Ai Ai Wong has been practicing law in Singapore for over 20 years. She has been recognized by PLC Which lawyer? in both the corporate/M&A and private equity/venture capital categories as a "highly visible, deal focused lawyer," who leads a team that Chambers Asia describes as "fantastic in difficult negotiations - they really manage to keep a very good temperament when resolving deadlocks."

Practice Focus

Mrs. Wong is well-known in the region as an extremely capable and effective lawyer who can handle large scale deals adeptly, as evidenced by two 2010 and 2012 deals in particular: the restructuring of Jaya Holdings, the largest restructuring in Singapore following the global financial crisis, and Al-Futtaim's investment into RSH Limited, a corporation whose operations span nine countries. Mrs. Wong advises many multinational corporations, venture capitalists/private equity houses and financial institutions on their corporate legal requirements, capital raisings, and on their acquisitions and divestments of businesses.

Representative Legal Matters

• Advised Kirin Holdings in the USD10.5 billion voluntary takeover offer by OUE Baytown Pte Ltd for Fraser and Neave Ltd, a leading real estate and food and beverage conglomerate in Singapore and Malaysia and Kirin Holdings’ USD2 billion offer for the food and beverage business of Fraser and Neave Ltd.
• Advised Al-Futtaim Group in respect of its acquisition of a strategic interest in RSH Limited. The RSH Group retails and distributes over 50 international brands in nine countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Australia. She also advised Al-Futtaim Group in connection with its voluntary general offer for Singapore-listed Robinson and Company Limited and subsequent privatization of the company at more than SGD600 million.
• Advised LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton in the voluntary takeover offer and privatisation of Heng Long International Ltd, a crocodilian skin tannery listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.
• Advised Singapore subsidiaries of Grandline International on the acquisitions of the ibis hotels on Bencoolen and Novena, Singapore.
• Advised YTL Corporation Berhad in relation to its acquisition from Macquarie Bank Limited of approximately 26 percent of the units in Macquarie Prime Real Estate Investment Trust (MP-REIT), a real estate investment trust listed on the main board of the SGX-ST, and 50 percent of issued shares in a holding company which is the 100 percent shareholder of the manager and property manager of MP-REIT, for a total sum of SGD285 million.

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Law Society of Singapore
• Singapore Academy of Law
• Singapore Venture Capital & Private Equity Association
• Grey's Inn, England - Barrister
• New York State Bar Association

Admission

Singapore (1989)
New York~United States (1988)
England & Wales~United Kingdom (1986)

Education

Harvard University  (LL.M.) (1987)
University of Kent at Canterbury  (B.A. Honors) (1985)