Sui Tong Chua

Practice Areas

Sui Tong has a broad ranging commercial litigation, insolvency and restructuring practice. He has advised and acted for banks, insurers, private equity funds, global conglomerates, property developers, hotel owners and insolvency practitioners. He has been lead counsel in proceedings at all levels of the Singapore courts and in domestic and international arbitrations (both ad hoc and under institutional rules).

Career

2017 - present. Managing Director, REV Law LLC

2006 – 2016 Partner, WongPartnership LLP

2004 – 2005 Senior Associate, WongPartnership LLP

2000 – 2004 Associate, Shook Lin & Bok LLP

1999 – 2000 Associate, Harry Elias Partnership

Professional Memberships

Admissions:

English Bar, Middle Temple (1998)

Singapore Bar (1999)

Roll of Solicitors of England & Wales (2002)

Professional memberships:

Insolvency Practitioners Association of Singapore (Fellow)

Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Fellow)

INSOL (Member)

Singapore International Mediation Institute (Accredited mediator)

Teaching positions:

Adjunct faculty member at the Singapore Management University (trial procedure and practice) (2014-2016)

Tutor at the Preparatory Course leading to Part B of the Singapore Bar Examinations run by the Singapore Institute of Legal Education (2007-2016)

Publications

Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law Vol. 30 – No. 5

IFLR Cross-Border Financing Report 2014 - Singapore Chapter

IFLR Cross-Border Financing Report 2013 - Singapore Chapter

LexisNexis Singapore, Annotated Laws of Singapore, Choice of Court Agreements Act 2016

Work Highlights

RESTRUCTURING & INSOLVENCY

• The Chinese Chief Executive Officer of a Singapore-listed property trust (which owns substantial real estate assets in the People’s Republic of China) in its debt restructuring process.

• The Chinese founder and majority shareholder of Tendcare Medical Group Holdings Pte Ltd (which owned substantial medical assets in the People’s Republic of China) in respect of various court proceedings commenced by the judicial manager.

• Point72 Ventures Investments LLC – a US-based hedge fund – in its successful application to place Finlync Pte Ltd (a global fintech company providing banking application interfaces) under judicial management (Point72 Ventures Investments LLC v FinLync Pte Ltd [2023] SGHC 122).

• Ausgroup Limited – a Singapore listed integrated service solutions group with operating subsidiaries in Australia and Thailand – to place itself under interim judicial management and judicial management.

• The Sritex Group – one of Southeast Asia’s largest vertically integrated textile manufacturers – in connection with the restructuring of debts in excess of USD 1.4 billion.

• Design Studio Group Ltd – a Singapore listed construction group - in connection with the restructuring of debts in excess of S$40 million. Successfully obtained Singapore court approval of a US$62 m rescue financing package which incorporated a ‘roll up’ of a bank lender’s pre-existing debt. This is the first successful rescue financing application in Singapore involving a roll-up feature (Design Studio Group Ltd & 5 others [2020] SGHC 148).

ARBITRATION

• A Singapore company in an international arbitration under SIAC Rules in respect of disputes under a failed Indian law governed joint venture between Japanese and Indian logistics congloimerates. Sui Tong was lead counsel in the arbitration.

• A Thai company in an international arbitration under SIAC Rules against a substantial Chinese corporate counterparty for damages arising from the breach of a Thai law governed vehicle manufacturing contract. Sui Tong was lead counsel in the arbitration.

• The Chinese buyers of a cargo of coal in an international arbitration under SIAC Rules against a South Korean counterparty. The underlying contract was governed by English law. Sui Tong was lead counsel in the arbitration.

• A software company in a domestic Singapore arbitration under SIAC Rules against an Indian insurance company for damages arising from the repudiatory breach of a software supply and installation contract. Sui Tong was lead counsel in the arbitration.

• The owners of a resort in the Republic of Maldives in an international arbitration under ICC Rules commenced by a global hotel management company for substantial damages arising from the termination of an agreement governed by English law. Sui Tong was part of a team led by Senior Counsel in the arbitration. He also advised the owners in related Maldivian court proceedings.

• An event management company in an international arbitration under UNCITRAL Rules involving the organisation of an international football event in South East Asia. The contract in question was governed by German law. Sui Tong was lead counsel in the arbitration.

• The owners of a luxury boutique hotel in Bali in international arbitrations under SIAC Rules against an international hotel management company involving the termination of the management agreement (governed by Indonesian law). Sui Tong was lead counsel in the arbitrations.

• The owner of a hotel in Phuket, Thailand in an international arbitration under SIAC Rules against a U.S. hotel management company involving the termination of the hotel management agreement (governed by Singapore law). Sui Tong was lead counsel in the arbitration.

COMMERCIAL LITIGATION

• Mongolian state agencies in claims against a former prime minister of Mongolia for wrongful schemes in respect of state owned mining resources (Agency for Policy Coordination on State Property of Mongolia & Ors [2021] SGHC 50 and [2021] SGHC 91). Sui Tong was lead counsel in the Singapore High Court proceedings where urgent freezing injunctions were obtained against multiple parties as part of a globally co-ordinated litigation.

• The CEO and majority shareholder of HC Surgical Specialists Ltd in successfully resisting an application by a minority shareholder for permission to bring a derivative action on behalf of the company against him. The minority’s appeal to the Court of Appeal was also dismissed. The court found that the application was motivated by vendetta on the minority shareholder’s part and therefore made in bad faith (Serene Tiong Sze Min [2020] SGHC 201).

• The Wellness Group Pte Ltd in successfully resisting claims by its former Chief Operating Officer in connection with the termination of his employment (Law Beng Chong Gary v The Wellness Group Pte Ltd [2017] SGHC 254).

• Motorola Solutions Credit Company LLC in its successful efforts to enforce US$2.65 billion U.S. Court judgments in Singapore against members of a prominent Turkish family. Sui Tong was lead counsel in the Singapore High Court proceedings (Motorola Solutions Credit Co LLC v Kemal Uzan & Ors [2015] SGHC 228) where urgent injunctions were obtained to freeze Singapore-based assets and court receivers were appointed over those assets.

• M+W Singapore Pte Ltd in its successful claims against former directors of Jurong Data Centre Development Pte Ltd for dishonest assistance of breach of trust and inducing breach of contract. Sui Tong was lead counsel in both the Singapore High Court trial (M+W Singapore Pte Ltd v Leow Tet Sin & Anor [2015] SGHC 10) and the subsequent appeal to the Court of Appeal.

Education

Languages Spoken

English

Conversational Mandarin