[Webinar] Singapore Insolvency Conference 2021

Tan Meiyen – Partner, Oon & Bazul LLP

Meiyen Tan is the Head of Oon & Bazul LLP’s Restructuring and Insolvency Practice. Her main areas of practice include cross-border disputes, consensual and non-consensual insolvency and restructuring, corporate fraud and investigations. She has acted for and advised individuals, multi-national corporations, court-appointed administrators, distressed and special situations funds and banks in Singapore and abroad. Prior to joining Oon & Bazul, Meiyen was a partner at one of the Big Four domestic law practices in Singapore. She is also the first female to lead a restructuring and insolvency legal practice in Singapore.

Meiyen is the Asia Regional Vice Director Programming and one of the founding members of the Singapore Network of the International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC). Until March 2019, she was the Co-Chairperson of the Singapore Network. She also spearheaded the establishment of IWIRC Malaysia. Meiyen is the Vice President of the Singapore chapter of the Turnaround Management Association, and is also a member of the Committee of the Middle Temple of Singapore and the INSOL International Asian Advisory Council.

Scott Atkins – Chair, Head of Risk Advisory and Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright (Australia)

Scott Atkins is the President of INSOL International and Australian Chair of Norton Rose Fulbright. He is also a Member of the International Insolvency Institute and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law. Scott is recognised as Australia’s only Eminent Practitioner in restructuring and insolvency in the Chambers and Partners 2020 and 2021 Asia-Pacific regional legal rankings. He has industry-leading experience in cross-border insolvency and is recognised for his role in shaping law reform in Australia, Myanmar and other regions in the Asia-Pacific to support stronger rescue and restructuring frameworks and improved cross-border recognition and cooperation under the Model Law and other global and regional frameworks. Scott also continues to drive INSOL International’s work with its members and partner organisations across the world to advocate for insolvency and restructuring law reform, policy development and capacity building initiatives globally as key pillars of economic and financial stability, including through more efficient cross-border engagement and dispute resolution mechanisms such as mediation and arbitration.  

Khoo Kay Kwan – Head of Listing, Regulation of Bursa Malaysia (Malaysia)

Mr Khoo Kay Kwan is the Head of Listing, Regulation of Bursa Malaysia, which undertakes front-line regulatory functions. With more than 12 years of experience in the Exchange, he oversees matters relating to primary and secondary listings, reverse takeovers, restructuring, and regulatory compliance of listed issuers to the listing requirements in support of high standards of corporate governance and transparency.

Prior to joining the Exchange, he was an investment banker at CIMB Investment Bank, one of the largest Asia Pacific-based investment bank for 10 years under the Corporate Finance Division. He was also a practicing advocate and solicitor at Messrs. Zaid Ibrahim & Co, a leading law firm and one of the largest in Malaysia.

Mr Khoo holds an LLB (Hons) from the University of Wales, UK. He read his bar at Lincoln’s Inn and was admitted as a Barrister-at-Law. He is also called to the High Court of Malaya. In addition, he is a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) charterholder and holds a Master in Business Administration from the University of Hull, UK majoring in Finance.

Tan Boon Gin – Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Exchange Regulation Pte Ltd

Mr Tan Boon Gin joined SGX as Chief Regulatory Officer on 15 June 2015. He now heads Singapore Exchange Regulation, an independent regulatory subsidiary of SGX, which undertakes all front-line regulatory functions to promote a fair, orderly and transparent market.

Before joining SGX, Mr Tan was the Director of the Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force. Prior to this, Mr Tan held several appointments at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) including Director of the Enforcement Division, Director of the Corporate Finance Division and Executive Director of the Investment Intermediaries Department. Mr Tan was seconded to MAS after serving as a District Judge at Singapore’s Subordinate Courts.

Mr Tan’s earlier roles include serving as a Justices’ Law Clerk at Singapore’s Supreme Court and a Deputy Public Prosecutor at the Attorney General’s Chamber, where he specialised in corruption and white collar crime, before leaving to practise at Messrs Sullivan & Cromwell in New York. He is a member of the Singapore Institute of Directors Council and serves on the Board of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and SATA CommHealth.

Mr Tan is an advocate and solicitor and holds degrees from the University of Cambridge and Harvard Law School. Mr Tan was awarded the Public Administration (Silver) Medal in 2010.

Tan Boon Heng – Official Assignee & Public Trustee, Ministry of Law

Tan Boon Heng was appointed as the Official Assignee, Official Receiver, Public Trustee, Registrar of Moneylenders and Registrar of Pawnbrokers on 1 April 2018.  Prior to his current appointment, he was a District Judge of the State Courts of Singapore and also the Executive Director of the Singapore Judicial College.       

Besides his official duties, Boon Heng teaches Law of Evidence, Civil Procedure and Medical Law & Health Policy at the School of Law of the Singapore Management University.  

He graduated with a LL.B. (Hons) from the National University of Singapore in 1993 and LL.M from the University of California at Berkeley in 2003. 

Eddee Ng – Joint Managing Partner, Tan Kok Quan Partnership

Eddee is TKQP’s Joint Managing Partner.  He also helms the Insolvency, Restructuring and Investigations practice and has acted on a wide range of matters spanning various industries.  In addition, Eddee is a member of The Law Society of Singapore’s Insolvency Committee.

Praised by clients as “impressive and clearly knows his way around the Singapore courts” and “a real asset who pushes the boundaries”, Eddee is ranked in leading independent legal directories and has won numerous accolades in recognition for his expertise.  Eddee also has a specialty in corporate and commercial litigation work.

Eddee’s recent experience includes advising on the high profile restructuring of the Hyflux Group, and advising the Court appointed receivers and managers of companies affiliated with/related to a Russian oligarch on securing assets in Singapore, Cyprus, Belize and BVI pursuant to a receivership order made in Singapore.

Jocelyn Chng – Group CEO, JR Group Holdings; Managing Director, Sin Hwa Dee Food Stuff industries Pte Ltd

Jocelyn Chng, Group CEO of JR Group Holdings, has over 30 years of experience in food manufacturing and food service industries. She began her career at one of her companies - Sin Hwa Dee, which after eight years under her leadership grew from a small local business into a global food brand sold in over 40 cities today.

With product innovation and quality eating being the company’s focus, Chng Kee’s Chicken Rice Mix was the first ever of its kind in the retail market and is made with soy oil instead of chicken fat, making Chicken Rice enjoyable by consumers of varied dietary requirements or restrictions.

In 2001, after much research and development and with resilience, Jocelyn started and led JR Foods in pioneering a wide range of ready-to-eat meals which helps food services and businesses serve up quality meals while reducing costs, increasing revenues, and gaining productivity with less resources. Now, its customers include renowned restaurants, hotels, hospitals, nursing homes and many more.

In 2008, under her leadership, JR Foods created Chef-In-Box, the very first hot food vending machine in Singapore. Working to convince and educate stakeholders on the merits of the revolutionary concept was not easy but proved to be successful.

Jocelyn, known to be a first-mover and industry innovator, kept innovating. Her most recent offering from JR Group — the world’s first fully-automated and unmanned vending machine cafe, the Chef-In-Box Vendcafé, which was launched in 2016 — has garnered much international attention. Since the launch, more than a dozen Vendcafé outlets have opened in Singapore.

As a passionate advocate for food manufacturing and vending ready-to-eat meals, Jocelyn was appointed co-convener of the TR57 Working Group of the Singapore Standards Council, to introduce guidelines on food safety and good hygiene practices for the food vending industry.

For her achievements through the decades, she has received numerous entrepreneurial, business and innovation awards, including EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ Asia-Pacific, 2018, Great Women of Our Time, 2017 (Finance & Commerce Sector), and NUS Eminent Alumni Award, 2016.

Victor Loke – Singapore Chapter Lead, The Open Leadership Network / Agile Singapore

Victor is an Enterprise Agility consultant and Executive Coach with deep experience in organisational change management and enterprise agility. A technologist with over a decade of experience leading change, he is passionate in helping individuals and organisations achieve success through real business agility.

He was recently Head of Agile Practice at Sertis, a leading big data and AI consultancy firm based in Bangkok, Thailand and Singapore. Prior to joining Sertis, he founded NodeSeer, a data analytics startup spun off from his research group at the National University of Singapore; while at NUS, he was Project Leader at the institute's space programme. Notably, he steered the successful development, launch and operations of the 80kg-class “Kent Ridge 1” microsatellite - the institute's first spacecraft to be built in-house. Before NUS, he was with Barclays and Xilinx in various project management and engineering roles.

Victor has a penchant for software craftsmanship, which he continues to hone today. He is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC^TM) with the International Coach Federation; Certified Scrum Professional® with Scrum Alliance; Certified Scrum@Scale and LeSS Practitioner; PMI Project Management Professional (PMP®) and Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP®), amongst many others. He is an active community leader with Agile Singapore and The Open Leadership Network, most recently serving as conference chair to the inaugural Regional Scrum Gathering^SM Singapore 2021 conference.

Eric Tham - Managing Director, Head (Group Commercial Banking), United Overseas Bank Limited

Eric has more than 40 years of banking experience with SMEs and is now helming UOB’s SMEs business in Singapore and the Region.

Eric is always looking out for innovative ways to do business. He has built many firsts. Firstly, the establishment of a dedicated GIobal Business Development Unit in 2004 to help Singapore companies take advantage of regional opportunities. This is complemented by the set-up of the first Foreign Direct Investment Advisory in 2011, which enables overseas companies to use Singapore as a springboard to their regional ambitions. Eric was instrumental in the set-up of UOB-SMU Asian Enterprise Institute in 2012 - Asia’s first institute to help local SMEs grow and expand their business in Asia. He achieved yet another first with the setup of Innoven Capital, a joint venture with Temasek, to conduct venture debt lending to hi tech startups in the region.

With an illustrious banking career and contributions to the banking arena, Eric has been conferred the title “Distinguished Financial Industry Certified Practitioner” (FICP) by The Institute of Banking & Finance since 2010. He is also a Fellow Chartered Accountant of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA).

Kurt Wee – President, Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME); SBF Chairman, SBF Small and Medium Enterprise Committee; Private Equity Investment Manager

Kurt has a career spanning the last 22 years in the investment and private equity industry. He is invested in medical and biotechnology fields of stem cells research and commercialisation. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Celligenics Pte Ltd.

Kurt has served as a business representative for SMEs for 20 years. He is the President of the Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (ASME) and a council member of the Singapore Business Federation where is also chairs the SBF SME Committee.

Kurt also serves on the executive council of Singapore Children’s Society, board of governors of SymAsia Foundation, and committees in various government ministries and academic institutions.

Kurt was appointed as a Justice of The Peace by the President of the Republic of Singapore in April 2018.

The Honourable Justice Aedit Abdullah – Supreme Court of Singapore

Justice Aedit Abdullah was appointed Judicial Commissioner in 2014 and High Court Judge on 30 September 2017.

Justice Abdullah obtained a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1994, as well as a Bachelor of Civil Law (First Class) from the University of Oxford in 1998 and a Master in Public Management from NUS in 2007.

He joined the Singapore Legal Service in 1995 and began his career as a Justices’ Law Clerk. He then taught at the Faculty of Law, NUS, before re-joining the Singapore Legal Service. He has held various appointments, such as Deputy Public Prosecutor, Deputy Senior State Counsel and District Judge of the Subordinate Courts (renamed as State Courts in 2014). He was appointed Chief Prosecutor (Economic Crimes and Governance Division), and subsequently Chief Prosecutor (Criminal Justice Division) at the Attorney-General’s Chambers in 2011 and served as special counsel at the Monetary Authority of Singapore from January 2008 to June 2009. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 2012.

He is the Judge in charge of Transformation and Innovation in the Judiciary, and is also Chair of the Technology Cluster of the Singapore Academy of Law.

The Honourable Mr. Justice Jonathan Harris - Court of First Instance of the High Court (Hong Kong)

Jonathan Harris became a judge of the High Court of Hong Kong on 1 December 2009 and shortly thereafter was appointed the Judge in charge of the Companies and Insolvency Court. Judge Harris currently divides his time primarily between cross-border insolvency and restructuring matters concerning Mainland Chinese businesses and the Presidency of Hong Kong’s Competition Tribunal.

Judge Harris moved to Hong Kong in 1983 as a trainee solicitor. He remained in Hong Kong on qualification and practiced as a solicitor for 10 years advising clients on various types of commercial issues in Hong Kong, Mainland China and other jurisdictions in Asia. He was a partner in what is now King Wood Mallesons prior to joining the Bar in 1993.

Judge Harris was appointed Senior Counsel in 2006. Prior to joining the Judiciary his principal areas of practice involved insolvency, company regulation and securities. He is an active member of the International Insolvency Institute and INSOL and is a member of INSOL's International College of Mediators. He has a particular interest in cross-border insolvency and restructuring issues.  He was one of the attendees at the inaugural conference of the Judicial Insolvency Network which lead to the production of “JIN Guidelines” and is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Asian Business Law Institute’s project “Asian Principles of Restructuring”.

He is also a member of the Judicial Committee of the Academy of Experts in England, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators and a CEDR accredited mediator.

The Honourable Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul - Supreme Court of India (India)

Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul was born on December 26, 1958. He studied in Modern School, New Delhi from 1964 to 1976 completing his school education in Science & Economics.  He Graduated in Economics (Hons.) from St. Stephens College, Delhi University in 1979.

Justice Kaul obtained his LL.B. Degree from The Campus Law Centre, Delhi University in 1982 and enrolled as an Advocate with Bar Council of Delhi on July 15, 1982. He practiced mainly in the Commercial, Civil, Writ, Original and Company jurisdictions of the High Court of Delhi and the Supreme Court of India.

Justice Kaul remained Advocate-on-Record of the Supreme Court of India from 1987 to 1999 and was designated as a Senior Advocate in December, 1999.

Justice Kaul was elevated as Additional Judge of the High Court of Delhi on May 03, 2001 and was appointed as a permanent Judge on May 02, 2003.

Justice Kaul was elevated as the Acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court w.e.f. 23.09.2012 to 25.09.2012.

Justice Kaul was elevated as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court w.e.f. 01.06.2013.

Justice Kaul assumed charge as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court on 26.07.2014.

Justice Kaul was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India on 17.02.2017.

On setting up of the Indian Chapter of INSOL International, while practicing as an advocate, Justice Kaul was appointed the first treasurer of INSOL India.  Thereafter, he held the post of Vice President and then the President of INSOL India.  He has been participating in insolvency conferences in India and abroad organized by INSOL India and INSOL International respectively and chaired many a Sessions. 

Justice Kaul is deeply interested in theatre, music and golf.

The Honourable Judicial Commissioner Ong Chee Kwan – High Court of Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

Ong Chee Kwan JC was appointed as Judicial Commissioner of the High Court of Malaya in May 2019. Prior to his elevation, he was the Joint Managing Partner of Messrs Christopher & Lee Ong (“CLO”). The firm, formed in 2013, was a merger of 3 firms - Messrs Lee Ong & Kandiah, Messrs Christopher Lee & Partners and Messrs Kamilah & Chong. CLO is a member of the Rajah & Tann Asia network of law firms. Ong Chee Kwan JC graduated from the National University of Singapore (“NUS”) with Honours in 1988. He obtained his Masters of Law from NUS in 1992 before returning to Malaysia. He worked in Messrs Drew & Napier, Singapore from 1988 to 1992. He had over 30 years of experience in commercial and shipping litigation practice and had acted as an arbitrator in arbitration proceedings in Malaysia and Singapore.

The Honourable Chief Judge Ye Bingkun - Xiamen Bankruptcy Court (China)

Senior Judge Ye was called to the bench in 1999. Having been dealing with bankruptcy issues for near two decades, His Honour is generally reputed as one of the most leading bankruptcy judges in China, esp. on Corporate Rescue and Cross-border Insolvency. For the excellence in his judicial career, S.J Ye is titled the National Outstanding Judge 2010, the National Judicial Expert 2011, and the National Exemplary Judge 2016.    

Now His Honour sits as the Chief Judge of the Xiamen Bankruptcy Court, the first and only Bankruptcy Court in Fujian Province, and also a member of the Judge and Procurator Selecting Committee of Fujian Province, the Judicial Committee of the Xiamen Intermediate People's Court, the III and INSOL; Research Fellow in China University of Politics & Law and Renmin University.

As the only delegate from local courts, S.J. Ye has participated in all the process of the drafting and negotiation on Judicial Cooperation on Cross-border Insolvency between Mainland and Hong Kong S.A.R., China.

Sim Kwan Kiat – Co-chair (Conference Organising Committee); Head of Restructuring & Insolvency Practice, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP

Kwan Kiat is a partner at Rajah & Tann Singapore and heads the restructuring and insolvency practice group, the largest dedicated practice in this area in Singapore.

His practice comprises disputes and advisory work, advising lenders and accounting firms in both domestic and cross-border disputes, and he has acted in various banking disputes, liquidations, receiverships and debt restructuring of local and foreign companies.

Kwan Kiat is consistently recognised as a market leading practitioner for his expertise by international legal directories and publications. He is an Associate Mediator on the Insolvency Panel of the Singapore Mediation Centre.

Darius Tay – Co-chair (Conference Organising Committee); Director, BlackOak LLC

One of the founders of BlackOak, Darius’ work focuses on special situations, including both contentious and non-contentious aspects of corporate restructuring and insolvency (“CRI”), banking and finance as well as mergers and acquisitions for special situations.

Darius actively participates in various professional bodies. He is a member of the International Insolvency Institute Next Gen program, one of the founding chair persons of the Young Insolvency Practitioner Committee of the Insolvency Practitioner Association of Singapore and helped set up the Turnaround Management Association Next Gen chapter in Singapore.

Darius is deeply interested in the development and reform of Singapore law. He was appointed to the Singapore Supreme Court’s Young Amicus Curiae Scheme in 2014. He acted as amicus curiae in the only reported Singapore judgment on the issue of testamentary capacity regarding the disposal of one’s Central Provident Fund (Singapore’s national retirement savings plan) monies and was also part of the Insolvency Practitioners Association of Singapore’s working committee on their amicus brief in Kao Chai Chau Linda v Fong Wai Lyn Carolyn and Others [2016] 1 SLR 21, a landmark Singapore decision on insolvency practitioners’ remuneration.

Darius is a recognised rising star of the local CRI scene and he has been ranked in leading publications such as Chambers Asia Pacific, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific and IFLR 1000.