Corporate and Financial Services

Our Corporate and Financial Services Practice Group was recently awarded the Singapore Securities Law Firm of the Year by Corporate Int’l Magazine 2011 Global Award.  We were also ranked in the 8th position, ranked by deal count in the Bloomberg South East Asia Mergers & Acquisitions Legal Advisory League Tables 2011 (Quarter 2).

We work closely with issue managers, underwriters, financial advisors and issuers on initial public offerings, rights issues, warrant issues, share placements, acquisitions, issues of convertibles (debt and equity), mandatory unconditional, voluntary and partial offers and reverse take-overs.

Our advisory work includes dealing in corporate governance issues, continuing compliance with listing rules and regulations and disclosure requirements in a post-IPO regulatory environment. Our team comprises experienced lawyers and corporate secretarial support team who complement one another in providing corporate legal advice and corporate secretarial services, for example acting for listed companies in connection with the convening of extraordinary and annual general meetings, drafting of announcements, circulars to shareholders on various corporate actions including acquisitions and disposals, structuring of interested person transactions and employee share option schemes and review and drafting of annual reports to ensure compliance with the rules and regulations.

We also liaise with the Singapore regulators on a continuing basis when acting for our clients in the listing and post-IPO environment.

Bearing in mind that complexities arise not in isolation, we adopt a cross-disciplinary approach when advising our clients particularly in the development and implementation of compliance programmes and work with our specialists in the Regulatory Compliance and Commercial Fraud Practice Group as and when the need arises.

The Firm handles a broad spectrum of financial services laws and regulations including the licensing, banking, regulatory and conduct of business requirements for banks (Singapore, wholesale and offshore), fund management companies, financial advisory companies and other corporate finance and other capital markets business and applying for relevant approvals and exemptions from the Singapore Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Mergers and Acquisitions
 
We handle local, regional and international transactions every year. Our support includes advice and assistance in relation to the M&A process, co-ordinating the input of our lawyers in the team. Our team members are highly trained in all aspects of M&A work and have also been exposed to the regional and international aspects of large transactions. We actively manage, in addition to the legal process, many aspects of M&A transactions on behalf of our clients.

Banking and Finance

We offer a full range of banking and financial legal services. Given the complexity of financing transactions, we work closely with our clients at every stage in the project.  We adopt a cross-disciplinary approach when advising our clients and work with our specialists in the Construction, Engineering and Infrastructure Projects Practice Group and the Real Estate and Banking Practice Group as and when the need arises.  For example, this cross-disciplinary approach spoke for itself when three Practice Groups were involved in advising the Singapore HealthPartners in the tender, financing and construction of the first mediplex in Singapore.

Private Equity / Foreign Direct Investments

Our solicitors have built up experience over the last few years in assisting our clients’ business expansion into neighbouring countries including the PRC, Greater China, India, the Middle East, Indonesia and Malaysia. In the PRC for example, our team (who are fluent in written and spoken Mandarin) have advised on IPOs of Chinese enterprises on the Singapore Stock Exchange (including pre-IPO rounds of investments or financing) and foreign direct investments into the PRC, in the form of sino-foreign joint ventures and wholly-owned foreign enterprises. We also represent international companies from the United States, the EU, PRC, the Middle East, the GCC countries and Israel for their overseas investments and acquisitions in Singapore (first as a base) and subsequently throughout Asia.

In Singapore, our lawyers have been involved in various aspects on, and represented clients in private equity transactions.


Funds

The Firm’s lawyers handle all aspects of law and regulation relating to investment funds both onshore and offshore and collective investment schemes including property funds, money market funds, hedge funds, fund of funds and equity/bond funds.

In acting for fund managers and offshore hedge funds, we advise on offering requirements, documentation and regulatory aspects in relation to the establishment, authorisation, recognition, marketing and distribution of REITS and investment funds.

We also provide advice on the regulatory and licensing requirements under the Securities and Futures Act (SFA), the Financial Advisers Act (FAA) and the Code on Collective Investment Schemes on a broad spectrum of financial services laws and regulations including the licensing, regulatory and conduct of business requirements for fund management companies, financial advisory companies and other corporate finance and other capital markets business and applying for relevant approvals and exemptions from the Singapore Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Corporate and Commercial

Our practice group has represented clients in diverse industries and undertakes a wide spectrum of general corporate and commercial work. We regularly advise on share and asset acquisitions and disposals, tender proposals, structuring of businesses and investments, shareholders' agreements, agencies and distributorship agreements, share option schemes and on joint ventures and consortiums for leading developers and companies in major infrastructure projects, both in Singapore and overseas.


Corporate Services

Through our wholly-owned subsidiary, HEPCorporate Services Pte Ltd, we are able to offer corporate secretarial services to private and public listed companies operating in diverse industries, and in particular foreign companies wanting to set up base in Singapore and to venture into Asia.  

Our lawyers work closely with government agencies such as the International Enterprise Singapore, the Economic Development Board and Contact Singapore particularly on foreign companies wanting to set up base in Singapore and to venture into Asia.

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