International Litigation – Singapore – Shem Khoo

At Focus Law Asia (“FLA”), we specialise in high-stakes dispute resolution, especially in the areas of maritime and shipping, commodities, insolvency and cross-border investment disputes, as well as shareholder disputes. We are an independent and conflict-free boutique disputes practice, and we regularly cross swords with the largest firms in complex disputes. We work closely with foreign law firms who need Singapore law expertise and always respect client relationships established by our instructing firms. We are also one of the very few law firms in Singapore that has a focus on North-East Asian work. In this regard, our Korea and Japan desks are staffed by Singapore-qualified Korean and Japanese lawyers, who regularly appear in Singapore courts and arbitral tribunals.

In 2024, we were involved in a three-month-long High Court trial, where we acted for liquidators of Hin Leong Trading. The Hin Leong Trading insolvency is one of the world’s largest corporate collapses of an oil trading firm, triggered by allegations of fraud, hidden losses and mismanagement, leading to debts exceeding USD4 billion. In the aftermath, interpleader proceedings arose before the Singapore High Court, involving competing claims over oil cargoes, storage receipts and sale proceeds by banks, creditors and trading counterparties, seeking judicial resolution to determine rightful ownership and entitlements.

We also acted for Maersk Tankers in defending two High Court claims brought by United Overseas Bank and Standard Chartered Bank respectively, claiming for misdelivery of oil cargos.

Shipping and maritime-related litigation, commodities trading disputes and shareholder disputes, as well as investment disputes. FLA has deep expertise in shipping and commodities trading disputes, as their senior litigation directors spent significant time in Singapore and international firms practising in these areas. Furthermore, because of our Korea and Japan desks, we are also highly active in investment disputes, typically involving Korean and Japanese investments/acquisitions in Southeast Asia.

The Singapore High Court, the Singapore International Commercial Court, Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”) and Singapore International Mediation Centre (“SIMC”). Singapore offers world-class dispute resolution services, trusted by individuals and corporations the world over to provide fair, robust and efficient dispute resolution governed by the rule of law. The Singapore courts are staffed by judges who are leading legal minds; SIAC is widely regarded as one of the best arbitral institutions in the world; SIMC has a burgeoning reputation of assisting in helping MNCs amicably resolve the most complex of international disputes before they go to court or arbitral tribunals.

Yes, indeed, especially in our areas of specialty – shipping, commodities and investments. Clients from civil law jurisdictions are often surprised at how lengthy and engaged the trial process is in Singapore, how searching and invasive cross-examination in common law systems in Singapore courts can be.

SIMC recently announced that it was launching its new AI tool to streamline the dispute resolution process by generating a chronology of events, providing a table of common positions and differences between parties and summarising disputes based on documents provided by the parties. It would be interesting to see if SIAC and the Singapore courts will follow suit.