Noel Chua

Director

Email: noel.chua@mayerbrown.com

 

Lawyer’s Profile

Noel is a Director with an active dispute resolution practice involving both court litigation and international arbitration. He previously practiced at one of Singapore’s Big Four law firms and was Assistant Chief Counsel at the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).

Noel has expertise in commercial and corporate disputes, with a focus on restructuring and insolvency, shareholder disputes and director’s duties. In addition, he engages in criminal defense work, particularly in white collar crime. He has amassed experience in other areas including construction, shipping, tax, and telecommunications regulatory matters.

He regularly advises private and corporate clients, including multinational corporations, financial institutions, SGX listed companies and C-suite executives, on a broad range of legal issues.

Noel has appeared before the Singapore Court of Appeal, Singapore International Commercial Court and Singapore International Arbitration Centre. He believes that where possible, disputes can be resolved in an amicable and cost-efficient fashion, and has assisted clients in achieving mutually beneficial settlements of their disputes, through mediation or negotiations.

 

Notable matters include:

  • Appearing before a 5-judge bench in the Court of Appeal resulting in a landmark decision on director’s duties owed to creditors of a company (Foo Kian Beng v OP3 International Pte Ltd (in liquidation) [2024] 1 SLR 361).
  • Acting as co-counsel for financial institutions in their interpleader claims in excess of SGD 190 million for proceeds of oil cargo arising from the liquidation of Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd. This involved complex issues of the parties’ entitlement to security under bills of lading and other shipping documents. The matter culminated in a Singapore High Court trial in 2024 which spanned 52 days, where Noel handled cross-examination of former HLT and OTPL employees.
  • Resisting applications for moratorium relief under the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 and Companies Act 1967 brought by debtors.
  • Appearing before the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) in relation to a dispute between an SGX listed company and BVI corporation involving issues of contractual interpretation, misrepresentation, estoppel and Chinese tax law.
  • Advising the liquidator of a Venezeluan-Chinese joint venture company on a wide range of issues, including the impact of US sanctions imposed on the Maduro regime, adjudication on proofs of debt, and garnishee applications by offshore creditors.
  • Assisting an international trading company to negotiate an amicable settlement of its employment claims.
  • Obtaining an award in excess of SGD 40 million from the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), acting on behalf of an established Singapore construction company in its claims against BVI and Indonesian parties for breach of put option and settlement agreements.
  • Assisting to obtain an amicable resolution of shareholder disputes in a multi-jurisdictional joint venture company where claims in excess of USD 35 million were settled.
  • Advising a former director of Swiber Holdings Limited in relation to criminal charges under the Securities and Futures Act 2001.
  • Advising individuals charged under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992, Wholesome Meat and Fish Act 1999 and Penal Code 1871.
  • Successfully achieving a settlement between UAE and Taiwanese entities in relation to breach of industrial manufacturing agreements.
  • Advising Australian tax authorities on potential claims against an ultra high net-worth individual for non-payment of outstanding duties.
  • Assisting on the restructuring of a Singapore listed shipping company involving debts in excess of SGD 1 billion.
  • Acting for a leading M&A practitioner in the K12 education sphere in his defence against alleged breach of oral contract arising out of a multi-million dollar dispute, and his counterclaim for defamation.
  • Successfully negotiating a settlement in relation to an SGD 80 million dispute arising out of a property sale and leaseback transaction.