Louise Tan

About Louise

Louise worked as an Assistant Official Assignee, Assistant Official Receiver and Assistant Public Trustee with the Legal Service in 1979 – 1981 and as a Legal Assistant with Lee & Lee in 1981 – 1986.

In 1986, she joined another major law firm where she was a senior partner in the Banking, Finance and Property Department.

Louise returned to Lee & Lee in November 2005 and heads the Banking and Finance Department.

She has more than 40 years of legal experience.

Chambers and Partners, an independent legal research company, has reported Louise’s clients comments as follows:-

• “Louise Tan can always be counted upon to take care of her client's interests. She is also very commercial in her approach.”

• “Louise is very attentive and careful with her work. She is very good at providing us with suitable solutions to move things forward.”

• "She listens to our needs and is quick to provide practical legal advice."

• "An extremely experienced banking lawyer who keeps in touch with new banking rules, is aware of banking legal norms, and is able to provide sound advice to her clients."

• “She is very dedicated and on the ball, and always puts our interest first”.

• She “always in the picture and doesn’t delegate down to staff” and as someone who “sees the bigger picture” and has a “personal touch” with clients.

• She “is very commercial and able to advise on lots of issues, and is very up to date on the law affecting our sector.”

• She is a “very experienced banking lawyer with an eye for detail and an understanding of our commercial needs.”

Case Highlights

• Acted for the borrower, guarantors and subordinated creditors in the grant of syndicated facilities amounting to S$931,573,000 through conventional and Islamic financing for the en-bloc purchase of a 99-year leasehold condominium development comprising 446 strata sub-divided units by a joint venture company with multiple shareholders (the “Borrower”). Both the conventional and Islamic facilities are jointly secured by a suite of securities, We completed the matter in less than one month.

• Acted for two local banks and a foreign bank in three separate transactions for an aggregate amount of SGD350 million in relation to the partial financing of an acquisition of a commercial property by a subsidiary of a REIT in Singapore with three separate guarantees to be provided by the REIT to the respective banks.

• Advised a syndicate of banks in the real estate aspects in relation to GMR Energy’s flagship 800 MW combined cycle project at Jurong Island, Singapore.  The financing package comprised of SGD670 million of a term loan facility and a USD 270 million credit and working capital facility.

• Acted for a prominent developer in Singapore in the refinancing of a development in Singapore by a local Bank for facilities of up to SGD240 million.. 

• Acted for two separate Japanese Banks in relation to the provision of two separate sets of facilities, involving term loan facilities and revolving credit facilities of up to an aggregate of USD300 million each, with two related borrowers in the maritime industry with one of the borrowers incorporated in Hong Kong.

• Acted for the original mandated lead arrangers with respect to the securities for the facilities amounting to SGD4.2 billion to Resorts World at Sentosa Pte. Ltd. for the development of Singapore’s second Integrated Resort.

• Acted for a local Bank in relation to the provision of a term loan facility of up to SGD 175 million to a REIT for the financing of a commercial property in downtown Singapore. The term loan facility is secured by a mortgage over the commercial property and other related assets. Our work included structuring the transaction to facilitate the early drawdown of the facilities as requested by the REIT.

• Acted for a US incorporated hard disk manufacturer, with Singapore-incorporated subsidiaries in relation to the provision of first-lien securities over assets in Singapore pursuant to (i) a credit agreement for facilities of up to USD350 million with a group of international banks and (ii) an intercreditor agreement, such securities to be higher in priority to the existing second-lien securities over the same assets provided to secure existing notes issued by one of the security providers.

• Acted for a French bank in the provision of a term loan facility in Euro to a REIT for the financing of a service residence in Singapore. The term loan facility is secured by a mortgage over the service residence and other related assets.

• Acted for a Japanese company in relation to the provision of a share charge over the shares of a listed company in Singapore pursuant to a deed of settlement between the Japanese company and an individual based in Singapore.

• Acted for the manager and the trustee of a REIT in relation to the provision by a local bank of a multicurrency revolving credit facility, secured by a share charge over two Singapore companies holding Indonesian properties indirectly.

• Acted for a Malaysian Bank in relation to the securities provided by a security provider, being the holding company of a group of companies based in various Southeast Asian countries, with the borrower being part of the group. Our work included liaising with a Malaysian counsel in extensively advising the Bank on the form of securities to be provided, drafting the necessary security documents and advising the Bank in relation to the security taken over the shares of a Singapore-incorporated joint venture company.

• Acted for a major local bank to finance the general corporate funding requirements of an Indonesia-incorporated Borrower. This transaction involved reviewing the facility agreement in respect of a term loan and a revolving credit facility.  Our work also included liaising with an Indonesian counsel and an English counsel.

• Acted for an English bank in a structured finance transaction which involved a Luxembourg borrower and a forward purchase agreement. The facility is a revolving credit facility of up to GBP135 million. Our work included structuring and coordinating with foreign counsels from the respective jurisdictions.

• Acted for a set of banks in separate transactions in connection with the borrowings by a REIT of facilities in aggregate of up to SGD 350 million for its working capital purposes and, to fund its acquisition of an investment vehicle, which owns a commercial building in the central business district of Singapore.

• Acted for a developer in relation to the secured refinancing of up to SGD 200 million in relation to the financing of a mixed development project comprising of a residential component, a retail and commercial component, and a hotel component, with 3 separate Management Corporations to be constituted (which Management Corporations are to run the maintenance and upkeep of the residential component, the retail and commercial component and the hotel component) with  securities provided to the lender including a mortgage in favour of the lender to be registered after the numerous caveats lodged by the purchasers and ensured that the developer was able to proceed smoothly with all facets of the development including the running of the hotel and the other operations of the developer.

• Acted for a Japanese creditor in relation to moneys owed to that Japanese creditor by a major shareholder of a company listed on the Singapore stock exchange. The creditor and the major shareholder entered into a deed of settlement and our work included advising the creditor on the type of security to be taken pursuant to the deed of settlement. Also assisted the creditor in taking a security over listed shares owned by the major shareholder and acted for the creditor in the enforcement of that security over the listed shares owned by the majority shareholder including the sale of the shares in that listed company.

• Acted as Singapore counsel to the Singapore branch of a French bank, a local bank and a Hong Kong-incorporated bank, in banking facilities granted to a borrower. Prepared, negotiated and finalised a mortgage over a property in Singapore leased by the mortgagor from the Jurong Town Corporation, within the tight timeline of 16 working days.

• Acted for the Notes Trustee and Notes Security Trustee in relation to a SGD1 billion Secured Multicurrency Medium Term Note Programme, in the redemption of all Series 001 Notes amounting to a principal amount of SGD400 million and the amendment and/or refreshment of the existing Notes Trust Deed and 7 Notes security documents to follow the terms of a new SGD1.2 billion green loan (“Green Loan”) granted to the Issuer by a syndicate of lenders. The Issuer, a joint venture between subsidiaries of a Singapore-listed developer and Malaysian-listed developer respectively, secured the Green Loan for, inter alia, redeeming the Series 001 Notes and financing its hotel, office and retail properties in the prime central district of Singapore. In addition, appointed and instructed Malaysian counsel and Cayman Islands counsel for the issuance of legal opinions in respect of the Obligors entering into the Notes Security Documents which are Malaysian and/or Cayman Islands listed companies, within the very short timeframe of 5 weeks.

• Acted for the Lenders while another team in the firm acted for the Borrower (a joint venture company with 3 joint venture partners, including 1 listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, and another listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange) and the other obligors, with a Chinese wall in place. This financing transaction related to (among others) the acquisition of land from the Singapore government and the construction of a mixed development including retail units and luxury residential units located in a prime area close to the Singapore central business district (the “Project”). The transaction completed within 4 weeks from appointment.

  The Malaysia-incorporated and listed obligor was subject to exchange control regulations and required to obtain approvals from the Malaysian exchange control authority and such obligor's shareholders in order for such obligor to provide undertakings amounting to a guarantee / security.

• Acted as Singaporean counsel for 3 parties, being the Borrower (a limited partnership formed in Singapore), the General Partner (an indirect subsidiary of a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange), and the Qualified Borrower (a Singapore-incorporated company directly owned by the Borrower) (collectively, the "Borrower Group"), in relation to two facilities (Facility A and Facility B) granted by a syndicate of five international banks (the “Lender Group”). Facility A is a USD340 million syndicated senior capital commitment secured revolving facility with a Greenshoe option of up to USD85 million. Facility B is a USD60 million syndicated senior capital commitment secured revolving facility with a Greenshoe option of up to USD15 million.

  As the Borrower is a limited partnership and not a company, we ensured that the representations and undertakings relating to the Borrower, being a limited partnership, were relevant. In addition, we ensured that there would be no recourse to the partners to the Borrower in this transaction. Issued two sets of Singapore legal opinions to the Lender Group in relation to the entry by the Borrower Group into the respective facility agreements and security documents.