Qualifications

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• LL.B (Hons), University of Bristol, United Kingdom (1997)

• LL.M in International Economics Law, University of Warwick, United Kingdom (1999)

• Admitted to the Malaysian Bar (2001)

• Admitted to the Singapore Bar (2009)

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Siew Ling is a trusted business lawyer in Singapore and Malaysia. She co-founded Avant Law LLC in 2018. Siew Ling left Drew & Napier as a director after working there for about 9 years. She began her practice in Malaysia in 2001 at Skrine and later at Zaid Ibrahim & Co. with an accumulated legal practice of 8 years in Malaysia.

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Siew Ling has advised on corporate transactions involving private and public listed companies. She handles cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, VCCs, debt and equity financing. Siew Ling advises clients from starting up to eventual listings on the different stock exchanges. Her clients include business owners, small medium enterprises, companies and financial institutions in Malaysia and Singapore.

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Siew Ling’s practice also encompasses capital markets and has handled the listings of companies in different industries ranging from construction, food & beverage, oil & gas related, manufacturing and others. She has advised clients on listings on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange Limited, on the Catalist of the Singapore Exchange Limited, the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, and the Growth Enterprise Market, The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (GEM).

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She received honourable mention in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2016 for capital markets.

 

Siew Ling's experience includes:

 

Mergers & Acquisitions

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• Acted for offeror, Zenith Hope, in a mandatory unconditional cash offer of shares in China Kangda Food Company, a company listed on both the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Singapore Stock Exchange for an estimated S$44 million.

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• Acted for a wholly-owned subsidiary of a company which is listed on Bursa Malaysia and which has majority shareholding in one of the leading banks in Malaysia. We advised on its acquisition of shares in a Singapore fintech startup offering platform that prices and trades exchange-traded products in a multitude of currencies by blending foreign exchange rates into equities and future products.

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• Advised and acted for PetroChina International (Singapore) Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of PetroChina Company Limited, in the acquisition of the initial block of shares as well as in the subsequent general offer and the compulsory acquisition of residual minority shares in Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC) which valued SPC at S$3.2 billion in its entirety. The transaction was one of the most significant takeovers in the Energy sector at that time. At the Asian Legal Business SE Asia Law Awards 2010, this deal was named the Singapore M&A Deal of the Year 2010. This deal was also named an Asian-Counsel Deal of the Year 2009.

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• Advised and acted for Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., a world-leading industrial gases company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, in its disposal of the performance materials division of its materials technologies segment to Germany’s Evonik Industries AG for US$3.8 billion in cash.

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• Advised and acted for Hengyang Petrochemical Logistics Limited when Macquarie Everbright Greater China Infrastructure Fund L.P.’s subsidiary injected $54.25 million through acquiring 35% share capital of a material subsidiary of Hengyang Petrochemical Logistics Limited.

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• Advised and acted for a listed company in Malaysia when CapitaLand Ltd acquired shares in Sungei Wang Sdn Bhd which own a major portion of Sungei Wang Plaza Shopping Centre, a popular retail mall located in the Kuala Lumpur city center.

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• Advised and acted for the acquisition of shares in an offshore company which own properties in Indonesia for purchase consideration exceeding RM500 million.

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Banking & Finance

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• Acted for a company listed on the Main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for the issue of junior and senior convertible bonds for an estimated value of S$84 million to finance the acquisition and conversion of land located in the People's Republic of China in April 2021.

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• Acted as the Singapore legal adviser to a Hong Kong investment firm in relation to a loan and charge transaction amounting to US$110 million.

 

Capital Markets

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   The Singapore Exchange Limited

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• Advised and acted for ZICO Holdings Inc. in its S$14.4 million initial public offering of its new shares on the Catalist Board of SGX. The Singapore Straits Timesreported that this was a novel way for Malaysia's biggest law firm to tap capital markets while adhering to local rules that forbid non-lawyers from owning law firms.

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• Advised and acted for Ocean International Capital Limited as the offeror in the proposed voluntary delisting of Otto Marine Limited, a company listed on the Mainboard of the SGX-ST since 2008 and which is principally engaged in ship-building and ship-chartering activities.

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• Acted for Mun Siong Engineering Ltd, an integrated mechanical engineering and electrical and instrumentation service provider, in its S$21.4 million initial public offering of its new shares on the Main Board of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited in 2010.

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• Acted for Hock Lian Seng Holdings Limited, a civil engineering firm and construction company, in its S$27.5 million initial public offering of its new shares on the Main Board of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited in 2009.

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• Acted for Singapore Kitchen Equipment Limited, a commercial and industrial kitchen solutions providers for F&B and hospitality services in Singapore, in its S$4.6 million initial public offering of its new shares on the Catalist Board of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading in 2013.

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• Acted for Japan Foods Holding Ltd, a retail restaurant chain carrying the brand of “Ajisen Ramen” in Singapore, in its S$2.7 million initial public offering of its new shares on the Catalist Board of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading.

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• Acted for GMG Global Ltd in its rights issue to raise funds of approximately $349 million.  

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​  The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited

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• Acted as the Singapore legal adviser to Xin Yuan Enterprises Group Limited, one of the largest fleets in the asphalt tanker chartering services market and ranked fourth in the global asphalt tanker chartering services market (total carrying capacity of vessels in terms of revenue), in its HK$176 million initial public offering of its new shares on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in September 2018.

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• Acted as the Singapore legal adviser to one of the leading sponsors in Hong Kong in the listing of Singapore Food Holdings Limited in May 2020. Singapore Food Holdings is a fast-growing multi-brand Singapore-based food and beverage group that offers broad customer appeal. Established in 2013, they currently have a total of 26 food establishments operated under four self-owned brands: "Proofer", "300 BC", "Yuba Hut" and "Laura".

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• Acted as the Singapore legal adviser of MBV International Limited which is principally engaged in sourcing, wholesaling, supplying and marketing imprintable apparel and gift products all across Malaysia and in Singapore in its initial public offering of approximately HK$125.6 million on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 8 July 2020.  

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Appointments / Membership

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• Member of the Law Society of Singapore

• Member of the Singapore Academy of Law

 

Approved Trainer for the Directors’ Compliance Programme organized by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID)