Serene Kan

Serene’s portfolio of work covers technology and media transactions, technology and licensing agreements, artificial intelligence (AI), data privacy and protection, cyber security, internet regulatory issues, information technology, e-payments and e-commerce matters, across wide and diverse range of industries.

She also advises and assists clients on a full spectrum of regulatory issues involving entities within the technology and telecommunications space, as well as the financial services industry. Her practice is complemented by her commercial contracting experience across a broad range of areas, including outsourcing, distribution arrangements, O&M, and build-to-suit agreements.

Additionally, Serene has extensive experience advising multinational corporations and financial institutions on data protection issues. She frequently advises on complex, high value technology and data driven matters, with a particular focus on developing internal policies and procedures, managing their data protection compliance programmes, conducting data protection training programmes, developing data breach management plans, and handling data breaches and cybersecurity issues arising from technology transactions and digital transformation initiatives.

Serene is an IAPP Certified International Privacy Professional (CIPP (E)) and currently serves as a member of the Personal Data Protection Committee of the Malaysian Bar Council. She has also previously served as a member of the Technology, Cyber and Privacy Laws Committee of the Malaysian Bar Council.

She is ranked Band 3 for TMT by Chambers Asia Pacific, with clients highlighting her "ability to think on her feet when dealing with issues". In a Chambers Asia Pacific interview, a client commended Serene as "dependable, accessible and maintains clear lines of communication, ensuring we are kept well-informed". She is also named a Next Generation Partner by Legal 500 Asia Pacific in its guide.

• Advising global technology companies and platform operators on among others, roll-out of e-commerce capabilities, their cross-border data privacy rights, platform liability and regulatory licensing requirements.
• Acted as lead counsel for an American multinational technology company in relation to the multi-jurisdictional advice on the release of its web-based AI chatbot across five Southeast Asia countries, namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines.
• Assisted a leading technology company in search engine in preparing a major AI risk legal report assessing Malaysian laws on privacy, misinformation, copyright and consumer protection, to serve as a reference for shaping national discussions given that Malaysia’s AI regulatory framework is still at a nascent stage.
• Advising a national electricity utility and power infrastructure group on new PDPA cross border transfer rules introduced in Malaysia for data flows across Australia, Japan, Singapore, Turkey, and the US, assessing equivalency of destination jurisdictions and preparing a transfer impact assessment framework.
• Advised a multinational construction engineering and formwork solutions company on its response to a ransomware incident involving unauthorised access to employee personal data, marking our firm’s first data breach engagement under Malaysia’s amended Personal Data Protection Act 2010 following the introduction of mandatory breach notification requirements in June 2025. Our work included managing breach assessment, notification, regulator engagement and forensic coordination.
• Advised a leading Chinese internet technology company on market entry issues for its new product, a website similar to ChatGPT/GPT-4, which can be used by end users, personnel, companies, and government authorities/agencies. Our advice covered licensing requirements to operate the product, using an offshore entity for its operation, domain name requirements, and prohibitions and restrictions on allowing personnel of companies and government authorities/agencies to access and use the product.
• Advised a leading national energy and retail fuel provider on the legal, regulatory, and commercial aspects of its participation in a government-led targeted fuel subsidy programme. The engagement involved the structuring and negotiation of complex technology, data-sharing, and implementation arrangements supporting subsidy eligibility verification, as well as advice on data governance, privacy, digital platform operations, payments regulation, intellectual property, and risk allocation. The matter was notable for its first-of-its-kind integration of public-sector policy objectives with private-sector digital infrastructure, at the intersection of fintech, data governance, and government technology initiatives.
• Assisted a leading financial institution in a major technology outsourcing deal with a global technology service provider, including reviewing and advising on the contractual documents. Our work involved assessing compliance with the specific regulatory requirements of the Central Bank of Malaysia and providing strategic guidance to the client during negotiations with the service provider.
• Advised a leading global online gaming and digital entertainment platform on content governance, online safety risks, and regulatory engagement following a high-profile child safety incident, helping navigate heightened regulatory scrutiny and mitigate the risk of potential enforcement action under the Online Safety Act 2025 (ONSA).
• Advised AIA Group Limited in relation to the USD 1.8 billion acquisition of ING Group N.V's Malaysian insurance and takaful business and on the merger between AIA Malaysia’s and ING Malaysia’s life insurance and takaful businesses under Part XI of the Insurance Act. The acquisition resulted in the merger of ING’s Malaysian life insurance operations and AIA’s existing Malaysian life insurance business, currently the third and the fourth largest in Malaysia respectively, to create the largest life insurance firm in the country. This transaction was awarded “SE Asia M&A Deal of the Year 2013” by ALB in May 2013. The work included advice on insurance regulatory issues.

• Next Generation Partner by Legal 500 Asia Pacific
• Ranked Band 3 for TMT by Chambers Asia Pacific

• Malaysian Bar
• Kuala Lumpur Bar