Jimmy Yim SC

Mr Yim’s experience in international arbitration ranges from disputes concerning energy projects, telecommunications, building construction, satellites, pharmaceutical contracts, distributorship agreements and joint-venture contracts of various kinds. Some of his notable arbitration cases:

• Successfully recovered millions of dollars for a Norwegian corporation in an arbitration resulting from a marine accident in the South China Sea. The dispute involved issues of seaworthiness of vessels, obligations under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1974 and gross negligence.

• Acted for the respondent, Vietnamese state-linked entity (employer) against the claimant Chinese state-linked construction company (contactor) in a VIAC arbitration over a hydro-electric dam project in central Vietnam. The claimant raised a litany of claims against the respondent essentially justifying their termination of the FIDIC-based contract. The complexity and scale of disputes in this massive project required close cooperation with quantum and delay experts and a detailed understanding of the construction process of hydro-electric dams and the use of tunnel-boring machines.

• Successfully acted for a Japanese corporation in a joint-venture dispute with a Hong Kong public-listed corporation over solid waste disposal systems and incineration plants where the claims exceed US$10 million and the contract is governed by Japanese law.

• Successfully defended a Malaysian conglomerate in a multi-million dollar ICC arbitration against a Thai company over the design, installation and commissioning of a steam boiler in Thailand. The dispute was governed by Thai law and involved issues of commissioning, emission standards, contractual breaches and negligence.

• Acted for an Indonesian high net worth individual in resisting claims from an Indian energy conglomerate in relation to a dispute over the development of 3 coal mining concessions in South Sumatra. The arbitration required extensive arguments on multiple aspects of the infrastructure work associated with developing and operating a greenfield coal concession in Indonesia.

• Successful outcome for a Japanese corporation in a multi-million dispute between joint-venture partners over the sale and implementation of energy management systems to State Electricity Boards in India governed by ICC Rules. The claims included allegations of fraud, misrepresentation, misuse/conversion of intellectual property and loss of opportunity. The joint venture was governed by Japanese law.

• Successfully represented a Korean EPC contractor, in an ad hoc arbitration under the UNCITRAL Rules 2010 against the claimant, an Indian state-linked petrochemical company. The dispute relates to claims for losses arising out of the termination of a project for the construction of a High Density Polyethylene Plant in Asia’s biggest petrochemicals complex, Dahej Petrochemical Complex in Gujarat, India. The case involves complex technical and legal issues as to differences in the efficiencies of the concerned licensor technologies in producing bimodal polyethylene products and the appropriate methodology for assessing extra costs incurred as a result of the termination of the contract by the contractor.

• Successful outcome for a Malaysian Government Linked Company that is advancing claims against its Chinese joint venture partner for breaches of a US$45 million joint venture agreement in the heavy industry sector. This is a unique case, involving issues relating to the Chinese national policy for the entry of foreign investment in a predominantly Chinese industry.

• Successfully resolved a S$20 million dispute over the collapse of a cement silo in Singapore arbitrated under SIAC Domestic Rules involving issues of negligence, novus actus interveniens and damages for notional repair. This case included 2 appeals to the Court of Appeal (allowed under SIAC Domestic Rules), which were both successfully argued by Mr Yim – [2004] 4 SLR 353 / [2004] SGCA 40 – Salcon Ltd v United Cement Pte Ltd.

• Successfully resolved a multi-million dollar dispute over the construction and delivery of boilers for a power plant project in Thailand. The arbitration was governed by the ICC Rules and it involved issues of build-to-order specifications, international product & material safety standards and the right to reject delivery governed by Thai law.

• Advised on a US$200 million dispute over the construction and launch into orbit of a telecommunications satellite under UNCITRAL Rules. The dispute involved issues of delay, rescission of contract and force majeure due to inter alia a United States Department of State Public Notice prohibiting the launch of U.S. satellites by rockets from the People’s Republic of China which was amicably settled.

• Successfully defended a US$10 million claim over the licensing of data gathering & retrieval software arbitrated under ICC Rules involving issues of fraudulent misrepresentation and anticipatory breach governed by Thai law.

• Successfully defended a US MNC (a worldwide leader in IT and networking) in a multi-million dollar claim arising from highly complex and technical agreements to build, operate and manage a WiMAX network in Malaysia.

• Successfully defended a software copyright owner in a multi-million dollar claim by a mainland Chinese distributor of the most successful MMORPG (Massively Multi-Player Online Role Playing Game) in the People’s Republic of China (with 70 million registered players). The arbitration was governed by Korean law and arbitrated under ICC Rules and it involved jurisdictional issues of incorporation of arbitration clauses, estoppel, cross claims by one Respondent against another and the effect of parallel lawsuits commenced by the parties on similar issues.

• Appointed as an ICC arbitrator in a multi-million dollar dispute governed by Sri Lankan law between a state owned enterprise in Sri Lanka with a monopoly in bunker supply to vessels and a commercial bunker supplier involving jurisdictional issues on the arbitration agreement, estoppel and time bar as well as substantive issues on remoteness of damages and the duty to mitigate losses.

• Successfully defended Indonesian oil and gas tycoon and former Chief Executive of an offshore and marine company in the violation of the Securities and Futures Act. Obtained a favourable outcome as the 112 false trading and market rigging offences that the client was originally charged with was amalgamated to 6, and he was fined for those 6 charges, avoiding a custodial sentence.