimate parent, or acquiror ultimate parent at the time of the transaction. Announced M&A transactions excludes withdrawn deals. Deals with undisclosed dollar values are rank eligible but with no corresponding Rank Value. Non-US dollar denominated transactions are converted to the US dollar equivalent at the time of announcement of terms. Geographic coverage includes SOUTH EAST ASIA: Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Timor-Leste; SOUTH ASIA: India, Afganistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka; MIDDLE EAST: United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Palestine, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Syria, Yemen

J Sagar Associates 0

HSBC Holdings PLC EFG Hermes Brokerage UAE LLC

Morgan Stanley

Financial Advisor Financial AdvisorDeutsche Bank Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Debevoise & Plimpton Industry TotalAmarchand Mangaldas 0PH Bathiya & Associates (*):tie

Legal Advisor Legal AdvisorAZB & Partners Shook Lin & Bok LLPWeil Gotshal & Manges Allen & OveryLinklaters 0Luthra & Luthra Law Offices Subtotal with Legal AdvisorCravath, Swaine & Moore Subtotal without Legal AdvisorCovington & Burling 0

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS SNAPSHOT

Nomura Rabobank NV

Jefferies LLC RothschildMorgan Stanley BarclaysEvercore Partners KPMG

Bank of America Merrill Lynch HSBC Holdings PLCCiti Deutsche BankDBS Group Holdings

LEAGUE TABLES

ANY SOUTHEAST ASIA / SOUTH ASIA & MIDDLE EAST INVOLVEMENT ANNOUNCED M&A ACTIVITY - QUARTERLY TREND

Seward & Kissel Industry TotalAZB & Partners 0

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher Subtotal with Legal AdvisorLatham & Watkins Subtotal without Legal AdvisorKramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel 0

Skadden Allen & OveryShook Lin & Bok LLP WongPartnership LLP

Seward & Kissel

Jones Day 0

Legal Advisor Legal AdvisorAllen & Gledhill Dorsey & Whitney LLPWongPartnership LLP Linklaters

Chadbourne & Parke

WongPartnership LLP Allen & Gledhill

Legal Advisor Legal AdvisorAllen & Gledhill Skadden

Skadden LinklatersAZB & Partners Allen & OveryShook Lin & Bok LLP Zulficar & Partners Co

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel Al-Tamimi & Co

Jones Day Clifford ChanceGibson Dunn & Crutcher AshurstLatham & Watkins Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

57.3

45.5 47.6

71.8 64.8

53.8

36.8 34.1

47.4 42.1

49.0

63.0

25.3

53.1

35.8 45.4 44.7

65.4

42.5 42.5

0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

1Q 10 3Q 10 1Q 11 3Q 11 1Q 12 3Q 12 1Q 13 3Q 13 1Q 14 3Q 14

No. of Transactions R

ank

Valu

e U

S$ B

illio

n

Series1 Series2

ANY SOUTHEAST ASIA / SOUTH ASIA & MIDDLE EAST INVOLVEMENT ANNOUNCED M&A ACTIVITY - QUARTERLY TREND

NOTES: League tables, quarterly trend, and deal list are based on the nation of either the target, acquiror, target ultimate parent, or acquiror ultimate parent at the time of the transaction. Announced M&A transactions excludes withdrawn deals. Deals with undisclosed dollar values are rank eligible but with no corresponding Rank Value. Non-US dollar denominated transactions are converted to the US dollar equivalent at the time of announcement of terms. Geographic coverage includes SOUTH EAST ASIA: Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Timor-Leste; SOUTH ASIA: India, Afganistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka; MIDDLE EAST: United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Palestine, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Syria, Yemen. Data range is from 1 January to 30 March 2015

SOUTHEAST ASIA/ SOUTH ASIAANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGSSINGAPORE ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS

(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A) (*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)

INDIA ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGSINDIA ANNOUNCED M&A LEGAL RANKINGS

(*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A) (*tie) Based on Rank Value including Net Debt of announced M&A deals (excluding withdrawn M&A)

SOUTHEAST ASIA LEAGUE TABLES


SHARE

2 Allen & Gledhill 3,242.2 1 24.0

3 Linklaters 2,704.6 2 20.0

4 Allen & Overy 1,705.4 4 12.6

5 Zulficar & Partners Co 1,543.3 1 11.4

6 Clifford Chance 1,277.2 3 9.5

7 Ashurst 1,025.4 1 7.6

8 Simpson Thacher & Bartlett 770.2 1 5.7

9 Al-Tamimi & Co 507.0 1 3.8

10 Chadbourne & Parke 175.0 1 1.3

SKADDEN


VALUE($mln)


DEALSMARKET SHARE

2 WongPartnership LLP 3,694.8 10 16.8

3 Skadden 3,242.2 1 14.7

4 AZB & Partners 2,637.8 20 12.0

5 Shook Lin & Bok LLP 2,528.5 2 11.5

6* Jones Day 1,423.5 2 6.5

6* Gibson Dunn & Crutcher 1,423.5 2 6.5

6* Latham & Watkins 1,423.5 1 6.5

6* Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel 1,423.5 1 6.5

6* Seward & Kissel 1,423.5 1 6.5


VALUE($mln)

ALLEN & GLEDHILL


SHARE

2* Weil Gotshal & Manges 1,193.2 1 20.7

2* Linklaters 1,193.2 1 20.7

4 Luthra & Luthra Law Offices 822.8 4 14.3

5* Cravath, Swaine & Moore 800.0 1 13.9

5* Covington & Burling 800.0 2 13.9

5* Debevoise & Plimpton 800.0 1 13.9

8 Amarchand Mangaldas 655.4 8 11.4

9 PH Bathiya & Associates 472.6 3 8.2

10 J Sagar Associates 343.4 3 6.0

AZB & PARTNERS


VALUE($mln)


VALUE($mln)


DEALSMARKET SHARE

2 WongPartnership LLP 3,694.8 9 28.6

3 Skadden 3,242.2 1 25.1

4 Shook Lin & Bok LLP 2,528.2 1 19.6

5* Jones Day 1,423.5 2 11.0

5* Gibson Dunn & Crutcher 1,423.5 2 11.0

5* Latham & Watkins 1,423.5 1 11.0

5* Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel 1,423.5 1 11.0

5* Seward & Kissel 1,423.5 1 11.0

10 AZB & Partners 339.0 3 2.6

ALLEN & GLEDHILL


DEAL NAME FIRM JURISDICTION VALUE(US$ MLN) DEAL TYPE

HKBN’s Hong KongIPO

Freshfields BruckhausDeringer Hong Kong 750 IPO

Latham & Watkins Hong Kong 750 IPO

Fangda Partners Hong Kong 750 IPO

Haiwen & Partners Hong Kong 750 IPO

Maples and Calder Hong Kong 750 IPO

Evergrande Real EstateGroup’s senior notesoffering

Davis Polk & Wardwell Hong Kong 1,000 Debt

Sidley Austin Hong Kong 1,000 Debt

Baring Private EquityAsia’s formation ofThe Baring AsiaPrivate Equity Fund VI

Debevoise & Plimpton Hong Kong 4,000PrivateEquity/Funds

Integrated SiliconSolutions Inc’sprivatisation by aconsortium ofChinese investors

Morrison & Foerster China, U.S. 640 M&A/Privatisation

Wilson SonsiniGoodrich & Rosati China, U.S. 640 M&A/

Privatisation

Orient Securities Co’sIPO on the ShanghaiStock Exchange

Grandall Law Firm China 1,590 IPO

Starbucks’ partnershipwith Taiwanesedrink makerTingyi Holding Corp

Baker & McKenzie China, Taiwan N/A JV

Sidley Austin China, Taiwan N/A JV

China Overseas Landand Investment Ltd’sproperty portfolioacquisition fromits state-ownedparent company

Norton Rose Fulbright China,Hong Kong 5,500 M&A

Jingtian & Gongcheng China,Hong Kong 5,500 M&A

China NationalChemical Corp’s bidto acquire Italiantire-maker Pirelli

Clifford Chance China, Italy 7,700 M&A

Latham & Watkins China, Italy 7,700 M&A

Linklaters China, Italy 7,700 M&A

JunHe China, Italy 7,700 M&A

Chiomenti andLombardi MolinariSegni

China, Italy 7,700 M&A

Studio LegalePedersoli e Associati China, Italy 7,700 M&A

NORTH ASIA DEALS: YOUR MONTH AT A GLANCE

$7.7 BILLIONM&ACHINA NATIONAL CHEMICALCORP’S BID TO ACQUIRE ITALIANTIRE-MAKER PIRELLI• Underthedeal,ChemChina’stire

making division, China National Tire & Rubber Company, will first enter into a joint venture which will buy the 26.2 percent stake Italian holding firm Camfin owns in Pirelli. The venture will then launch a mandatory takeover bid for the rest of Pirelli, the companies said in a statement.

• Thebidwillbelaunchedbyavehicle controlled by the Chinese state-owned group and part-owned by Camfin investors, which include Pirelli boss Marco Tronchetti Provera, Italian banks UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, and Russia’s Rosneft.

$750 MILLIONIPOHKBN’S HONG KONG IPO• PrivateequityfirmCVCCapital

Partners, which is part of Carlyle Group, and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC raised a combined $710 million from selling their shares in HKBN. Two other investors raised about $40 million in the listing, from which HKBN itself received no funds.

• CVCboughtHKBNfromHongKongTelevision Network in May 2012 for about $628 million. The private equity firm three months later sold a $40 million stake to Singapore’s GIC and a $29 million stake to Carlyle’s AlpInvest.

$1.59 BILLIONIPOORIENT SECURITIES CO’S IPO ONTHE SHANGHAI STOCK EXCHANGE• ThisisthelargestIPOinChinasince

Sinohydro Group raised $2.11 billion in September 2011.

• Thefundswillbeusedforworkingcapital purposes and to expand business.


DEAL NAME FIRM JURISDICTION VALUE(US$ MLN) DEAL TYPE

Mylan LaboratoriesLimited’s 100%acquisition of thepaid up share capital ofan FCL New Co.

AZB & Partners India 800 M&A

AGS TransactTechnologies’ IPOin India

Amarchand &Mangaldas &Suresh A. Shroff & Co.

India 216 IPO

AZB & Partners India 216 IPO

Jones Day India 216 IPO

S&R Associates India 216 IPO

NTPC Limited’sissuance of secured,non-cumulative,non-convertible,redeemable, taxable,fully paid-up bonusdebentures

Amarchand &Mangaldas &Suresh A. Shroff & Co

India 1,640 Debt

Micron SemiconductorAsia Pte. Ltd. financinggrant

Jones Day Singapore 750 Debt

WongPartnership Singapore 750 Debt

Petronas’sukuk issuance

Cleary GottliebSteen & Hamilton Malaysia 1,250

Debt/IslamicFinance

Milbank, Tweed,Hadley & McCloy Malaysia 1,250

Debt/IslamicFinance

Norton Rose Fulbright Malaysia 1,250Debt/

IslamicFinance

Adnan Sundra & Low Malaysia 1,250Debt/

IslamicFinance

Kadir Andri & Partners Malaysia 1,250Debt/

IslamicFinance

Acquisition of60% interest inCapitaLand TownshipHoldings Pte. Ltd. andsale of 40% interest inSurbana InternationalConsultants HoldingsPte Ltd.

Allen & Gledhill Singapore 250 M&A

WongPartnership Singapore 250 M&A

CITIC Ltd and KKR’sformal offer to buySingapore’s UnitedEnvirotech

Allen & Gledhill Singapore,China, U.S. 1,500 M&A

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind,Wharton & Garrison

Singapore,China, U.S. 1,500 M&A

Rajah & Tann Singapore,China, U.S. 1,500 M&A

Shook Lin & Bok Singapore,China, U.S. 1,500 M&A

SOUTHEAST ASIA DEALS: YOUR MONTH AT A GLANCE

$1.5 BILLIONM&ACITIC LTD AND KKR’S FORMALOFFER TO BUY SINGAPORE’SUNITED ENVIROTECH• CITICandKKRmadeaformaloffer

in March to buy Singapore’s United Envirotech, after announcing in November that they would form a joint venture to buy the wastewater-treatment company.

• KKRcurrentlyownsabout30percent of United Envirotech, and will sell its shares to the joint-venture company, which will eventually be majority-owned by CITIC Environment Protection Co.

$216 MILLIONIPOAGS TRANSACT TECHNOLOGIES’IPO IN INDIA• AGSplanstoraiseupto4billion

rupees by issuing new shares, while U.S. private equity firm TPG Capital and other shareholders would raise up to 9.5 billion rupees selling existing shares.

• Accordingtothepreliminaryprospectus, the proceeds will be used for the repayment of loans and general corporate purposes.

$1.25 BILLIONDEBT/ISLAMIC FINANCEPETRONAS’ SUKUK ISSUANCE• The$1.25billionsukukofferingwas

part of Petronas’ $5 billion issuance, which included three other tranches of U.S. dollar-denominated bonds.

• ThedebtofferingistheMalaysiancompany’s first in almost six years.


NEWS

Yulchon opensin Moscow

Korean law firm Yulchon has opened its doors in Moscow, its fifth overseas office and first outside Asia.

Senior foreign counsel Hwajoon Lee is heading the office in the Russian capital.

“The Moscow office will serve as an ad-vanced outpost facilitating the entry of Ko-rean businesses into Russia,” Lee said in a statement.

While the office opened on Mar. 24, Yulchon has regularly advised on deals in the Russian market for years. The firm recently advised Ko-rea’s Lotte Hotel on its acquisition of new prop-erty in St. Petersburg, and assisted Lotte Group on its purchase of a shopping mall in Moscow.

The Moscow office is Yulchon’s fifth over-seas office. The firm established offices in Ho Chi Minh City in 2007, Hanoi in 2010, and Beijing in 2011. The firm also made a foray in Southeast Asia last July, opening an office in Myanmar.

BLP acquiresHaley & Co in HK

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has acquired local construction and ar-bitration boutique firm Haley & Co in Hong Kong.

Partners Glenn Haley, the founder of Hal-ey & Co, Ilan Freiman and Geoffrey Shaw will move to BLP on May 4, along with four associ-ates, a trainee, a paralegal and support staff.

The new team will provide BLP arbitration capabilities in Hong Kong, and strengthen the firm’s existing arbitration offerings in London, Singapore, Moscow and the UAE.

Haley and Shaw both specialise in litiga-tion, arbitration and mediation, with a focus on the construction and infrastructure sec-tors. Freiman, who will work in BLP’s global real estate practice, handles transactional construction work, and advises clients on infrastructure and real estate development projects, with a focus on the entertainment, leisure and hospitality industries.

BLP opened its Hong Kong office in Octo-ber 2011.

Southeast Asia’s major economies drew more foreign direct investment combined than China for the second straight year in 2014, as growth in

their giant neighbour cooled. But by country, inflows into the region were uneven, swayed by political change and the varying costs of doing business.

Overall FDI into Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet-nam rose to a record $128 billion in 2014, estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters show. That surpassed the $119.56 billion that flowed into China. FDI into the Philip-pines grew the fastest, at 66 percent, while in Thailand, where the military seized power last year, inflows fell. FDI into Indonesia, the region’s biggest economy, rose around 10 percent even though it was an election year.

As China’s troubled manufacturing sector loses momentum, Chinese businesses will be venturing abroad to cut operating costs and to search for new markets, economists say. Manufacturing powerhouses in South-east Asia should pay heed.

“Rising wages in China are leading low-end manufacturers to look for other low-cost

SE Asia attracts more FDI thanChina for second year

REUTERS/Stringer

locations for their factories, with countries like Vietnam and the Philippines looking like attractive alternatives,” said Dan Martin, Asia Economist at Capital Economics. “ASE-AN is also a large market in its own right, and one with good long-term growth prospects. Given the general slowdown in other emerg-ing market regions in recent years, it is start-ing to stand out.”

The Philippines, the second-fastest grow-ing major economy in Asia, attracts investors with its strong economic fundamentals. But one concern is the continuity of economic policies following the 2016 general elec-tions. That means some investment deci-sions might be postponed. Slumping com-modity prices could pinch on FDI inflows into resource-rich Indonesia and, to a lesser extent, Malaysia. Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who took office in October, is seek-ing more foreign investment in manufactur-ing to counter the volatile resources sector. But Indonesia, which last year elected the reform-minded Jokowi, has many improve-ments to make, particularly in its business infrastructure, to successfully challenge the region’s manufacturing leader - Thailand.

SPONSORED ARTICLE 9WWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

BIRD & BIRD

A: Asia: Beijing, Hong Kong, shanghai, singapore & sydney

W: twobirds.com

WHAT’S NEW?With effect from 1 April 2015, Singapore’s Industrial Relations Act will allow a rank & file union which has been recognised by a company to represent the company’s professionals, managers and executives (“Executives”) collectively as a class; and individually on re-employment matters and other limited issues.

Additionally, Tripartite Guidelines issued in November 2014 expand existing guidelines on eligibility criteria for collective representation, types of representation for Executives other than collective agreements, and individual representation by rank & file unions for Executives’ re-employment disputes.

POLICY BEHIND IRA AMENDMENTSAllowing rank & file unions to collectively represent Executives limits companies’ dealings to one union and allows unions to stay relevant in a workforce in which Executives comprise about one-third of all workers.

WHAT THE NEW RULES PROVIDEExcluded Classes of ExecutivesCompanies can object to certain Executives being represented, such as senior Executives who have significant decision-making power, can access confidential information, exercise considerable autonomy or independent judgment, or whose work strategically impacts the organisation.

Salary levels and an organisation’s proportion of Executives may help determine eligibility. Disputes regarding Executives’ eligibility may be referred to the Ministry of Manpower for conciliation, before determination by the Industrial Arbitration Court.

Union recognitionA union which has been recognised to represent a company’s rank & file employees may continue to individually represent Executives, but must obtain recognition anew to collectively represent the company’s Executives.

An unrecognised union may seek recognition to first represent rank & file employees, before seeking to represent Executives.

Types of union representation of ExecutivesOther than a collective agreement, parties may agree on other arrangements, such as maintaining the status quo on existing agreements regarding Executives’ individual representation, agree to a new arrangement or enter a memorandum of understanding to agree on eligible classes of Executives.

WHAT COMPANIES SHOULD DOCompanies should anticipate unions seeking to represent their employees including their Executives, consider their response should they be approached, and assess which categories of Executives should or should not be represented by a union.

SINGAPORE – RANK & FILE UNIONS TO FULLY REPRESENT EXECUTIVES

Susan de Silva Head of International HR

services Asia Pacific Partner, ATMD Bird & Bird LLP

Taiwan stockconnect link withSingapore maybe ready nearyear-end

Plans to link stock trading between Taiwan and Singapore will likely be completed toward the end of the year, rather than around July as pre-

viously estimated, a Taiwan stock exchange official said.

Taiwan and Singapore have been in dis-cussions about a stock connect scheme that would open equity trading to investors in each other’s market, but Taiwan has not yet decided how many of the shares listed on its main index would be included in such a plan.

“What is certain is that the common plat-form for the stock connect trading can be finished by the end of July,” said the official who is familiar with the plans but spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Officials with the Taiwan Stock Exchange

authorised to speak with media had no com-ment on the matter.

The July timeline had earlier been given by Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commis-sion Chairman William Tseng.

The Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) has been eager to broaden its trading links to bolster its position after the launch of a simi-lar link between Shanghai and Hong Kong.

REUTERS/Pichi Chuang

TWSE has also been discussing similar stock connect schemes with stock exchanges in Ja-pan and London.

Establishing direct connections between exchanges has replaced mergers and acqui-sitions as the industry’s main growth strat-egy, particularly in Asia.

SGX said earlier this year it is also looking to formally link Southeast Asian bourses.


REGIONAL UPDATESINGAPORE

In February 2015, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) issued a Consultation Paper on the proposed amendments to the Securities and Futures Act (“SFA”)

to be in line with the current market and international developments, and to strengthen MAS’ enforcement regime.

Given the detailed nature of the Consultation Paper, this update will only highlight salient features of the proposed amendments.

1. Regulation of OTC derivations MAS proposed to revise the definition of “derivative contract” in a simpler and principles-based manner comprising of the following key elements:

(a) replace references to “futures contracts” with “derivatives contract” throughout the SFA;

(b) simplify the definition of “securities” and introduce a new “securities-based derivative contract” to be a sub-set of the “derivative contract” definition;

(c) introduce a catch-all term “capital markets products” for the purposes of making references to all regulated products; and

(d) introduce a new definition of “organised market” to replace the existing definitions of “market”, “securities market” and “futures market” under Part I and in the First Schedule to the SFA.

2. Reporting of OTC derivatives MAS proposed to amend provisions in Part VIA of the SFA concerning

reporting of information on a specified derivatives contract, by a specified person, who acts as an agent of a party to that contract to clarify that such contracts would have to be reported so long as they are booked in Singapore.

3. New regulated activities MAS will introduce a new regulated activity of “dealing in OTC

derivatives” as well as another regulated activity of “dealing in capital markets products”, which will encompass the existing regulated activities of “dealing in securities”, “trading in futures contracts” and “leveraged foreign exchange trading”.

4. Strengthening the MAS’ enforcement regime MAS proposed to raise the ceiling for the amount that may be imposed

as a civil penalty by amending section 232 of the SFA to provide that the civil penalty ceiling will be the greater of either S$2 million or 3 times the amount of benefit obtained, in all cases.

5. Fund management MAS proposed to revise the definition of “fund management” to mean

“undertaking on behalf of a customer (whether on a discretionary authority granted by the customer or otherwise) – (a) the management of a portfolio of capital markets products; (b) the management of a collective investment scheme; or (c) entering into spot foreign exchange contracts for the purpose of managing the customer’s funds, but does not include real estate investment trust management”.

MAS intends to licence and regulate managers of a collective investment

scheme (“CIS”) that invest in physical assets only if the CIS is offered to retail investors. There will be a class exemption granted to managers of CIS that are offered only to accredited or institutional investors.

The proposed amendments to the SFA will have important implications for Singapore’s securities market.

PROPOSED LEGISLATIVE AMENDMENTS TO THE SECURITIES AND FUTURES ACT

MR. MARKUS POH LEONG KEE MS. YONG CHANG LING Legal Associate (Corporate Practice) Legal Associate (Corporate Practice) T: (65) 6322 2217 T: (65) 6322 2237 F: (65) 6534 0833 F: (65) 6534 0833 E: [email protected] E: [email protected]

Loo & Partners LLP143 Cecil Street, Level Ten, GB BuildingSingapore 069542www.loopartners.com.sg

UK law firm DWF has opened an office in Dubai, its first outside

the British Isles, after hiring two lawyers from Holland & Knight, includ-ing construction partner Steven Hunt.

The Dubai office, with the aim of supporting clients across the con-struction, energy, insur-ance and transport sec-tors in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, will have a team of four lawyers, includ-ing two partners. It will be led by partner Chris Ryan, who specialises in non-marine insurance, with a focus on property, construction and engi-neering.

Hunt has more than 11 years of experience in the UAE in con-struction and real estate law, in particular construction dispute resolution and arbitration.

The other two lawyers are consultant Fernando Ortega, who also joins from Holland & Knight, and professional liability spe-cialist Jeremy Speller.

Kennedys is entering into a joint law venture (JLV) with law firm Legal Solutions in Singapore, after receiving a licence from the Attorney General’s Chambers.

The new firm will operate under the name of Kenne-dys Legal Solutions, and is expected to launch in the following months.

The JLV is expected to provide services including litigation, ar-bitration, corporate and conveyancing services as well as health-care, employment, construction, aviation, shipping, regulatory and corporate insurance advice.

In December, Kennedys hired six lawyers, including partners Peng Lim and Anita Quy, from Clyde & Co.’s aviation practice in Singapore.

Kennedys in Singaporejoint venture withLegal Solutions

DWF opens in Dubai withHolland & Knight duo

REUTERS/Jamal Saidi


REGIONAL UPDATEPHILIPPINES

The Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, Inc. (PDRCI), the leading commercial arbitration institution in the Philippines, recently

amended its Arbitration Rules to adopt modern international commercial arbitration practice. Among others:

1. Article 7 authorizes a Request for Joinder of additional parties, if an arbitration agreement exists and binds all the parties and the additional party. In the absence of an agreement on the appointment of the tribunal, PDRCI may revoke the confirmation of arbitrators previously appointed before the joinder, and proceed to appoint the new arbitrators.

2. Article 8 recognizes an arbitration with multiple parties, where claims and cross-claims may be made by any party against any other party.

3. Article 9 permits a single arbitration of claims relating to more than one contract, provided that the arbitration agreements under which the claims are made are compatible.

4. Article 10 authorizes the consolidation of two or more arbitrations, where (a) the parties agree to consolidate, or (b) all the claims are made under the same arbitration agreement, or (c) the claims are made under different arbitration agreements, but there is a common question of law or fact, the rights to relief claimed relate to the same transaction, and PDRCI finds the arbitration agreements compatible.

5. Article 52 provides for an expedited procedure (with, among others, shorter time limits, simplified procedure, and an award based on documents and materials only and reasons in summary form) where (a) the amount of dispute does not exceed PhP 25 Million (about USD 560 Thousand), or (b) the parties so agree, or (c) in case of exceptional urgency.

6. Finally, Article 53 provides for an Emergency Arbitrator, who shall consider an application for an Emergency Relief prior to the constitution of the tribunal. The Emergency Decision ceases to be binding (a) upon the tribunal rendering a final award, (b) upon the withdrawal of all claims or the termination of the arbitration before rendering of a final award, or (c) if the tribunal is not constituted within 90 days from the date of the Emergency Decision. The Emergency Decision may be modified, suspended or terminated, by the tribunal.

The new Rules were expressly made applicable to PDRCI arbitrations commenced after 1 January 2015, unless the parties agree otherwise. It is hoped that the updating of the PDRCI Rules will help spur the use of arbitration to resolve domestic and international commercial disputes in the Philippines.

THE NEW PDRCRI ARBITRATION RULES

RICARDO MA. P.G. ONGKIKO FCIArb Partner, Litigation Department Head M: (63908) 882 1099 E: [email protected]

SyCip Salazar Hernandez & GatmaitanSyCipLaw Center, 105 Paseo de Roxas, Makati City, PhilippinesTel: (632) 982 3500, 982 3600, 982 3700Fax: (632) 817 3145, 817 3896www.syciplaw.com

Beijing plans new wave ofstate firm consolidation

Singapore’s anti-trust regulator blocked a takeover for the first time when it provisionally ruled that Malaysian IHH Healthcare Bhd’s planned purchase of a local unit of India’s Fortis Healthcare would lessen competition.

The proposal by IHH Healthcare, Asia’s largest hospital opera-tor by stock market value, to buy Radlink-Asia Pte Ltd for S$137 million ($98.4 million) fell through after the ruling, Fortis said.

The Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS), which in-formed the companies of its decision on Mar. 11, said in a state-ment that the proposed transaction would have resulted in a “substantial lessening of competition” in the affected markets.

Lawyers have previously said the CCS, which was established in 2005, is starting to ratchet up its enforcement policy and take on bigger cases. Last year it fined three Japanese manufacturers for taking part in a ball bearing pricing cartel and 10 freight for-warders for price fixing.

Singapore competitionwatchdog blocks dealfor first time

China is poised to embark on a fresh round of industrial consolidation, as part of a sweeping plan to reinvigorate the country’s inefficient state-owned enterprises and raise the global competitiveness of domestic industry.

The initiative, dubbed “Made in China 2025”, focuses on pro-moting key sectors, led by railways and nuclear power plant con-struction, in offshore markets, in Beijing’s latest move to create leading international giants.

“Without size and strength internationalisation is fairly diffi-cult,” said Li Dongsheng, chief executive of Chinese mobile tele-phone and television set giant TCL Corp, explaining the rationale behind consolidation.

A restructuring plan, expected to be released soon will address issues ranging from the establishment of asset management companies to oversee state shareholding, to the introduction of non-state investment and performance-based compensation schemes at government-controlled firms, experts say.

Improving the efficiency at state-owned enterprises (SOEs), which dominate crucial sectors of China’s economy, is critical as the country struggles to maintain the breakneck pace of growth it has delivered for two decades.

Premier Li Keqiang outlined the “2025” strategy, which also includes promoting machinery and communications equipment, automobiles, aircraft and electronics, in his address to the annual gathering of China’s rubber-stamp parliament.

The plan is part of a broader overall push by the country’s President Xi Jinping to raise the performance of China’s lumber-ing state sector.


NEWS

India’s Supreme Court struck down a law that gave authorities powers to jail people for offensive online posts, a verdict hailed as a victory for free speech in the world’s

largest growth market for the Internet.Section 66A of India’s Information and

Technology (IT) Act was challenged in the country’s top court by law students, blog-gers, writers and rights groups following arrests across the country for statements posted on social media sites.

Justices Jasti Chelameshwar and Rohin-ton F. Nariman in their order said they found “the law hit at the root of liberty and freedom of expression”.

“Our Constitution provides for liberty of thought, expression and belief. In a democ-racy, these values have to be provided within constitutional scheme. The law (Section 66A) is vague in its entirety,” they said.

The petitioners argued the “draconian law” introduced in 2008 by the last govern-ment was misused by politicians to hound critics. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it welcomed the ruling.

“The government absolutely respects the right to freedom of speech and expression on social media and has no intention of curb-ing it,” telecom and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

Facebook, Twitter and Google did not im-

India Supreme Court ditches‘Facebook’ arrest rules

mediately comment on the ruling but the Internet and Mobile Association of India, a trade body, said the ruling protected con-sumers and businesses.

“This judgment will herald a new phase in the growth and evolution of the Internet in India,” the group said in a statement that also hailed a separate part of the judgement that makes it harder to force websites to take down content.

Both local and foreign Internet compa-nies have in the past faced pressure for host-ing content deemed offensive in India, which Google predicts is scheduled to overtake the United States as having the world’s largest number of web users by 2018.

In March, police in Uttar Pradesh picked up a 16-year-old boy from his school for al-legedly posting an insulting remark about the Samajwadi Party’s Azam Khan, the lat-est victim of a law that was also used to jail a cartoonist in Mumbai.

“It is a big relief. My daughter was ac-cused of posting offensive remarks and was arrested. I don’t think expressing one’s views is a crime,” said Farooq Dhada.

Shaheen Dhada became a national celeb-rity after she questioned a labour shutdown after the funeral of Shiv Sena party chief Bal Keshav Thackeray in 2012. Her friend ‘liked’ the post and both were arrested.

Mongolia orderedto pay $100 mlnfor expropriatinguranium asset

Mongolia has been ordered to pay about $100 million to Canada-based Khan Resources Inc as compensation for cancelling its

uranium licences in a long-awaited decision from an international tribunal.

Khan Resources took Mongolia to inter-national arbitration four years ago after the government cancelled its licences over the Dornod uranium project in 2009, handing the asset to Russia’s ARMZ.

Khan had claimed $354 million in com-pensation, including interest, but the inter-national arbitration tribunal based its cal-culation of $100 million, including interest and costs, on previous offers made for the Dornod asset.

“We are very pleased with the Tribunal’s ruling that the expropriation of the Dornod asset violated Mongolian law,” Khan CEO Grant Edey said in a statement.

The ruling comes just as Mongolia’s new prime minister, Chimed Saikhanbelig, has been trying to revive foreign investment after previous governments rattled investors by backtracking on mining agreements, chang-ing investment laws and cancelling mining licenses.

The penalty would be a heavy impost on the country, which has some $1.3 billion in reserves following a sharp slump in coal rev-enue, said Market intelligence group Cover Mongolia.

“A hundred million - I’m sure it can be managed by the government, although I’m sure it won’t be easy. It’ll constrain Mongo-lia’s finances further,” said Badral Munkhdul, Cover Mongolia chief executive.

Khan’s CEO said foreign investors would be closely watching whether the government meets its obligation.

“While the current government of Mon-golia has taken certain progressive action to diminish the harmful acts of former re-gimes, western investors and governments will scrutinize the Mongolian government’s action in this matter as the rule of law also dictates prompt payment,” Edey said.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic


AWAPATENT

Ai-Leen Lim CEO and Principal Counsel AWA Asia (86) 10 8573 1125 [email protected]

European intellectual property titan, Awapatent, has expanded its footprint to Asia, following the launch of its twin Asian offices in Hong Kong and Beijing on 9th February 2015. The new offering is known as AWA Asia (part of the Awapatent Group).

The Tier 1 intellectual property firm with a Nordic heritage which boasts a 100 year history across offices in Sweden, Denmark and Germany is now able to offer a seamless and coordinated IP service across 2 major continents- Europe and Asia following its latest offerings in Beijing and Hong Kong respectively.

The establishment of AWA Asia is Awapatent’s response to a clarion call of many of its formidable list of Western clients who need assistance and more than a little ‘handholding’ on the ground while navigating the extremely complex but highly rewarding Chinese market. As a corollary to this, its Asian offices bring the firm closer to IP rich companies in innovative industries in the Asia- Pacific region, which is a growing segment of the firm’s valued client base.

Helming the AWA Asia team is CEO and IP virtuoso Ai-Leen Lim, formerly Head of the trademark portfolio management of Bird & Bird for Greater China (including Beijing and Hong Kong).

“The genesis of the idea started from our clients’ needs. On the ground advice is crucial to meeting clients’ demands on the level of support needed in a complex market like China. Asia is the future, and it is where the next wave of clients is going to come from,” commented Lim who hails from Singapore originally, and is also Hong Kong and UK qualified. Lim will be spending the majority of her time in Beijing, and is supported by senior lawyers, Rhonda Tin, Lawrence Yeung and Ashley Zhao, as well IP portfolio management executives Allen Yip and Angel Yu.

AWA Asia’s strong value proposition consists of its East-meets-West perspective, its tailored services, customized pricing models, as well as its bilingual and bicultural team capabilities. Its seasoned professionals have legal backgrounds and qualifications from China, the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.

For its China related work, AWA Asia has successfully set up its own IP consultancy (which is also a licensed PRC trademark agency), and has been afforded the widest possible remit by the China Administration for Industry & Commerce to engage in matters relating to the filing and enforcement of trademarks, as well as copyright registration directly in the PRC without the need to instruct third party agents.

Capitalizing on the tremendous growth prospects in Asia, which includes mounting foreign direct investment, Lim notes that the demand for “strategic IP management has been growing, and that there is a need for an active presence in the region.” This is reinforced by impressive growth figures for IP filings in the past few years in China. For example, trademark filings in China have risen rapidly year on year, crossing the 1 million mark consistently in at least the past 4 years.

The firm aims to leverage a significant share of the market, and Lim notes “the biggest surprise for me after we launched was that even firms that are traditionally seen as competitors to us are approaching us for assistance in China.” AWA Asia’s mission to build a “cultural and business bridge” on IP matters for its clients is underscored by the fact that Lim is able to bring a unique East meets West (or Pan Asian-European) mentality to the table. The firm additionally cuts away from the herd and distinguishes itself by “focusing on strategy and the business of IP,” according to Lim, rather than the more mainstream approach adopted by the “traditional law firm model”. “Our approach on service delivery is business minded, pragmatic and tailored,” states Lim.

Lim, in her role as CEO and principal counsel for the firm, draws on her significant breadth of expertise in the region since she relocated to Hong Kong in 2000, and is backed by seven years’ experience leading the Greater China trademark portfolio management practice and Chinese trademark agency of an eminent international practice before joining AWA Asia. She has also achieved notable recognition from clients and industry peers alike, with accomplishments and accolades documented and acknowledged by leading directories, including Managing IP, Chambers Asia, Asia Pacific Legal 500 and Asialaw Leading Lawyers.

AWA Asia is well poised to carve out a handsome market share by positioning itself as a dedicated IP practice that focuses on guiding clients on IP protection and enforcement matters with the perspective of IP as an important business asset. Indeed, Lim comments that “ IP is a boardroom agenda for almost all of [its] clients, and this is what the practice focuses on when handling IP and related regulatory matters for clients”. This newest offering from Awapatent represents a bold and exciting change to the IP landscape in Greater China. We will watch with interest as AWA Asia establishes itself as a market leader on the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.

AWA IP (Beijing) Co., Ltd.

A: suite 635, 6F/Tower 2 West Prosper Centre 5 Guanghua Road Chaoyang District, Beijing 100020, PRC

T: (86) 10 8573 1125 F: (86) 10 8573 1146 E: [email protected] W: www.awapatent.com

AWA Asia Limited

A: suite 901, The Lee Gardens 33 Hysan Avenue Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

T: (852) 3959 8880 F: (852) 3959 8881 E: [email protected] W: www.awapatent.com

AWAPATENT SEIZES A LUCRATIVE PIECE OF THE ASIAN IP PIE FOLLOWING BEIJING AND HONG KONG LAUNCH OF AWA ASIA


NEWS

Gulf firms go Islamic as markets deepen

In February Vodafone Qa-tar, an affiliate of Britain’s Vodafone Group, said it had switched all its

financial activity to Islamic transactions. In the follow-ing eight trading days, its shares jumped 22 percent in the heaviest turnover for over a year.

Across the Gulf, compa-nies that have traditionally used conventional finance are considering whether to “go Islamic,” by conforming to sharia principles such as bans on interest payments and monetary speculation.

The number of major firms taking the plunge is still small - a handful in the past six months - but they underline the growing depth and cost-effectiveness of Is-lamic finance after several years of rapid growth in the industry.

Traditionally, Islamic financial tools such as sukuk - sharia-compliant bonds - were more expensive to use than conventional in-struments, because of their complexity and investors’ lack of familiarity with them. The range of available sharia-compliant instru-ments has been much smaller than the array of conventional products.

But that has been changing; Islamic equivalents to conventional financial instru-ments have been developing even in rela-tively obscure areas such as short-term in-terbank lending, trade financing and swaps.

At the same time, costs have been com-ing down as transaction volumes increase, for the first time making it economically fea-sible for some companies to rely entirely on Islamic finance. In some cases, the appetite of cash-rich Islamic funds can make it cheap-er for borrowers to issue sukuk than conven-tional bonds.

The narrowing of the cost disadvantage relative to conventional banking has helped to convince owners and managements of companies to adopt Islamic finance, said Ahmed Hatam Sultan, chief executive of Bahrain-based Tadhamon Capital, a sub-sidiary of Yemen’s Tadhamon International Islamic Bank.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi, be-gan migrating its commodity hedging needs into Islamic equivalents in November 2013, at about the same time as Dubai launched a drive to become a top Islamic finan-cial centre.

Over two-thirds of the company’s hedging portfolio is now sharia-compliant.

“We would like to go 100 percent, although this would require using OTC (over-the-counter) products, while the preference is for this to be done as an LME (London Metal Exchange) product,” said Arif Choksy, Ducab’s chief financial officer.

“We are currently explor-ing ways to develop an LME product, and we have looked at a few ideas with our counter-parties.”

Companies can also face social pressures to go Islamic. One example was Saudi Ara-bia’s National Commercial Bank (NCB), the kingdom’s largest lender, which last Novem-ber completed a $6 billion initial public offer of shares, the largest ever in the Arab world.

Shortly before the offer, some members of the country’s highest religious body, the Council of Senior Scholars, said buying the shares was not permissible because the bank had too many deals forbidden by Islamic principles on its balance sheet.

NCB responded by pledging to convert itself into a full-fledged Islamic bank within five years.

Islamic assets are estimated to account for only about a quarter of total banking as-sets in Gulf Arab economies, so for the fore-seeable future, most companies in the region are likely to stick to conventional finance, while perhaps considering individual sharia-compliant deals on an opportunistic basis.

But as the Islamic financial industry con-tinues to deepen and companies become fa-miliar with it, more of them are likely to make the shift to full sharia compliance.

“There is definitely a lot of interest from corporates, but there needs to be a bit more marketing and awareness,” said Ducab’s Choksy.

“I don’t think other families would insist on Islamic banking unless they saw this in-dustry was becoming mature enough, and the volume of transactions is there.”

Tadhamon International is majority owned by the Hayel Saeed Anam Group, one of Yemen’s largest family-owned conglomer-ates, which has a long-term strategy to use Islamic finance in all its dealings, said Sul-tan.

PRESSURESCompanies can face a range of incentives and pressures to adopt Islamic finance. In some stock markets such as Qatar, Islamic investors with few options to choose from can reward sharia-compliant firms by piling into their shares.

That appeared to happen with Vodafone Qatar. The company’s new policy included refinancing $330 million worth of debt and the decision is a long-term commitment by the firm, chief financial officer Steve Walters told Reuters.

“The move is permanent. Vodafone Qatar intends to amend its bylaws to include its adherence to sharia standards. This will af-fect all future commercial and financial ac-tivities.”

Other companies have been encour-aged by government efforts to develop lo-cal Islamic finance sectors. Dubai Cable Co (Ducab), equally owned by the emirates of

REUTERS/Fadi Al-Assaad


The Beijing Arbitration Commission (BAC) has recently adopted the new version of its arbitration rules (New Rules), which will become effective on 1 April 2015. The New Rules make it more convenient for parties to join additional parties and consolidate arbitral proceedings. As a result, the New Rules are a very positive development in bringing the BAC arbitration procedures in line with best international arbitration practice.

Joinder of parties to arbitral proceedingsMany commercial contracts are entered into

between multiple parties. When a dispute arises between two parties, in the context of arbitration, it is often difficult for one of the parties to join an additional party (which was also part of the agreement under dispute). No such problem exists in domestic courts, because courts have the power to join additional parties to proceedings.

The current BAC Arbitration Rules did not contain any provisions that allowed a party to an arbitration proceeding to join an additional party. However, article 13 of the New Rules addresses this issue. Article 13 provides that, prior to the constitution of the arbitral tribunal, the parties may apply to the BAC to join an additional party under the same arbitration agreement. If the arbitration tribunal is already constituted, an application for joinder will only be accepted if the claimant, respondent and the party to be joined agree. The process for joining a third party is set out in articles 7 to 10 of the New Rules.

The joinder provisions in the New Rules compare favourably with current international arbitration practice. Article 13 of the New Rules most closely resembles the joinder provisions in the ICC Arbitration Rules. Article 7 of the ICC Arbitration Rules similarly allows a party to apply to the Secretariat to join a third party before the constitution of the arbitral tribunal. In addition, the ICC Arbitration Rules do not permit third parties to be joined after the constitution of the tribunal “unless all parties, including the additional party, otherwise agree”.

Accordingly, the joinder provisions in the New Rules are a welcomed addition. They ensure that arbitration proceedings at the BAC are handled more efficiently and effectively. In allowing additional parties to be joined, the BAC’s procedures are in line with current international arbitration practice. In doing so, the drafters of the New Rules have achieved their goals.

JOINDER AND CONSOLIDATION IN THE NEW BAC ARBITRATION RULES

A: 16/F, China Merchants Tower, no.118 Jian Guo Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100022 P. R. China.

T: +86 10 65669856-275

F: +86 10 65668078

ConsolidationIt is important for an arbitral institution to have

the power to consolidate arbitral proceedings. For example, often large IT companies enter into pro-forma contracts with various parties. Frequently the same issue arises under the contracts and the IT company is required to initiate multiple arbitration proceedings involving the same contract and with the same issues in dispute. If an arbitral institution has the power to consolidate multiple proceedings, it can save a significant amount of costs and can avoid different arbitral tribunals delivering inconsistent awards.

The current BAC Arbitration Rules do not contain any provisions for the consolidation of multiple proceedings. However, article 29 of the New Rules addresses this issue. It provides that, where the parties consent and the BAC considers it necessary, the BAC may consolidate two or more arbitrations into a single arbitration. In deciding whether to permit the consolidation the BAC may take into account all circumstances, such as the arbitration agreements.

The consolidations provisions in the New Rules most closely resemble the provisions in the ICC Rules. Like the New Rules, the ICC Arbitration Rules similarly provide that the ICC Court (rather than an arbitral tribunal) may, at the request of a party, consolidate two or more arbitrations into a single arbitration. Article 10 then sets out three circumstances in which the ICC Court will permit consolidation of arbitral proceedings. We note that, under the New Rules, the BAC has a wider scope to consolidate arbitral proceedings than the ICC Arbitration Rules.

Lastly, we note that the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules do not contain any provisions for consolidation of proceedings. As a result, in the context of consolidating proceedings, the New Rules are preferable to the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, because they provide more flexibility for the BAC to consolidate proceedings.

ConclusionThe New Rules’ provisions regarding joinder of

additional parties and consolidating proceedings are a very positive development for the BAC. These provisions will provide the parties with more flexibility in arbitral proceedings and will help parties to avoid additional costs and time in having to initiate multiple proceedings. By adopting the New Rules, the BAC has brought its procedure in line with best international practice. This will ensure that the BAC is a more attractive forum for parties to initiate arbitration proceedings.

ARIEL YE, Partner, King & Wood Mallesons D +86 10 5878 5083 [email protected]

STEPHEN JOHNSON, Senior Foreign Legal Consultant, King & Wood Mallesons D +86 10 5878 5265 [email protected]

北京仲裁委员会 BEIJING ARBITRATION COMMISSION


ZAIN ADNANHadromi Adnan

Intellectual Property Group Tilleke & Gibbins Intellectual Property Jakarta

RONALD CHENG U.S. Federal Prosecutor O’Melveny & MyersWhite Collar Crime, Anti-Corruption, Cybersecurity Hong Kong, Los Angeles

TROY DOYLE DLA Piper Reed Smith Restructuring Singapore

ANNA ELSHAFEI Hogan Lovells Miller Canfield Corporate Shanghai

ALAN CHIU Mayer Brown JSM Hogan Lovells Intellectual Property Hong Kong

ILAN FREIMAN Haley & Co Berwin Leighton Paisner Real Estate Hong Kong

TIM GARDNER Latham & WatkinsWeil, Gotshal

& MangesPrivate Equity Hong Kong

GLENN HALEY Haley & CoBerwin Leighton

PaisnerDispute Resolution,

ConstructionHong Kong

DAVID JOHNSON K&L Gates Norton Rose Fulbright Corporate,Capital Markets Hong Kong

EUGENE LOW Mayer Brown JSM Hogan Lovells Intellectual Property Hong Kong

HEE-SUNG LEEKorea Food and

Drug AdministrationYoon & Yang Healthcare Seoul

LATERAL HIRESNAME LEAVING GOING TO PRACTICE LOCATION

APPOINTMENTS

SCOTT D. PETERMAN Sidley Austin Jones Day Private Equity Hong Kong

DAVID LUDWICK Linklaters Freshfields BruckhausDeringer Capital Markets Hong Kong

TERENCE SEAH Shook Lin & Bok Virtus Law Dispute Resolution Singapore

FRIVEN YEOH O’Melveny & Myers Managing Partner –Hong Kong office Dispute Resolution Hong Kong

PROMOTIONSNAME FIRM PROMOTION PRACTICE LOCATION

STEPHANIE TANG Kirkland & Ellis Shearman & Sterling M&A Hong Kong

GEOFFREY SHAW Haley & Co Berwin Leighton Paisner Dispute Resolution,Construction Hong Kong

KENNY WONG Mayer Brown JSM Hogan Lovells Intellectual Property Hong Kong

LIMITED SPACE • COMPLIMENTARY PASSES* AVAILABLE • RESERVE NOW

After a successful launch in 2014, ALB returns with the 2nd Annual Indonesia In-House Legal Summit, offering unrivalled legislative updates, compliance strategies and industry case studies to Indonesia’s legal community. In an environment of turbulent regulatory changes following the 2014 Presidential Elections, this Summit connects Indonesia’s leading government, legal and academic experts, providing valuable insight into a variety of topics including anti-corruption and compliance, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), consumer protection, foreign investment law, energy and resources and more! Come and learn more about the career and development opportunities for corporate counsel in Indonesia!

AT THE SUMMIT, YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO:• NavigateIndonesia’sevolvingregulatorysettingfollowingthe

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LEADING LEGAL & INDUSTRY EXPERTS

MELISSA NGPartner,Clifford Chance

DEDE FIKRYSenior Associate,Linda Widyati & Partners (LWP) in association with Clifford Chance

PROFESSOR HIKMAHANTO JUWANAIndependent Commissioner, Unilever Indonesia;Member of the Legal Experts Team,Ministry of Defense;Professor of International Law,University of IndonesiaARSUL SANI

Member of Parliament (DPR/MPR-RI), Republic of Indonesia

KUNTHI HARTINILegal & Compliance Manager – Indonesia,Novo Nordisk Indonesia

RAFAEL WIJAYANTOGeneral Manager – Legal,MEC Coal

ANGELA HERTININGTYASIndonesia Counsel,Procter & Gamble

PROUDLY PRESENTED BYALB SUPPORTSPANEL SPONSOR

NETWORKS18 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSAPRIL 2015

As AsIAn LAW FIRMs FInD THEIR CLIEnTs’ BUsInEss InCREAsInGLY MOVInG ACROss BORDERs,A nUMBER ARE LOOKInG TO EsTABLIsH ALLIAnCEs In DIFFEREnT JURIsDICTIOns WITH LAW

FIRMs THEY CAn TRUsT. THIs Is BRInGInG InTO InCREAsInG FOCUs On THE ROLE PLAYED BYInDEPEnDEnT LAW FIRM nETWORKs In BUILDInG THEsE BRIDGEs. RANAJIT DAM FInDs OUT MORE

REUTERS/Paul Yeung

Business today is global. As law firms’ clients seek legal services beyond their home markets, firms realize they have to step up and meet this

need, or risk becoming less competitive. The race is, thus on to find law firms in other markets that they can trust, and establish re-lationships with. While some firms have set up their own networks of law firms within Asia, and particularly within the ASEAN region, also becoming important are global networks of independent law firms, which are helping members make connections across the world.

Take for example the Texas-headquartered Lex Mundi, founded in 1989, which counts

India’s Amarchand & Mangaldas, Hong Kong’s Deacons, China’s Jun He, and Singapore’s Rajah & Tann among its 160 member firms worldwide. “The developments of the last few years [in Asia] have resulted in Lex Mundi be-ing more relevant than ever before,” says Carl Anduri, president of the network. “Clients of our member firms in Asia and around the world are expanding into new markets. As they do so, they need trusted legal resources in what to them may be unfamiliar markets. Our Asian member firms rely on Lex Mundi member firms both inside and outside the region to serve their clients.”

A n o t h e r l a w f i r m a s s o c ia t i o n i s

Interlaw, founded in 1982, whose mem-bers include Korea’s Lee & Ko, Malaysia’s Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill and Indonesia’s Mochtar Karuwin Komar among others. According to Michael Siebold, board chair of Interlaw, top-tier law firms that remain strong and independent are far better positioned than local firm outposts of offshore law firms, “or even worse, the franchise type law firm, with no real local knowledge.” He says that in changing times like this, member firms of networks can do more together. “For example, Malaysia is bracing for the lifted restrictions on foreign law firms and introduction of number of new

NETWORKING TIME

NETWORKS 19WWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

legislative tax measures on professionals,” he says. “Yet Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill, Interlaw’s member firm in Kuala Lumpur, for example, already has in place, through its Interlaw relationships, an entire network of colleagues that positions the firm not only to defend its client base, but also in fact expand the breadth and complexity of its business. Already since Trowers & Hamlins has joined the Interlaw family the firms have collaborated extensively to capture foreign work they could not have landed separately, and in fact, mega firms certainly couldn’t, as the best lawyers available are happily working in Interlaw’s top tier independent law firms.”

The Brussels-headquartered First Law International (FLI) counts China’s Llinks Law Offices, Indonesia’s SSEK and Japan’s Atsumi & Sakai among its members and its principal, Orlando Casares, says that when a network is primarily motored by a large law firm which combs the global to forge tied ups with other similarly-branded law firms, the costs as-sociated with developing, maintaining and growing the brand to a successful level is not a cheap undertaking. “If the network can-not assert its claim to a piece of the market relatively soon, the grouping of law firm will be confronted with costs overruns,” he says. “Invariably this will put significant pressure on their fees to clients whom will be looking for significantly lower rates – especially if the network is otherwise unknown and unproven – but with a serious lack of elasticity, the network is unlikely to compete and remain profitable. In turn, some of the members will see little or no return on their investment and will exit the network, forcing new recruits and thus new incurred costs, and again higher fees. And cycle continues.”

GROWING IN ASIAAccording to Interlaw, firms in the associa-tion have determined that the ASEAN offers a plethora of avenues to work together. “Integration is the buzzword, and collabora-tion is the pathway,” Siebold says. “Providing seamless service with local knowledge and global presence – and at reasonable billing rates – has been a winning formula.” The network, he adds, is looking to continue to grow in the Asia-Pacific region after add-ing 12 countries globally in 2014, including Indonesia’s MKK. “We are reviewing top tier firms in Taipei and Cambodia now, and one of our member firms has forged a strategic re-lationship with a Myanmar firm which we are following closely,” says Siebold. “Interlaw is driven to expand in Africa and South Eastern

Europe this coming year.”Casares says that FLI is “certainly open

for business” in Asia. “We have been pre-paring for the past 14 years by carefully selected leading firms in the jurisdictions of relevance,” he says. “Harnessing these coun-tries, which have traditionally been unable to work well together in the past has been a major undertaking and a real achievement. By synergizing the individual strengths, FLI has managed to do in Asia what it had suc-cessfully done in Europe, the Americas, Africa and most recently the Middle East.”

According to Anduri at Lex Mundi, true

growth lies in adding value. “We see growth not in terms of adding member firms, as we have a very strong group of member firms, but in providing value to those firms,” he adds. “Lex Mundi adds value to its Asian member firms in three ways – by helping them serve their clients better, by helping them increase their client base, and by helping them con-tinuously improve.”

KEY INITIATIVESLex Mundi, which describes itself as “the only network with a professional develop-ment function,” places a lot of emphasis on

professional development. “Our director of professional development, Suzanne Fine, was responsible for global professional develop-ment and training at Linklaters before joining our team,” says Anduri. “We offer support to our member firms in the areas of project man-agement, knowledge management and best practices. Through our Lex Mundi Institute we offer intensive, week-long programs attended by our member firms in Asia and our member firms around the world. We are collaborating with the Judge Business School of Cambridge University on a week-long business manage-ment program for our member firm lawyers.”

Siebold describes Interlaw’s culture as “one of innovation” and provides some ex-amples of successful projects undertaking by the association. “For one, there is Interlaw Sustainability, a comprehensive program that identifies star senior associate, junior level lawyers and provides a plethora of incentives for recruitment and retention,” he says. “Secondly, we have Global Invest, a highly secure online portal for Interlawyers whose clients seek investment funding to match with Interlawyers whose clients seek investment opportunities. Projects as diverse as hotel purchases in the USA and Western Europe to infrastructure in the Balkans have used Global invest in the past year to promote projects. A third example would be special business teams (SBTs), affinity Groups and meet-ups offering Interlawyers the opportu-nity to publish comparative law books, blogs, surveys and primers online and in print, and to meet together on a regular basis in person and through social media to share best prac-tices, create knowledge hubs, introduce one another to clients and multiplier organiza-tions, share speaker platforms and develop personal and professional relationships with lawyers in their own industries and practice fields.”

According to Casares, FLI has invested a great deal of energy developing practice groups such as telecommunications, life sci-ences, data privacy, oil and gas, litigation and arbitration, employment, real estate and so on. “By carefully selecting the most compe-tent attorneys in each jurisdiction, a global head of each Practice Group is appointed,” he says. “He or she is support by a panel of specialists who in turn work closely with each in-country expert. The end result is a compel-ling force in the industry. Clients respond favorably to the idea that a global team of experts has been assembled throughout FLI to render assistance, at a moment’s notice, either individually or together, a flock of geese flying in a V-line.”

“THE DEVELOPMEnTs OF THE LAsT FEW YEARs HAVE REsULTED In LEX MUnDI BEInG MORE RELEVAnT THAn EVER BEFORE. CLIEnTs OF OUR MEMBER FIRMs In AsIA AnD AROUnD THE WORLD ARE EXPAnDInG InTO nEW MARKETs. As THEY DO sO, THEY nEED TRUsTED LEGAL REsOURCEs In WHAT TO THEM MAY BE UnFAMILIAR MARKETs”Carl Anduri, Lex Mundi

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY20 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSAPRIL 2015

AMEnDMEnTs TO JAPAn’s InTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWs, WHICH WERE PAssED In 2014,TOOK EFFECT On APRIL 1 THIs YEAR. sOME MARQUEE CHAnGEs InCLUDE THE InTRODUCTIOn OF

nOn-TRADITIOnAL TRADEMARKs AnD A nEW PATEnT OPPOsITIOn sYsTEM In JAPAn.KANISHK VERGHESE REPORTs

“THERE HAVE BEEn MAnY DIsPUTEs BETWEEn COMPAnIEs AnD EMPLOYEEs REGARDInG EMPLOYEE InVEnTIOns. HOWEVER, THE nEW RULE Is EXPECTED TO IMPROVE THE PREDICTABILITY OF THE LEGAL RIsKs OF EXPLOITInG An EMPLOYEE’s InVEnTIOns.”Yoshifumi Onodera, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto

In the works for several years, amend-ments to Japan’s patent and trade-mark laws were passed in the National Assembly in 2014, and came into force

on April 1 this year.

TRADEMARKS: PROTECTION OF NON-TRADITIONAL MARKSJapan’s Trademark Act has been amended to allow the registration of non-traditional marks such as colour and sound. The U.S. and the EU, as well as the likes of China, Singapore and South Korea, already have similar protections in place. While marks involving colour, sound, movement and posi-tion can now be registered under the new sys-tem, marks relating to scent, touch and taste still cannot be registered as trademarks. The use of non-traditional marks has been on the rise in recent years, with companies like Apple and Intel registering such marks across jurisdictions worldwide. With the new amended trademark law, businesses are now able to protect these marks in Japan as well.

Once the non-traditional marks are reg-istered in Japan, intellectual property (IP) lawyers expect to see many disputes arise be-tween applicants and third parties. According to the amended Trademark Act, in an in-stance where a non-traditional trademark is used in a way that consumers cannot associ-ate the goods or services with the trademark owner’s business, it will not be treated as trademark infringement. “In infringement

lawsuits over the new trademarks, we expect that some accused infringers will use this as their defence,” says Takanori Abe, founder of Japanese law firm Abe & Partners.

Since Japan adopts the first-to-file system for trademarks, lawyers advise both Japanese and international businesses with existing non-traditional marks to register them as trademarks in Japan as soon as possible.

PATENTS: A NEW OPPOSITION SYSTEMThe main change to Japan’s patent law is the introduction of the post-grant opposition system, which is designed to give the patent holder more certainty at an earlier stage in a patent’s lifecycle, and enhance the overall stability of patents in Japan.

Prior to the amendment, the primary way for parties to oppose a patent was via an invalidation trial. “Under that system, many inventions lacking novel and inven-

tive steps were registered as patent rights, and patent holders would often hesitate to file a patent infringement lawsuit against a potential infringer because, in many cases, the defendant would then file a patent in-validation trial during the patent litigation,” says Yoshifumi Onodera, a partner at Mori Hamada & Matsumoto. “The new opposi-tion system makes patent holders more confident in the validity of their patent rights, and encourages them to enforce their patent rights in the first place,” says Onodera. In contrast, the new opposition system offers a cheaper and potentially faster method to dispute patents. Oppositions can be filed by any individual or party within six months of the patent’s publication in the patent gazette. Furthermore, oppositions will be conducted by documentary proceedings rather than oral hearings, which take place in patent invalidation trials. With no oral proceedings

A BOOST FORRIGHTS HOLDERS

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 21WWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

in an opposition, the burden of the petitioner is significantly lowered, says Abe. “The new opposition system also allows petitioners to hide their name. This is important because Japanese companies do not like to reveal their name to their opponents, and often use the names of their patent attorneys. As a result, I expect to see a large number of oppositions from April 1 onwards,” says Abe.

The opposition system is not new to Japan. The system was used up until 2003, after which it was discontinued and inte-grated into the trial for patent invalidation. However, patent invalidation trials required a lot more preparation than in oppositions, and therefore increased the burden – and the costs – on the parties involved. “Some companies chose not to enter invalidation trials and instead preserved their prior art for future disputes. As a result, patents with possible defects were enforced, which led to socially undesirable outcomes,” says Abe.

Consequently, a new and improved op-position system has been reintroduced, putting Japan on par with the systems used in the U.S. and Germany. If an opposition is accepted, the patent applicant is allowed to appeal to the IP High Court. However, under Japan’s new system – unlike in the U.S. or

Germany – the opposing party cannot ap-peal to the IP High Court if the opposition is rejected.

Under the new system, patent applicants will undoubtedly face a number of opposi-tions filed against them during the first six months of the patent’s publication. However, they will be less likely to face patent invalida-tion trials down the road. This allows paten-tees to build up stronger patent portfolios, which will improve the reliability of patents and enhance patent stability in Japan.

AMENDMENTS IN THE PIPELINEFurther amendments to Japan’s IP laws are already in the pipeline. One bill, which was submitted to Japan’s National Assembly in March this year, is proposing to change the inventor remuneration system for employees in Japan. “Under the current Japanese patent law, an invention created by an employee of a company originally belongs to the employee. But the new bill proposes that the patent invention should originally belong to the company in cases where it is stipulated in the employment agreement or employment regulation of the company,” says Onodera. “In addition, the new rule would also oblige companies to compensate employees for

their inventions. There have been many dis-putes between companies and employees regarding employee inventions. However, the new rule is expected to improve the pre-dictability of the legal risks of exploiting an employee’s inventions,” he adds.

In addition, other amendments to Japan’s patent law are being discussed to help ease the burden of proof on the patentee in an infringement case. This should in turn en-courage patent holders to take potential infringers to court, increasing the number of patent infringement cases in Japan. The current number of patent infringement cases filed annually in Japan is quite low – at around 150 – which is significantly lower than in the U.S., Germany or China, says Abe. As a result, the government is looking to amend the patent law to increase the number of patent infringement lawsuits as well as the winning rate of patent holders litigating in Japan. Abe notes that the rulings handed down by the Japanese courts over the past few years have started to increasingly favour the patent holder. “With the winning rate for the patentee increasing, and with it becom-ing more difficult for the defendant, this is actually a very good era for patentees to file patent infringement lawsuits.”

Pedestrians cross a street at Tokyo’s Ginza shopping district. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

COVER STORY22 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSAPRIL 2015COVER STORY22 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSAPRIL 2015

COVER STORY 23WWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

The ALB Employer of Choice Rankings were compiled taking into account responses from thousands of law firm employees across Asia, ranging from managing partners to support staff, as well as our own market knowledge. The survey was open in the months of February and March, and law firms have been ranked on the basis of job satisfaction, remuneration, work-life balance, career prospects, mentorship, job security and other aspects, with

respondents being asked to submit their inputs/responses anonymously to help maintain fairness and objectivity. Law firms have been listed in alphabetical order.

METHODOLOGY

One number sums up how lawyers across Asia feel about the firms they work for – 97 percent. That is the proportion of the nearly 3,000 respondents to ALB’s Employer of Choice survey for 2015 who either

profess to being “extremely satisfied” or “satisfied with their jobs, the highest figure since ALB began conducting this survey. When asked to describe the reasons behind their job satisfaction, respondents offer a variety of perspectives. “The firm has a very supportive environment, where the entire team works together, encouraging young associates to take an active role and produce work that then receives constructive feed-back from the seniors,” says an associate in South Korea. “The management is very keen to hear the associates’ concerns and is very responsive.” Meanwhile, an associate in Indonesia praises the “reasonable amount of work which lets me focus on every task I am given, and a great working environment which enables clear communication be-tween employees, resulting in cooperation between one another. The balance of work and fun also reduces pressure and stress.” Adds an associate in India: “Seniors and peers are very helpful. It makes for a very good learning environment.”

When it comes to salaries, though, the reaction is slightly less euphoric. About 37 percent of respondents feel their earnings are in line with the market, and only about 56 percent consider themselves better paid than their peers elsewhere in the industry. One associate in Malaysia reckons it is an “estimated 7-8 percent below peers in Malaysia in terms of basic salary, with a maximum cap for non-partners, irrespective of salary. Additionally, the medical benefits are low and narrow.” Says an associate in South Korea: “Compared to the people work-ing in the same field, my job appears to be more demanding and the amount of work needed to be done every day is more, with relatively less salary.” But a partner in the same country believes that salary numbers

shouldn’t be the only yardstick. “One of our competitors is known to pay better,” they say. “But while the general compensation structure of the firm may lower in terms of figures, this does not take into account the fringe benefits.”

Salar y structure and overall salar y transparency at firms, however, is lauded, with more than 91 percent of respondents terming it either “excellent” or “good.” An associate at a law firm in Indonesia sums it up: “The office maintains a no-favoritism principles when leveraging remuneration, and remuneration is given based on per-formance,” they say. “We have twice-a-year evaluations of our performance and are given feedback on what we excel in and what we are not developing.” Notes an associate in India: “Standard payment brackets across the board ensure employees feel they are getting their due as per preset policies, and not as per the whims of some.”

Equally, opportunities for training and professional development are highly re-garded, with more than half the respondents terming them “very good.” However, law-yers believe that there is always scope for improvement in this regard. “Secondments to clients and the offices of foreign law firm offices should be permitted and encour-aged to help lawyers build their network and industry experience,” says an associate in Malaysia. “The reason that secondments don’t take place is due to fear of ‘losing’ employees. Becoming a better employer is surely a better method of retaining talent as opposed to limiting employees ability to ex-perience a different environment.” Similarly, a partner in India calls for “more training op-portunities for everybody that can help in the overall growth of their professional careers. It can be for improvements in their technical skills as well as soft skills like communica-tions, interactions with clients and so on.”

When it comes to opportunities to receive mentoring, nearly 94 percent of the respon-dents are satisfied at the very least. “We have one-on-one formal mentoring program for

all junior associates, easy, informal mentor-ships for midlevel and senior associates, and lots of support for women,” says an associ-ate at an international firm in Hong Kong. But it’s not the same across all firms. “The responsibility of ensuring you receive the right mentoring really rests on the mentee,” says an associate in India. “Although one can get really lucky at times when working with the right senior who can adequately provide feedback, encourage and get involved.” Similarly, nearly 60 percent of the respon-dents believe the path to partnership in their law firm is “very transparent.” And more than 81 percent say that their firm is “very collaborative.” “The firm’s organization is extremely collaborative, and all staff are free to initiate collaboration, subject to the interest, ability, and availability of others,” says a respondent from Taiwan.

As for work-life balance, more than 91 percent find it adequate at the very least. “While it is well known that lawyers have long hours at work, our firm has a policy of encouraging the lawyers to leave the office by 9PM at the latest,” says an associate in Indonesia. And more than 60 percent of the lawyers feel “extremely valued” by their firm. “I was recently chosen to do a six-month secondment at a reputed international law firm,” says a counsel in India. “This was a very expensive investment for the firm and I felt really valued. Also, recently I was provided an opportunity to speak at an International panel discussion in Hong Kong.”

That said, high marks don’t always mean there’s no room for improvement. Even respondents that are happy and satisfied in their current roles feel there are areas where firms can do better. The list includes gender equality, fair evaluations of job performance, and more investments in resources, par-ticularly staff. But generally respondents are happy where they are: More than 80 percent would “definitely” or “probably” see them-selves in the same firm in five years’ time, while three-quarters would “wholeheart-edly” recommend it to a friend.

COVER STORY24 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSAPRIL 2015

AllBright Law Offices

Chance Bridge Partners

Global Law Office

Guangda Law Firm

Han Kun Law Offices

Hengdu Law Offices

Jilin Gongcheng Law Firm

JunHe

solton & Partners

sunshine Law Firm

CHINA In China, the job satisfaction rate stands at more than 98 percent. For nearly two-thirds of the respondents, remuneration is at least above market standard, and more than 93 percent believe the salary structure and transparency is “good” or “excellent.” More than 97 percent appreciate the opportunities for training and professional development at their firm and an almost equally propor-tion positively rate opportunities to receive mentoring. Transparency when it comes to the path to partnership, and collaboration within the team also receive high accolades and work-life balance stands at “excellent” or “good” for about 94 percent of respon-dents. Additionally, with 71 percent feeling “extremely valued” in the firm and an 87 percent job security rating, it is no surprise that 83 percent see themselves “definitely” or “probably” at the same firm in five years’ time.

Among the ranked firms, respondents from AllBright Law Offices, respondents count “teamwork, strong sense of profes-sionalism of colleagues and recognition of clients” as the firm’s strong points. At Global Law Office, a partner praises the “supportive team, sharing culture, and nice, family-like atmosphere. A partner at Guangda Law Firm lauds the “work atmosphere and col-laboration between teams and within the firm.” According to an of counsel at Han Kun Law Offices, “the people of our firm are all very nice and the management is quite pro-active.” For an associate at Jilin Gongcheng Law Firm, the draw is the “competitive salaries for the region, an impressive promo-tion system, and flexible, employee-friendly working hours.” JunHe is hailed by a partner as “a wonderful law firm providing excellent opportunities for lawyers to grow.” An asso-

ciate at Solton & Partners says that the “work envi-ronment is very good, my colleagues are likely my friends, and the partners are very hands-on. Overall, it provides a good plat-form.” And for a counsel at Sunshine Law Firm, “the senior law yers and the dedicated team create a great atmosphere.”

A c c o r d i n g t o N i n g Zhu, managing partner of Chance Bridge Partners, the firm’s approach to ac-quiring and retaining the

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best talent differs from other firms in the market in three ways. “The first is precise positioning: Chance Bridge Partners is com-mitted to providing com-prehensive legal advice to its clients. This makes us different from other law firms and is key to attract-ing highly skilled employ-ees who take pride in their work,” she says. “Second is international insight: Our clients have different cultural backgrounds so we embrace different ways of thinking and looking at things. This allows us to bring in people with different backgrounds and perspectives. And third, there is team build-ing. We are committed to making sure that our everyone on our team, especially our younger lawyers, are given opportunities to grow as lawyers and feel like they are part of the Chance Bridge family.”

Similarly, there is a two-fold secret to en-

suring happy, engaged employees, accord-ing to Zhu. “First, there needs to be a team with exceptional professional abilities. This ensures that our employees are constantly gaining skills and experience. It also helps keep them enthusiastic about their work and opportunities,” she says. “Second, a norma-tive management system with humanized implementation. This allows us to ensure that our firm can work in an efficient, orga-

nized and professional manner while still giving our employees sufficient flexibility.”

Hengdu Law Offices has “a very sophis-ticated operation and remuneration system, which motivates employees to participate in their work with all their hearts,” says manag-ing partner Jiang Fengtao. “What Hengdu has been offering is not only a job, but also a way to create the bright future.”

Jiang adds: “Hengdu encourages each

CHAnCE BRIDGE PARTnERs


single employee to develop his own features and expertise, cares about the employees’ needs, offers guidance for their career development, and helps them to pursue social value.”

Baker & McKenzie

Clyde & Co

Deacons

Paul Hastings

skadden, Arps, slate,Meagher & Flom

HONG KONG

Job satisfaction levels run in Hong Kong (96 percent) and it comes on the back of solid professional development (93 percent) and mentoring (89 percent) opportunities. While the path to partnership is only “somewhat transparent” for the majority, 70 percent find their firm “very collaborative” nearly 93 per-cent consider the work-life balance at their firms as “good” or “excellent.” More than half feel “extremely valued” by their firms, and 74 percent consider their jobs secure.

At the Hong Kong office of Baker & McKenzie, a partner points out that “good recognition, career prospects, guidance and

training provide a relatively free-hand work-ing environment focused more on substance rather than form.” A counsel at Clyde & Co lauds the “very professional colleagues and good opportunities for advancement; [and] good quality of work projects.” At Deacons, an associate notes that the “work-ing environment encourages interaction, the partners are supportive and the colleagues are friendly.” Meanwhile, a partner at Paul Hastings praises the “great place to work, top notch clients requiring sophisticated work, motivated colleagues, and good col-legial atmosphere.” And a consultant at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom notes the “good pay, great co-workers and good exposure to the most challenging deals.”

Amarchand & Mangaldas &suresh A shroff & Co

(Mumbai Region)

Anand and Anand

Khaitan & Co.

Trilegal

INDIA

spondents say they are paid in line with the market – but opportunities for training and professional development are appreciated by about 93 percent of the respondents, with the corresponding figure for mentoring op-portunities being about 88 percent. The path to partnership could be more transparent, say our respondents, but nearly 72 percent of the respondents consider their firm to be “very collaborative.” More than 86 percent like the work-life balance in their firm, and nearly half say they feel “extremely valued.” With two-thirds com feeling secure in their jobs, it is not surprising that 64 percent would recommend their firm “wholeheart-edly.”

“Very transparent, great values, great people, best clients, mutual respect and in-tegrity, the best law firm in India, good work-life balance” is how a partner at the Mumbai offices of Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co describes their firm. For an associate at Khaitan & Co., “our firm provides opportunity to all members to excel in what area of law one practices. There is a great scope of growth for an individual within the firm.” And at Trilegal, an associate says that “there is a work-life balance to a large extent, there is recognition of work, and it is an excellent environment to work in. The firm has been everything I had hoped for.”

According to Pravin Anand, managing partner of Anand and Anand, lawyers con-fess that although quality, volume and chal-lenge of navigating cutting edge intellectual property issues makes the firm a destination of choice, the reason they stay and return

With a 97 percent job satisfaction in rate, it is a pretty good time to work as a lawyer with one of India’s commercial law firms. While salaries remain stable – about half the re-


from sabbaticals is the trust reposed in them by the senior partnership towards their individual matters. “Younger associates at the firm feel especially enthused with the prospects and freedom to work on intellec-tual property issues in fields as diverse as pharmaceuticals and arts & antiquities,” he

says. “I also believe that entrusting younger members with a degree of ownership, allow-ing them to freely ideate and bring their own solutions to the table, is the key to making the journey of the employee with the firm more meaningful. The culture of collabora-tion through easy and relaxed interpersonal

relationships, as well as an accessible and responsive senior partnership, has quickly risen to become a key factor of employee satisfaction at the firm. Moreover, employees also cite their ability to retain their individu-ality as a reason they would recommend the firm to others.”

AnAnD AnD AnAnD


Assegaf Hamzah & Partners

Budidjaja & Associates

Hanafiah Ponggawa & Partners

INDONESIA

Job satisfaction levels of 91 percent in Indonesia come on the back of opportunities for training and professional development (96 percent) and to receive mentoring. And while the path to partnership is not very transparent for a significant chunk, more than 70 percent of respondents find their firm “very collaborative.” Knowledge management is also solid for more than 90 percent, and 89 percent appreciate the work life balance their firm offers. With nearly half the respondents feeling “extremely valued” and job security at more than 72 percent, it is no surprise that 83 percent “definitely” or “probably” see themselves in the same firm in five years’ time.

Assegaf Hamzah & Partners boasts a “good work environment, no boundaries between lawyers and non-lawyers, and easy going partners,” according to an associate. And an associate at Hanafiah Ponggawa & Partners says: “I love my working environ-ment and the partners are very generous to all associates and staff. The workload is quite reasonable.”

At Budidjaja & Associates, principal and managing partner Tony Budidjaja says besides professional development activities, the firm engages the well-being of its em-ployees by holding social activities at least once a week to help employees get to know each other in a more personal level, holding sporting activities at least once a week to keep employees stay in shape, holding other big events for employees and their family members to create a sense of belonging and family atmosphere within the firm. “Lawyers and staff members feel that they’re a part of a B&A family,” he says. “We all work together as a team to accomplish tasks. There is no stratum among lawyers and staff members, which makes us a very close-knit team work-ing in a family environment.”

Atsumi & sakai

JAPAN

An underwhelming year for responses from Japan meant a small sample size, but it was the only country with a 100 percent job satis-faction rate among the respondents. Within this relatively small group, Atsumi & Sakai emerged as the runaway sole winner. “I am able to do a variety of challenging work in a relaxed atmosphere,” says a partner.

Bae, Kim & Lee

Kim & Chang

Yulchon

KOREA

Outside of China, Korea provided the larg-est number of responses to the Employer of Choice survey, showing just how enthusiastic the country’s lawyers are, and how passionate they are about the firm they work for. Job sat-isfaction was at about 97 percent, and it was the only market where the majority of lawyers (74 percent) felt they were paid at above the market standard. Salary structure is also thought to be transparent (95 percent), as are opportunities for training and professional development (96 percent) and opportunities to receive mentoring in the firm (94 percent). Near 70 percent of the respondents believe that the path to partnership is very transpar-ent, and nearly 85 percent believe the firm is very collaborative. Work-life balance is good or excellent for 93 percent, and nearly 70 per-cent feel “extremely valued” – to go with 75 percent job security. A whopping 82 percent would recommend their firm unreservedly.

According to Sky Yang, partner at Bae, Kim & Lee, the firm believes that its people are its greatest assets. “BKL consistently strives to recruit top notch professionals


for both entry level and experienced at-torney positions,” he says. “In addition to our competitive benefits packages BKL provides effective training, mentoring, and opportunities for professional development. Also, our transparent, ongoing performance evaluation system provides useful feedback for continuous improvement and helps to maintain high quality standards.

He adds that BKL offers a great work at-mosphere by fostering mutual trust based on clear communication and transparency. “Our firm culture cultivates close relationships and our teams generally eat lunch together,” Yang says. “There are clear expectations and ongoing coaching and mentoring. Furthermore, BKL encourages corporate so-cial responsibility through diverse pro-bono

activities and our experts and employees make contributions in various regions of the country. Such valuable experiences make our members feel proud of our firm and our commitment to society.”

Speaking about Yulchon’s approach to acquiring and retaining the best talent, Doil Son, partner with the firm says that it places its foremost priority on recruiting, reward-

BAE, KIM & LEE


ing and retaining top talents. “Yulchon is the only law firm in Korea with a recruiting program specially targeting graduates of law schools located outside of the Seoul Metropolitan Area for the purpose of helping those law schools to increase their competi-tiveness as well as discovering the best tal-ents from all parts of the country,” he says. “Yulchon also operates ‘Yulchon Academy,’ an in-house continuing education center that provides career development programs, language training programs, various pro-fessional and general liberal arts courses as well as short-term and long-term study abroad programs for Yulchon employees.”

According to Son, Yulchon’s founding philosophy, as signified in its firm name that literally translates to “law village,” underscores the collective value of talented individuals. “That philosophy is an integral part of the firm’s culture even to date,” he adds. “Yulchon members feel engaged through open communication by weekly internal newsletter sent by the chairman, an-nual firm-wide offsite activities, and periodic in-person gatherings by practice group.”

Korea’s Premier Law FirmDriving Excellence to Help Clients Succeed

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Employer of Choice – Korea Asian Legal Business 2015

KIM & CHAnG


Yulchon_ALB Employer of Choice 2015_(186x119.5mm).indd 1 2015-03-31 �� 11:04:30

Jong Hyun Park, senior attorney at Kim & Chang says that the belief that the lawyers work with the industry’s top experts and partners instills pride and drives employee performance. “The firm also tries to bring talents from different backgrounds and al-lows them to work in an environment that endorses opposing ideas, and emphasizes both teamwork and the development of

each individual’s potential,” he says. “The belief that each employee could grow into the industry’s top professional and earn the respect of clients through team work also keeps our employees engaged and com-mitted in the work they do. Aside from their client work, attorneys are also given various opportunities for community services and industry discussions by participating in pro

bono activities.”Park adds the firm tries to make its work-

place attractive to its attorneys by giving them new development opportunities and offering various training programs. “We be-lieve that the best way to attract and retain the best talent is to maintain our status as the top firm and we do that by providing the best possible service to our clients,” he says.

YULCHOn


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Azmi & Associates

Tay & Partners

Wong & Partners

MALAYSIA

While job satisfaction is at 94 percent for respondents from Malaysia, one area that firms can work on their remuneration, with three-quarters believing their salary is at or below the market standard. Opportunities for professional development seem par-ticularly good(93 percent, collaboration and knowledge management rate highly, while work-life balance is rated by 88 percent as “good” or better.

Azmi & Associates is lauded for providing “adequate space and [the right] environment for me to live my passion as commercial lawyer,” according to a counsel. An as-

sociate from Tay & Partners says the firm “practices work life balance: Despite the workload, employees are encouraged to pace themselves.” And at Wong & Partners, an associate praises the “great learning op-portunities, great exposure to regional and international clientele, excellent working environment and well trained support staff.”

Quisumbing Torres

Romulo Mabanta Buenaventurasayoc & De Los Angeles

syCip salazar Hernandez& Gatmaitan

PHILIPPINES

The Philippines boasts a 100 percent job satisfaction rate, and more than half of

the respondents describe themselves as “extremely satisfied.” The lawyers are also well-paid, with three-quarters describing their pay as above the market standard. Nearly all the respondents say that they are happy with the opportunities for both pro-fessional development as well as receiving mentoring, along with the collaboration in their law firms. Firms generally value their employees and job security is high. More than 60 percent of the respondents “defi-nitely” see themselves in the same firm in five years’ time.

According to an associate, Quisumbing Torres “empowers its associates to excel and develop professionally. The firm invests in a lot of support services for professional and business development.” At Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & De Los Angeles, “the firm continues to implement fair and honest policies regarding work and administration, which policies I’ve observed to be superior to the market,” says a part-ner. And at SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan, an associate says “the work is challenging and I have good colleagues.”


In Singapore, one of Asia’s more mature markets, job satisfaction generally still re-mains high, with only 6 percent describing themselves as less than satisfied with their work. Salaries are generally stable for the majority of respondents, and opportunities for training and professional development – as well as receiving mentoring – remain solid. While the path to partnership could be made clearer by some firms, more than 60 percent find their firms “very collaborative”

Baker & McKenzie.Wong & Leow

Duane Morris & selvam

Drew & napier

RHTLaw Taylor Wessing

Rodyk & Davidson

SINGAPORE and work-life balance is considered “excel-lent” for almost a quarter. Nearly two-thirds of respondents consider themselves secure in their jobs and more than 60 percent “defi-nitely” or “probably” see themselves in the same firm in five years’ time.

At Baker & McKenzie.Wong & Leow, an associate praises the “good range of work, good training and support network, part-ners and senior associates willing to teach,

open door policy, little regimentation and nurturing environment.” At Duane Morris & Selvam, “the environment is conducive and the staff are very friendly and accommo-dating towards the newcomers.” A partner at RHTLaw Taylor Wessing says that “the infrastructure enables me to focus on my work, which is the end product that the cli-ent hugely appreciates.” And an associate at Rodyk & Davidson praises “the good and fair

DREW & nAPIER


bosses, relatively balanced working hours, and good working environment with helpful colleagues.”

Blossom Hing, a director at Drew & Napier says that the firm invests enormous energy and resources into training and men-toring. “Our senior lawyers, most of whom joined our firm as trainees, have a wealth of experience to impart and are personally committed to guiding our young lawyers and ensuring that they have successful careers,” she says. “We also take great care when selecting our trainees and have had wonder-ful and talented people join us. Our efforts have developed lawyers who are at the top of the profession and this has helped attract positive and passionate people to the firm.”

Speaking about the secret to engaged employees, Hing notes that the firm is strong because of its people. “We treat our people with respect and have a family culture with an ‘open door’ policy,” she adds. “People like to come to work when they feel they are part of a team.”

isfaction is 100 percent salaries are above the market standard for about two-thirds, and work-life balance is good for close to 92 percent. Winkler Partners is the notable firm from there, with a counsel calling it “quite simply the healthiest, most enjoyable place I have ever worked. Since coming to work at Winkler Partners, friends and family have commented on how much happier and content I am.”

Winkler Partners

TAIWAN

Baker & McKenzie

Tilleke & Gibbins

Weerawong Chinnavat& Peangpanor

THAILAND

In Thailand, job satisfaction is at more than 97 percent, with more than half calling themselves “extremely satisfied.” Nearly half of all Thai respondents are also paid above the market standard, and most are happy with the salary structure. Opportunities for training (92 percent) and mentoring (97 per-cent) are praised, although firms could work on making the path to partnership more transparent. Work-life balance is at “good” or better for 93 percent, more than half feel “extremely valued” in the firm, and three-

quarters are secure in their jobs; Thailand is not called the “Land of Smiles” for nothing.

Among the ranked f irms, Baker & McKenzie boasts “good work, good boss, good colleagues and good benefits,” accord-ing to an associate. And at Tilleke & Gibbins, says an associate, “my firm has a good work-life balance that leads to strong relation-ships with partners and other colleagues and high productivity. Most importantly, the firm strongly supports the lawyers who want to enhance their training and education.”

Talking about Weerawong Chinnavat & Peangpanor ’s approach to acquiring and retaining the best talent, Chinnavat Chinsangaram, executive partner, says that WC&P has a clear set of cultural values that differentiates it from other firms in the market. “We emphasize, among other factors, a politics free, transparent work environment without power plays, which motivates lawyers in terms of assignments, rewards and career path,” he says. Adding that happy, engaged employees require challenging work, appropriate recognition, fair rewards and a clear career path, he notes that “WC&P lawyers build their capabilities by being entrusted with challenging assign-ments, including some of the highest profile matters in the region. They are expected to perform to the highest level of their ability, with the confidence that their efforts will be recognized and rewarded fairly. Our law-yers also know the steps and performance required to proceed toward his or her own professional goals.”

Job satisfaction is at a healthy 96 percent in Vietnam, with more than a quarter calling themselves “extremely satisfied.” Remuneration is at the market standard for just about half of the respondents, and most seem satisfied by the salary structure of their firms. Opportunities to receive mentoring in the firm is rated as generally satisfac-tory, as are opportunities for training and professional development, although nearly

LnT & Partners

Phuoc & Partners

Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers

VIETNAM

Taiwan, much like Japan, suffers from a small sample size, but within that, job sat-

WEERAWOnG CHInnAVAT & PEAnGPAnOR


half the respondents consider the path to partnership as “somewhat transparent.” Work-life balance is “good” or “excellent” for 93 percent, with more than 56 percent feeling “extremely valued” and job security at 77 percent. More than three-quarters “definitely” or “probably” see themselves at the same firm in five years’ time.

Firms receiving high marks from their employees in Vietnam are LNT & Partners, which has “a perfect working environment for juniors like me, for the reason that as-sociates and partners here are very open to sharing their know-how,” says a consul-tant. “Furthermore, I have the opportunity to be involved in practical matters, which rarely occurs in other law firms.” At Phuoc & Partners “I have the chance to do what I love, decide on what assignments I want to take, and most importantly, I have the support of my partners and co-workers,” according to one associate. And Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers, a consultant says, provides a “com-petitive and professional environment with a variety of clients and a lot of challenges and opportunities to learn more.”

“The work-life balance is very poor… I am in the office from 8AM to midnight, but receive no appreciation. I am valued by the firm in the same way a slave owner appreciates his slaves… The only reason I think my job is somewhat secure is that no other fool would do this.” - From a local firm in Singapore

“Below market salary, poor quality of work, lack of team spirit, low morale amongst associates, bonus system changed mid-year without consultation…” - From an international firm in Hong Kong

“Partners tend to pigeonhole associates’ development, not allowing them to work

on a variety of work (as promised when they gave the offer). HR policies are the worst among major law firms.” - From a local firm in Hong Kong

“My work is not challenging enough, and my supervisor does not give any thoughts to my career progression. I feel underemployed.” - From an international firm in Vietnam

“Progression is uncertain, hours are bad and it is very political. Bonus is unfairly given depending on favoritism…. One way [my firm] could improve is by not sending random emails focusing on punctuality and dressing.” - From a local firm in Singapore

THE BEST OF THE WORSTFeedback from some extremely dissatisfied respondents

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Q&A38 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSAPRIL 2015

In OnLY ABOUT FOUR YEARs sInCE ITs FOUnDInG, RHTLAW TAYLOR WEssInG HAs sHOWn ITsELF TO BE OnE OF THE MORE PROGREssIVE-MInDED LAW FIRMs In THE REGIOn. RECEnTLY THE FIRM HAs LAUnCHED ITs AsEAn+ GROUP, VEnTURED BEYOnD TRADITIOnAL LEGAL sERVICEs AnD Is PLAnnInG TO LIsT A HOLDInG COMPAnY EARLY nEXT YEAR. TAn CHOnG HUAT, THE FIRM’s MAnAGInG PARTnER DEsCRIBEs THE FIRM’s EVOLUTIOn TO RANAJIT DAM

‘FIRMs MUsT LOOK OUTsIDE OFTRADITIOnAL LEGAL sERVICEs’

ALB: In late February, the RHT Group of Companies announced plans to list its holding company, RHT Holdings Limited, on the SGX Catalist Board. What was the motivation behind the fundraising plan?Tan: RHTLaw Taylor Wessing and RHT Holdings are both home-grown Singaporean companies, which have quickly risen to be-come the eighth-largest law firm in the coun-try and the leading professional services group in Asia respectively. As Singapore is our home base, we strongly believe in the country’s future as an economic hub, as well as the Singapore capital markets as the best way to unlock market value in our rapidly-growing professional services business.

The proceeds will help the RHT Group of Companies in our regional endeavors, growth and acquisition plans.

ALB: Late last year, a holding company connected with ZICOLaw also listed on SGX. In what ways will RHT’s approach to that listing differ?Tan: RHT Holdings is the holding com-pany for four leading professional services companies: RHT Capital, RHT Corporate Advisory, RHT Compliance Solutions and RHT Business Management Services.

ZICO Holdings is similar to RHT Holdings in the sense that it is a holding company offering integrated professional services; however, we believe that there are significant differences between the two companies.

The aforesaid companies within RHT Holdings are top-tier, market leaders in their respective industries in Singapore. Additionally, there are nine more group com-panies within the RHT Group of Companies, which further expand our service offerings

to clients. We expect these professional services companies to further contribute to RHT Holdings in the future.

ALB: Starting with the Taylor Wessing affiliation, to the creation of the ASEAN+ network, and now the IPO plan, RHT has tended to think a lot more laterally than the average law firm. What would you say drives this kind of thinking?Tan: Now is the time for legal and profes-sional services firms to think globally.

We foresee greater integration of legal services and professional services through-out the ASEAN region and beyond, as clients

now expect more streamlined and efficient solutions for their legal and business needs.

Clients are now looking outside Singapore for future business opportunities, and it is the obligation of their legal and professional advisors to support them in their interna-tional endeavours. For this reason, we have established the ASEAN+ Group, a network of leading law firms in eight jurisdictions across the region.

Additionally, we have been a member of the Taylor Wessing network since 2012, which offers clients access to Europe, the Middle East and North America.

We now offer clients access to 1,800

professionals around the world as a result of our strategic initiative to look beyond Singapore’s borders.

Looking ahead, we see many additional legal services and professional firms em-bracing this strategy.

ALB: RHT is no longer just a law firm, of-fering services ranging from regulatory and compliance solutions to training and development. What is your growth strat-egy so far in this regard?Tan: In order for law firms to truly remain competitive and to add value to their clients, they must look in areas outside of traditional

legal services. For this reason, our group has invested strategically throughout the spectrum of professional services for the benefit of our clients.

We foresee greater integration of legal services and professional services through-out the ASEAN region and beyond, as clients now expect more streamlined and efficient solutions for their business needs.

We are now working to further strengthen our regional capacities not only in law, but also in growth sectors such as Islamic fi-nance, compliance and governance, data risk management, technology and intellectual property, as well as cross-border finance.

“WE FOREsEE GREATER InTEGRATIOn OF LEGAL sERVICEs AnD PROFEssIOnAL sERVICEs THROUGHOUT THE AsEAn REGIOn AnD BEYOnD, As CLIEnTs nOW EXPECT MORE sTREAMLInED AnD EFFICIEnT sOLUTIOns FOR THEIR BUsInEss nEEDs.”

Q&A 39WWW.LEGALBUsInEssOnLInE.COM: @ALB_Magazine : Connect with Asian Legal Business

Additionally, we have invested in many services that clients may not associate with traditional law, but in which we see many synergies, such as media and communica-tions, executive search, fiduciary services, and other professional services.

At present, there are 12 group companies in the RHT group of companies, which offer clients a suite of professional services under one roof, something that has not yet been seen in Singapore. Each of the 12 total group companies are managed and run by pro-fessionals, and is independent of RHTLaw Taylor Wessing.

We strongly believe that this is the way forward for our industry.

ALB: H ow do you perceive Singapore’s legal services mar-ket at this juncture, particularly with the advent of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)?Tan: The provision of legal ser vices is an increasingly interna-tional offering, as cli-ents expect one-stop business and legal so-lutions in Singapore and beyond. With in-creased integration throughout ASEAN, most notably with the advent of the AEC, we foresee this trend only growing stronger, as commerce will only increase throughout the region.

With our ASEAN+ Group and our mem-bership with the Taylor Wessing network, we already have a strong integrated presence, which is beneficial for our clients.

We see ourselves offering clients solu-tions on a regional and global basis.

ALB: During your time at the helm of RHT Law Taylor Wessing, what would you say has been your greatest achievement?Tan: The greatest achievement for RHTLaw Taylor Wessing has been the rapid pace of internationalisation and the establishment of leadership across various practice areas,

led and undertaken by the core team over the last four years.

When the founding partners of the firm decided to embark on this journey in May 2011, our goal was to establish a law firm that looked beyond Singapore’s borders for opportunities. We feel that this is impera-tive to remaining ahead of the curve in an increasingly connected ASEAN community, and an increasingly globalised world.

This initial decision came with many risks and there were no guarantees that we would succeed in making this vision into a reality.

Since our inception, we have worked tire-lessly to build our firm into a leading practice

with regional and global capabilities, and have achieved remarkable successes.

In four short years we have grown to become a full service law firm with about 100 fee earners, a feat which usually take local law firms in Singapore three or more decades to achieve. In addition, we have established 12 non-law professional outfits where six or seven of these are probably the top of their classes in Asia.

In Asia, we have successfully established

our ASEAN+ Group comprising the leading law firms in ASEAN, Korea and Taiwan. Moving ahead, we will pursue further merg-ers and joint venture opportunities within our ASEAN+ Group and will work to strengthen our presence in ASEAN and other parts of Asia.

Globally, we will continue to provide our clients with greater access, skills and ser-vices in Europe, the Middle East and North America. As Taylor Wessing opened two offices in the United States last year, we are now a part of a truly global network, which we expect to only grow stronger in the future.

ALB: What do the next year or two hold for RHT, both in terms of regional growth, as well as breadth of services offered?Tan: RHT Holdings will continue to es-tablish itself as the leading professional services firm in Asia, with experience and expertise across ar-eas of law and profes-sional services. We will continue to establish a leadership position in the areas of law and professional services including, compliance, corporate advisor y, continuing sponsor-ship and additional services.

The group will also continue to incubate its other professional ser vices companies with the goal of offer-ing clients a holistic approach to legal and professional services.

R H T L a w Ta y l o r Wessing will continue to establish itself as

one of the leading law firms in Asia.We will continue to prioritise regional

growth in neighboring ASEAN economies to accommodate clients’ growing needs for streamlined legal and professional services. As we already have affiliations and partner-ships with eight leading regional law firms, we now offer clients access to 750 profes-sionals throughout the region. We expect several JV and M&A opportunities following the IPO of RHT Holdings.

HONG KONG40 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSAPRIL 2015

REUTERS/Nayef Hashlamoun

AFTER A sTROnG sHOWInG In 2014,HOnG KOnG’s IPO MARKET Is sET TO CARRYTHE MOMEnTUM FORWARD InTO 2015, WITHA sTROnG PIPELInE OF COMPAnIEs LOOKInGTO LIsT On THE HOnG KOnG sTOCK EXCHAnGE.On THE LIQUIDITY FROnT, THE sIGns LOOKPOsITIVE WITH THE HOnG KOnG-sHAnGHAIsTOCK COnnECT sTARTInG TO BEAR FRUIT,AnD THE InTRODUCTIOn OF A sIMILAR sCHEMEBETWEEn HOnG KOnG AnD sHEnZHEn’ssTOCK MARKETs PEnCILED FOR LATER THIsYEAR. MEAnWHILE, DIsCUssIOn OVER THEHOTLY DEBATED IssUE OF WHETHERHOnG KOnG sHOULD ALLOW WEIGHTEDVOTInG RIGHTs HAs COnTInUED InTO 2015.KANISHK VERGHESE REPORTs

GATHERING MOMENTUM

After a few sluggish years, Hong Kong’s IPO market bounced back in 2014, with some big-ticket deals including WH Group’s $2.1 billion listing last July and Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties’ $3.7

billion offering in December. Data from the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Group shows that 2014 saw 96 new main board listings, topping the previous record of 94 set in 2010. Meanwhile, IPO fundraising increased by 34 percent from 2013 to $29.3 billion, the world’s second-highest total behind New York, according to Dealogic data.

The momentum is expected to continue into 2015. KPMG forecasts that 110 companies will list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this year, with IPO funds likely to raise more than HK$200 billion ($25.8 billion). The year has started positively, with broadband Internet provider HKBN launching a $750 million IPO, and Chinese automotive glass maker Fuyao Glass Industry Group raising about $950 million in March. In the pipeline are larger deals including Chinese brokerage GF Securities’ proposed $3.6 billion listing and the $3 billion offering of Legend Holding Corp, the parent of Lenovo Group, the world’s biggest maker of personal computers. “Deal flow for the year is relatively healthy,” says Catherine Tsang, a partner at Paul Hastings in Hong Kong. “This year will be

A floor trader walks out of the trading hall during morning trading at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

The future of technology and its impact on data and funds often conjures up conflicting views - will there be greater access to information and communication resources with advanced technologies such as virtual currencies, the internet of things and smart services being the order of the day, or will there be digital catastrophes and virtual nightmares owing to privacy breaches, mishandling of data, identity thefts and financial vulnerability? This conference will play host to business experts, legal practitioners, judicial members, policy makers and academics as they confer and provide critical insights on this rapidly evolving area of law and policy.

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HONG KONG42 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESSAPRIL 2015

interesting because towards the end of 2013 and the first half of 2014, there was a heavy deal flow with many deals rushing to market. That was driven partly by the transition period for the new sponsor and listing regimes, which caused everyone to rush to file for their IPOs before the new provisions kicked in,” says Tsang.

On April 1 last year, new disclosure rules were enacted with the aim of improving the quality of IPOs and clamping down on fraud. Listing applications are now made public as soon as companies pass an initial checklist after filing them with the exchange. Under the previous regime, the so-called “A-1” document was filed and remained private until it was vetted and approved, while sponsors could also file incomplete documents and resubmit them without facing major penalties. Incomplete applications will now be rejected and banks and issuers submitting such applications will face an eight-week waiting period to re-file their documents. Lawyers say that the standard in terms of prospectus drafting has already been lifted, which has shortened the average prospectus vetting procedure timeline by the Stock Exchange. “But in terms of deal flow, those transition periods have passed, and Hong Kong’s IPO market is back to one that is largely driven by economics,” says Tsang.

A CHANGE TO THE SYSTEM?Much discussion since 2014 has centred on the issue of the “one-share-one-vote principle,” which has been in place in Hong Kong since 1989. Debate over shareholder structures was sparked after Hong Kong’s regulators rejected Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba’s request to allow a small group of company insiders to nominate the majority of its board. It is believed that the impasse prompted Alibaba to turn to New York for its IPO, where it raised a mammoth

$25 billion, the largest listing ever.In August last year, the Stock Exchange

of Hong Kong (SEHK) launched a concept paper to seek views on whether the adop-tion of weighted voting rights should be acceptable for companies looking to list in Hong Kong. “In our firm’s response to the concept paper, we supported the concept of a weighted voting rights structure. While sticking to the traditional one share one vote principle is an easy and simple route to take, I believe that our market should keep an open mind to market developments in order to maintain our competitiveness,” says Sabrina Fung, a partner at Deacons. “If that is the case, we believe that there should be an education process for the Hong Kong investing public,” says Fung.

The SEHK has spurred on discussion in other areas too, issuing a consultation pa-per in January on the potential introduction of a Volatility Control Mechanism (VCM) in the securities and derivatives markets in Hong Kong, and a Closing Auction Session in the city’s securities market. The aim of the VCM is to contain systemic risk caused by price volatility in both the securities and derivatives markets. Fung says that the introduction of a VCM would help boost Hong Kong’s competitiveness on a global platform. “The proposal to enhance the market microstructure is a positive step because it will bring Hong Kong’s trad-ing platform in line with the guidance issued by the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO),” says Fung. Conclusions from the consultation paper have yet to be issued, but are ex-pected in the first half of this year.

BOOSTING LIQUIDITYAt the same time, liquidity in the market has been increased as a result of the Hong Kong-Shanghai Stock Connect scheme. The Stock Connect, which was launched

last November, allows certain mainland investors to trade shares in designated companies listed in Hong Kong, while letting Hong Kong investors buy selected Shanghai-listed shares. At the moment, the Stock Connect imposes a number of limitations and quotas. Hong Kong invest-ment in mainland stocks is limited to an overall quota of 300 billion yuan ($48 bil-lion) and a daily quota of 13 billion yuan. Mainland investment in Hong Kong stocks is limited to an overall quota of 250 billion yuan and a daily quota of 10.5 billion yuan. Industry players expect the quota to be lifted gradually.

With the Hong Kong-Shanghai Stock Connect starting to find its feet, plans are also underway to set up a similar scheme to link Hong Kong and Shenzhen’s stock markets. The Hong Kong-Shenzhen Stock Connect scheme, which could be approved and launched by the end of 2015, would increase the investor range in the Hong Kong securities markets and could drive up investment volume and liquidity.

POSITIVE OUTLOOKAs Hong Kong’s IPO market chugs along into 2015, lawyers expect to see fewer mega deals and more mid-sized listings. The proposed listings for 2015 indicate that a number of Chinese financial institutions and insurance companies will look for an IPO in Hong Kong. In early March, Deacons advised on the mid-sized listings of three healthcare, environmental and consumer retail companies. Fung expects to see more deals in those sectors in 2015, in addition to listings from Chinese banks and broker-age firms. Despite the array of factors that could affect Hong Kong’s IPO market and investor confidence – both positively and negatively – market sentiment for remains positive for the time being, with a healthy IPO pipeline of mid-cap deals for 2015.

“In OUR FIRM’s REsPOnsE TO THE COnCEPT PAPER, WE sUPPORTED THE COnCEPT OF A WEIGHTED VOTInG RIGHTs sTRUCTURE. WHILE sTICKInG TO THE TRADITIOnAL OnE sHARE OnE VOTE PRInCIPLE Is An EAsY AnD sIMPLE ROUTE TO TAKE, I BELIEVE THAT OUR MARKET sHOULD KEEP An OPEn MInD TO MARKET DEVELOPMEnTs In ORDER TO MAInTAIn OUR COMPETITIVEnEss.” Sabrina Fung, Deacons

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Our client is an established global organisation providing a wide array of business solutions to Fortune 500 companies. As a Regional Data Protection Lawyer, you will establish programs and address policy issues to achieve the right level of compliance with data protection laws throughout the APAC region. You will support the business units in respect to privacy issues in contract negotiations and client relationships. With more than 10 years of PQE in a reputable law firm or multinational company, you will need to demonstrate in-depth knowledge of privacy and data protection frameworks. Prior exposure to business services is preferable.

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WITHOUTLEGALKNOWLEDGE

To celebrate its Centenary year, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) will be holding a series of conferences around the world this year, including in Birmingham, Hong Kong, London and Zambia. The Singapore Branch is honoured to be hosting the final celebratory conference, entitled “The Age of Innovation: Addressing the Perils and Promises of Arbitration” on 3 & 4 September 2015 at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. CIArb is delighted to announce that the Honourable Chief Justice of Singapore, Sundaresh Menon, the current patron of CIArb, will be the keynote speaker at the Conference. The Singapore Conference will also see the launch of the CIArb Guidelines, which set out good arbitration practice. The two-day conference will see a distinguished line-up of speakers from around the world discuss hot topics in the international arbitration world. There will be numerous networking opportunities with fellow arbitration practitioners and in-house legal counsel at the conference luncheons, cocktail reception and at the gala dinner on the closing night. This conference is must-attend for every arbitration practitioner and legal counsel involved in international arbitration.

For more information on this event, or to registeryour interest, please contact Colin at [email protected] or call +65 6318 4746,or visit the website at http://www.Ciarb100.sg.com

Sponsorship opportunities are available at this event, and to hear more on how to reach an audience of over 200 senior legal or arbitration practitioners from across the region, please contact Amantha at [email protected] or call +65 6870 3917

THE AGE OF INNOVATION: ADDRESSING THE PERILS & PROMISES OF ARBITRATIONMarina Bay Sands / 3RD & 4TH September

CILCentre for International Law

National University of Singapore

INTER-PACIFIC BAR ASSOCIATION

Documents

Asian Legal Business April 2015