Vincent Chan

Practice Areas

• Corporate and M&A

• Capital Markets

• Corporate Finance

• Banking and Finance

• Corporate and Debt Restructuring

• Infrastructure/Project Development and Finance

• Corporate Real Estate

• Private Equity and Venture Capital

• Cross Border Transactions

Career

Vincent Chan is a corporate partner and the managing partner of Abdullah Chan, a corporate law firm situated in the Kuala Lumpur central business and financial district. Vincent graduated from the University of London and completed his Bar exams at the University of Malaya in 1992 and prior to setting up Abdullah Chan, Vincent was a Senior Partner in a leading Malaysian law firm where he headed the Financial Services Practice Group and the Oil & Gas Industry Group.

Vincent is listed in the elite Corporate and Mergers & Acquisitions “Hall of Fame” list in the Asia Pacific Legal 500 guide to outstanding lawyers as well as in Chambers & Partners guide and Asialaw guide as a “leading individual’ in Corporate/M&A. He has also been ranked as a Highly Regarded “leading individual” for Corporate/M&A by IFLR1000 in 2022 and 2023.

Comments included Vincent Chan provides ‘London/New York–quality, top–tier advice’, and is ‘100% client focused’ and Vincent Chan Siew Onn is an acclaimed practitioner, described by clients as having ‘sound and deep technical skills and knowledge’, and is ‘meticulous and hardworking; a big picture person with a natural talent’, ‘thinking outside the box’ and being ‘leagues above other lawyers’, thanks to his ‘focus’, ‘trouble shooting skills’ and ‘pragmatism’, ‘industry knowledge’ and ‘strength in depth”, ‘professional’, ‘dedicated’ and ‘very hands on’ and ‘very responsive and will go out of his way to make sure we get the right advice’.

Vincent’s extensive practice experience includes mergers and acquisitions, takeovers, corporate finance, capital markets, privatisation, private finance initiatives, venture capital and private equity transactions, as well as cross-border joint ventures, investments and financing transactions. He has advised a wide range of top clients including Fortune 500 companies, the largest full service domestic and international investment banks, multinational companies, public listed companies and government linked companies in connection with his areas of expertise.

Professional Memberships

• Malaysian Bar Council

• Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee (KLBC)

• International Bar Association (IBA)

• Asian Legal Business (ALB)

• British Malaysian Chambers of Commerce Berhad (BMCC)

• Malaysian French Chamber of Commerce of Industry Berhad (MFCCI)

• Italy Malaysia Business Association (IMBA)

• Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA)

• Globalaw International Law Group

• Malaysia Aerospace Industry Association (MAIA)

• International Monetary Law Committee of the International Law Association (MOCOMILA)

• Dentons Global Advisors Network

• Kuala Lumpur Business Club

• ALFA International (ALFAI) The Global Legal Network

• Global Leaders Forum

Publications

• Chambers And Partners

• The Legal 500 Asia Pacific (Legal500)

• IFLR1000

• Asialaw Profiles

Personal

Vincent was an ASEAN Scholar and is also a keen yachtsman and the skipper of a racing team that competes regularly with success in a number of international regattas. He has served as the Vice Commodore and also the Legal Adviser of the Royal Selangor Yacht Club for a number of years. Vincent also regularly lectures at seminars and conferences held by Lexis Nexis, Asia Business Forum, CCH Asia and the Malaysian Bar Council. Vincent has also written on various areas of corporate and securities law.

Clients

Vincent’s clients include Fortune 500 companies, the largest full service local and foreign investment banks, multinational companies and public listed companies from a wide range of industries, local and foreign venture capital and private equity firms and Government linked as well as Government owned companies.

Experience

(1) Advised a Malaysian Government Linked fund company on the proposed RM13.4 billion merger between the MIDF group of companies and MBSB Bank Malaysia banking group.

(2) Advising a multinational foreign entity in relation to its proposed purchase of a controlling stake in a Malaysian insurance company, the application to Central Bank of Malaysia for approval and their joint venture/shareholders agreement and other transaction agreements.

(3) Advised two consortiums of multinational companies and a Malaysia conglomerate on their applications for a Digital Banking Licence including on the requirements of the Central Bank of Malaysia policy documents and the application guidelines and their joint venture/shareholders agreements, business plans and other transaction agreements.

(4) Advised two Malaysian Government Linked conglomerates on the proposed RM2.6 billion merger between the MIDF group of companies and Al-Rajhi Bank Malaysia banking group.

(5) Advised Qatar Islamic Bank, Financial Assets Bahrain WLL, RUSD Investment Bank Inc and Tadhamon International Islamic Bank on the RM650 million merger between Asian Finance Bank Berhad and Malaysia Building Society Berhad (IFN Deal of the Year 2018).

(6) Advised Sapura Energy Berhad, Malaysian’s largest oil and gas services company listed on the Malaysian stock exchange, on its US$2.9 billion acquisition of the tender rig business of Seadrill Ltd, one of the largest deep water driller companies in the world listed on the New York and Oslo stock exchanges, to become one of the world’s largest tender rig owners and operators (Asian Legal Business M&A Deal of the Year).

(7) Advised a multinational healthcare company backed by one of Asia’s largest private equity firms on its Malaysian joint ventures with doctors and private equity investors to establish specialized hospitals.

(8) Advised Malaysian Agrifood Corporation Berhad, a subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Berhad on the acquisition of Monoluxury Sdn Bhd, a large glasshouse company involved in the production of fresh salads and herbs, which has been done in collaboration with University Putra Malaysia and marketed under its brand name of Genting Garden and house brands of its large customers.

(9) Advised Aviva PLC on the RM1.8 billion (CAD586 million) disposal of Aviva International Holdings Limited’s equity interests in CIMB Aviva Takaful Berhad and CIMB Aviva Assurance Berhad to Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada.

(10) Advised Khazanah Nasional Berhad on the proposed reorganization and disposal of an equity stake in Asia Capital Reinsurance Malaysia Berhad and Avicennia Capital Sdn Bhd.

(11) Advised MMC Corporation Berhad and Maybank Investment Bank on the RM7.9 Billion Senior Sukuk Programme comprising Islamic Commercial Papers Programme and Medium Term Notes Programme of up to RM600 Million and Islamic Medium Term Notes Programme of up to RM5.6 Billion and Junior Sukuk with an aggregate nominal value of up to RM1.7 Billion by Nucleus Avenue (M) Berhad, a special purpose company wholly owned by MMC Corporation Berhad, to fund the RM9.3 Billion acquisition of Malakoff Berhad (Asian Legal Business Award for 'Asset & Corporate Finance Deal of the Year', 2007).

(12) Advised Genting Plantations Berhad on its cross-border group restructuring of the joint venture with Synthetic Genomics, Inc for the research and development relating to the use of genomics-based techniques to increase the yields from subject plants and the subscription of new redeemable preference shares as further investments by Genting Plantations Berhad.

Industry Sector Expertise

• Financial Institutions

• Aviation & Aerospace

• Energy and Oil & Gas

• Plantations

• Venture Capital and Private Equity

• Healthcare, Medical and Pharmaceutical

• Insurance

• Projects and Infrastructure Development

• Corporate Real Estate

• Manufacturing

• Labuan International Business and Financial Center

• Education

• Defence and Military

• Government Contracts

• Private Finance Initiatives and Privatizations

• Cross Border and Foreign Direct Investments

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Malaysia and South East Asia

Languages Spoken

- English

- Malay

- All Chinese dialects ie. Mandarin, Cantonese and etc.

Work Highlights

Some of the award-winning transactions Vincent has handled include:

• Malaysia’s largest RM15 Billion M&A transaction by an infrastructure multinational company (Asian Counsel Deal of the Year Award, 2006);

• Malaysia’s largest RM9.6 Billion Islamic sukuk issue by Malaysia’s largest independent power producer (Asian Legal Business Award for 'Asset & Corporate Finance Deal of the Year', 2007);

• Malaysia’s largest Islamic sukuk issue by Malaysia’s largest port owner and operator in 2008 (Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad (MARC) ‘Best in Islamic Bond Issue Value’ Award, 2008);

• RM6 Billion takeover of the Road Builder Holdings Berhad group of companies, which was mentioned as one of the Best Deals of the Year for The Edge 2007;

• US$2.9 billion acquisition of Seadrill Limited’s tender rig businesses by Sapura Energy Berhad, Malaysia’s largest oil & gas multinational company (Asian Legal Business M&A Deal of the Year Award, 2013);

• RM650 million bank merger between Asian Finance Bank Berhad and Malaysia Building Society Berhad (IFN Deal of the Year 2018)

Vincent also handled Malaysia’s largest RM1.5 Billion securitisation and asset-backed securities issue in 2008, the Malaysian Government’s first telecommunications private finance initiative in 2007 and the first Malaysian Government initiated Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund, and Genting Energy’s RM3 billion bid for the Prai Power Plant II and RM1.5 billion bid for the Kuala Langat Power Plant extension, and was also Pfizer Inc’s lead Malaysian counsel in many of its large cross-border M&A transactions including its US$15.9 billion worldwide sale of its consumer health business and its US$450 million surgical ophthalmic business. He has also acted as an expert witness for a Queen’s Counsel on securities law in a multi-billion dollar arbitration proceeding in Singapore between several major international investment banks.

Education

Awards