Corporate & Commercial
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Corporate & Commercial Team →
Meet our regional team of experienced lawyers
Our Corporate & Commercial Practice Group is multi-faceted with various speciality practices which, combined with our in depth expertise and experience, results in a centralised hub for our clients’ general business needs.
Each dedicated team has a broad depth of experience and expertise in its own specialty areas. Our clients include prominent local and international businesses and individuals, multi-national corporations and government-linked bodies spanning across a wide range of industries including private equity, venture capital, manufacturing, infrastructure, energy & resource, telecoms, FMCG, technology and e-commerce, pharmaceutical to name a few.
We embrace the new norm where sound and practical legal advice and services are combined with understanding what our clients really need. We aim not to be only a legal advisor to our clients, but to stand shoulder to shoulder with them in their business requirements.
Featured insights
Contract Laws of Asia – Indemnities
Rajah & Tann Singapore and Rajah & Tann (Thailand), have contributed the Singapore and Thailand Chapters, respectively, of the “Contract Laws of Asia – Indemnities” guide jointly published by the Asian Business Law Institute (“ABLI“) and the Singapore Academy of Law.
Our Cross Border Strength
Integral to our ability to provide broad based corporate commercial support is our Rajah & Tann Asia network with member firms in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam as well as dedicated desks focusing on Brunei, Japan and South Asia. With extensive expertise gained from “on-the-job” experience in their respective home markets, our lawyers are well versed and consistently tuned into the local business climate, laws and practices. This gives us the ability to propose pragmatic and workable solutions to a range of issues faced by businesses in these markets and to provide an integrated service to clients who are looking to expand across Southeast Asia.
The Corporate & Commercial practice comprises a variety of specialist teams, each led by senior corporate partners of our firm, spanning the following areas:
- Corporate Services
- Regulatory
- Corporate Governance
- Foreign Investments Approvals
- Commercial Agreements
- Immigration and Global Mobility
- Tax
- Trust & Private Client
- Charities, Philanthropy and Non-Profit
Corporate Services
We provide a full spectrum of corporate secretarial and related support services to clients ranging from private companies, public listed companies, companies limited by guarantee, limited liability partnerships, variable capital companies, representative offices, registered foreign companies and societies. Our wide range of services includes company formation and closure, corporate secretarial, and compliance.
We also assist clients with structuring and documenting intra-group and intercompany transactions and arrangements (including loans, services, outsourcing, secondments, expense sharing and cash pooling agreements) and corporate restructurings (including amalgamations, share swaps and re-domiciliations).
Regulatory
Increasingly, companies are seeing regulatory risk as an area which keeps their senior executives up at night. As regulators become more sophisticated over time, we are also witnessing an increase in enforcement actions. Regulatory compliance is therefore critical to businesses, especially as one expands into the Asia Pacific region. Our team of regulatory specialists are well versed in both sectoral regulation as well as cross-sector regulation, and routinely advises clients on regulatory risk assessment, including in developing countries. We also have an enviable track record of acting for governments and regulators with designing regulatory regimes including drafting of regulations, undertaking regulatory impact assessment and assisting with public consultations.
Corporate Governance
We provide expert guidance to help clients navigate the intricacies of governance, risk management, and compliance. Our services include corporate governance advisory and compliance, board advisory and training, risk management and internal controls, regulatory compliance and investigations, and shareholder activism and engagement.
Foreign Direct Investments
We advise clients on structuring foreign direct investments (FDI) in various jurisdictions, sectors, and industries in Southeast Asia. We assist our clients in designing and implementing optimal FDI structures that align with their strategic objectives, mitigate risks, and maximize benefits. This includes drafting and negotiating joint venture agreements, investment agreements, shareholders’ agreements, structuring investments (equity and equity-linked securities), advising on shareholder and investor rights, carrying out due diligence and advising on compliance with regulatory requirements.
Commercial Agreements
We provide comprehensive support on a wide range of commercial law matters, collaborating closely with clients to understand their strategic objectives, business opportunities and risks and to deliver tailored and cost-effective solutions for their commercial contracts and transactions. We are experienced in drafting and negotiating a range of commercial contracts including franchise, domestic and international supply of goods and services, distribution, marketing and/or sales agency, hospitality, consultancy and outsourcing agreements.
Immigration and Global Mobility
We are experienced in assisting our clients with their applications for citizenship, permanent residency status and work passes for individuals looking to migrate to or work in the region.
Tax
We have a leading tax practice that strives to provide holistic assistance across the full spectrum of taxation concerns to businesses and individuals in the region. We possess a comprehensive understanding across every facet of the region’s tax landscape, including income tax, goods and services tax, stamp duty, property tax and intricate tax treaty matters. Our breadth of knowledge positions us to offer robust support across all tax-related challenges, encompassing tax advisory services, transaction tax guidance, tax dispute resolution, and tax litigation support.
Trust & Private Client
We offer a suite of bespoke services geared towards the unique wealth management needs of high-net-worth individuals and families. We are experienced in assisting with trusts and succession planning, family offices, family governance, wills and probate, philanthropy, dispute resolution, immigration and related real estate matters.
Charities, Philanthropy and Non-Profit
We regularly advise on the structuring of charitable organisations, attending to their specific operational and fundraising needs, and advising on general regulatory and compliance issues and available tax exemptions, including advising on applications for charity and institution of public character (“IPC) status.
Related Links
Recognition
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Bands 1 & 2 – Corporate/M&A (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore)Chambers Asia-Pacific (2024)
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Band 2 - General Business Law (Cambodia)Chambers Asia-Pacific (2024)
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Band 1 - General Business Law (Myanmar)Chambers Asia-Pacific (2024)
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Ranked– Corporate/M&A (Thailand, Vietnam)Chambers Asia-Pacific (2024)
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Ranked- Indonesia - Corporate & Finance (International Firms) - Desk AbroadChambers Asia-Pacific (2024)
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Highly Recommended - General Business Law (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar)Asialaw Profiles (2024)
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Outstanding - Corporate and M&A (Indonesia)asialaw (2024)
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Highly Recommended - Corporate and M&A (Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam)asialaw (2024)
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Tiers 1 & 2 - Financial & Corporate (Cambodia, Myanmar)IFLR1000 (2023)
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Tiers 1 & 2 – Corporate/M&A (Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Vietnam)The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2024)
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Ranked - Financial & Corporate (Lao PDR)IFLR1000 (2023)
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"Assegaf Hamzah & Partners have a very good understanding of how to assist us as the client to complete the transaction smoothly, without jeopardising the progress of negotiations."Chambers Global (2024)
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"R&T Sok & Heng help us to find solutions for our business structures."Chambers Global (2024)
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"Gatmaytan Yap Patacsil Gutierrez & Protacio are easy to talk to. They are responsive and well researched."Chambers Global (2024)
(Philippines) -
"The team are proactive and responsive, and provide sound and practical advice. They display a strong understanding of the transaction and can coordinate various workstreams seamlessly."Chambers Asia-Pacific (2024)
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"The team are very committed to handling the work given and are expert in giving advice for complex matters even in a short period of time."Chambers Global (2024)
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"They have a strong local knowledge and network, and a good balance of business and legal savviness."Chambers Global (2024)
The team is proactive and responsive, and provide sound and practical advice. They display a strong understanding of the transaction and can coordinate various workstreams seamlessly."
Our Corporate & Commercial Team
Head, Employment (Corporate)
Partner
Director, Rajah & Tann Myanmar Company Limited
Consultant, Christopher & Lee Ong
Co-Head, Medical, Healthcare & Life Sciences
Partner, Rajah & Tann Singapore
Partner, Christopher & Lee Ong (Malaysia)
Executive Committee Member, Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers (Vietnam)
Foreign Counsel, Assegaf Hamzah & Partners
