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Michael Kwan

Director

mkwan@resourcelawasia.com
Tel: +65 6805 7367

Overview

Michael specialises in corporate finance, and corporate and commercial transactions in Singapore and the wider region, including listings, equity and debt issues, reverse takeovers, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and private equity and venture capital investments.

His practice includes advising companies listed on the Singapore Exchange on their corporate undertakings, including dual listings, acquisitions and disposals of shares and assets, share schemes, interested person transactions, corporate restructuring exercises, and other regulatory compliance measures. He also regularly advises private equity firms, venture capital firms and technology start-ups.

Before commencing his legal practice, Michael managed a motorcycle trading company in Singapore which he founded in 2005. With a background in business, Michael is able to comprehend the commercial needs of his clients and was commended in IFLR1000 for his ability to dispense “practical advice which takes into consideration both compliance and commercial factors for the client”.

Michael is also an active volunteer with the Community Legal Clinics, providing pro bono legal advice on contractual disputes, and employment and family matters.

Professional Admissions / Qualifications

  • Singapore

Languages

  • English
  • Mandarin

Honor and Awards

  • Legal 500 Asia Pacific

Capital Markets 2021 – Recommended Lawyer
“Michael Kwan is a capable, client-driven and solution-focused professional. He is patient and able to explain difficult legal concepts in a simple way to the client.”

  • IFLR1000

Capital Markets 2022
“Michael Kwan is always contactable and responds quickly to all issues. He also pro-actively reaches out to the clients and other professional parties to ensure the solutions he proposed are able to satisfy all stakeholders.”

“Michael Kwan has provided constructive comments to resolve issues through the project and proactive in following up with the clients to facilitate the entire due diligence process.”

Corporate Restructuring 2022
“Both lawyers [including] Mr Michael Kwan, were extremely competent – capable professionals well versed in the field. Apart from their impressive technical expertise, they spared no effort in examining our case from multiple perspectives, offering us multiple solutions for every problem. They carried out their duties not only with excellence but utmost consideration for us and our needs. Furthermore, the two lawyers were extremely responsible and meticulous, taking complete ownership over their jobs – and were prompt and responsive no matter the occasion. They showed great eye for detail and went well beyond their duty, coming up with many solutions that were both practical and amicable for us. All in all, they added great value to the team and it has been a pleasure to work with them.”

“He listens to the company’s issues and will suggest alternatives to mediate these issues. He is responsive to my queries.”

Capital Markets 2021
“He is a very talented lawyer who gave insightful advice to our clients, and he is a good team player among the IPO professional parties. He provided very detailed guidance and solutions for our clients. Really excellent work from him and his team, who were able to work under tremendous pressure.”

Capital Markets 2020
“Michael is highly responsive to any queries raised and is always contactable, which is an important attribute. In addition, he dispenses practical advice which takes into consideration both compliance and commercial factors for the client.”

  • Asialaw Profiles

Corporate and M&A 2022
“He is a good listener. He can always understand where our issues come from and provide practical solutions. For the mandate, we needed to balance the views of the company, bankers and regulators and Michael has always demonstrated his ability to satisfy all stakeholders’ needs.”

“They provided quick responses, detailed analysis and provided practical solutions to the client. We did not expect a Singapore lawyer would have such in-depth knowledge on the requirements of a listing in Hong Kong.”

Corporate and M&A 2021
“We have been working closely with Michael Kwan in seeking Singapore legal advice. His research has always been solid and comprehensive and at the same time client-focused. He is always able to provide practical solutions for us to take forward the IPO exercise. Most importantly, he is always reachable even late at midnight.”

  • Who’s Who Legal

Capital Market – Structured Finance 2022 – Recommended Lawyer
“Michael Kwan is lauded by respondents for his considerable expertise of equity and debt issues, reverse takeovers, listings and venture capital investments.”

Professional Affiliations

  • The Law Society of Singapore
  • Singapore Academy of Law
  • Member of the Tampines Central Citizens’ Consultative Committee

Experience

Capital Markets

  • Acted as Singapore counsel for Haidilao International Holding Ltd. in its US$964 million initial public offering and listing on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. This was nominated by Asian Legal Business as the Equity Market Deal of the Year (Premium) at the SE Asia Law Awards 2019
  • Acted for The Trendlines Group Ltd. in its S$25 million initial public offering and listing on the Singapore Exchange. This was the first Israeli incubator listed on the Singapore Exchange
  • Acted for LHN Limited in its S$17 million initial public offering and listing on the Singapore Exchange
  • Acted for Don Agro International Limited in its S$5.1 million initial public offering and listing on the Singapore Exchange. This was the first Russian business and issuer which has a sanctioned national principal nexus listed on the Singapore Exchange
  • Acted as Singapore counsel for IAG Holdings Limited in its HK$65 million initial public offering and listing on GEM of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong
  • Acted as Singapore counsel and listing agent for Cheng Mei Materials Technology Corporation in its US$64.9 million listing of global depository shares on the Singapore Exchange
  • Acted for Tuan Sing Holdings Limited in relation to an update of its S$900 million multicurrency medium term note programme and the issue and listing of S$65 million Series 003 Notes under the programme on the Singapore Exchange
  • Acted for Superluck Properties Pte Ltd in the establishment of its secured S$500 million multicurrency medium term note programme guaranteed by Tuan Sing Holdings Limited and the issue and listing of S$200 million Series 001 Notes under the programme on the Singapore Exchange

Mergers and Acquisitions, and Joint Ventures

  • Acted for Global Fortune 500 Tsingshan Group in its joint venture with Indonesia-listed PT Harum Energy Tbk for US$750 million nickel project in Indonesia
  • Acted for Global Fortune 500 Tsingshan Group in its joint venture with Euronext Paris-listed mining and metallurgy Eramet Group for US$400 million lithium project in Argentina
  • Acted for Global Fortune 500 Tsingshan Group on US$450 million divestment of various smelter and power plant interests to Indonesia-listed PT Merdeka Copper Gold
  • Acted for Perlux Limited, Ever Rising Limited, and Plenty Limited in their US$178.5 million divestment of a 42% interest in an Indonesian ferronickel plant to Taiwan-listed Walsin Lihwa, valuing the entire project at circa. US$425 million
  • Acted for ComfortDelgro in its acquisition of a 51 per cent stake in Uber’s car rental subsidiary in Singapore for S$295 million
  • Acted for PT Huaneng Metal Industry for the sale of majority of its shares valued at US$75 million to PT Merdeka Battery Materials TBK, a subsidiary of Indonesia-listed PT Merdeka Copper Gold Tbk
  • Acted as Singapore counsel for Air Products and Chemicals, Inc, in the sale of the performance materials division of its materials technologies segment to Evonik Industries AG for US$3.8 billion
  • Acted as Singapore counsel for Full Fortune International Co., Ltd in the acquisition of 51.42 per cent interest in Kakiko Group Limited, a company listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, for HK$257.1 million
  • Acted for a New York headquartered Israel-based fintech unicorn in its maiden joint venture with one of the top commercial banks of Thailand (listed on the Thailand Stock Exchange) to roll out digital assets services in Asia
  • Acted for Jumper.ai, a leader in omnichannel conversational commerce solutions based in Singapore, in the acquisition of Jumper.ai by Vonage, a global cloud communications leader listed on Nasdaq
  • Acted as Singapore counsel for a Singapore subsidiary of one of Southeast Asia’s largest beverage companies listed on Singapore Exchange on the acquisition of a majority equity stake in a Cambodian trading company which distributes tobacco and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
  • Acted for SGX-listed Acromec Limited on the formalisation of a joint venture with Nutara Investment Pte. Ltd. on its green energy venture to develop biomass-to-value projects
  • Acted for the sellers in the sale of Singapore precision manufacturer Eratech to SGX-listed Nordic Group
  • Acted for the major shareholder of Rock Nano Global, an award-winning company that creates unique experiences in esports and gaming, in the acquisition of Rock Nano Global by a technology innovation company
  • Acted for a Singapore-based tech company which promotes mixed reality experience in esports for its joint ventures with other industry stakeholders, including an international sports federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee

Investments and Venture Capital

  • Advising an Israel-based life science innovation center on negotiation of a service agreement to assist a Singapore medtech startup in the development and testing of a magnetically actuated capsule endoscopy for obesity treatment
  • Acted for the Summit Group in the investment of US$175.5 million by IFC, IFC Emerging Asia Fund and EMA Power (a joint venture between Daelim Energy and Islamic Development Bank Infrastructure Fund II) in the Summit Group
  • Acted for a leading consumer automotive Indonesian-listed company in its US$25 million investment in a tech unicorn, one of the Southeast Asia’s largest online automotive marketplaces
  • Acted for Validus Investments Holdings and its founders in securing the first tranche of funds in its Series C-1 round fundraising which attracted strategic investors such as NongHyup Financial Group, NorinChukin Bank, Aizawa Asset Management, and Lotte F&L Singapore
  • Acted for a New York headquartered Israel-based fintech unicorn in its maiden joint venture with one of the top commercial banks of Thailand (listed on the Thailand Stock Exchange) to roll out digital assets services in Asia
  • Acted for Fund Singapore in the Series C round of equity funding in Society Pass Incorporated
  • Acted for Trendlines Medical Singapore, a MedTech start-up incubator, in relation to its investments in various medical start-ups based in Israel and Singapore

New Energy

  • Acted for the Summit Group in Acted for Global Fortune 500 Tsingshan Group in its joint venture with Euronext Paris-listed mining and metallurgy Eramet Group for US$400 million lithium project in Argentina
  • Advised Tsingshan Group’s subsidiary in long term battery supply contracts with one of the world’s largest multinational automotive manufacturing corporation headquartered in Europe

Financial Services Regulatory

  • Acted for the Singapore branch of one of Taiwan’s largest banks in drafting its banking and product documentation and advised on various legal and regulatory issues

Restructuring and Insolvency

  • Acted for TT International Limited, a company listed on the Singapore Exchange, in the second round of restructuring of its S$500 million debt obligations

PEOPLE