Monica Yip

Practice Areas

Monica Yip is the Head of the Corporate Group which predominantly encompasses the Mergers and Acquisitions Practice, the Corporate Real Estate Practice and the Antitrust & Competition Practice. She is the Co-Head of the Corporate Real Estate Practice with experience in real estate work spanning 30 years. Her practice areas include property and property-related corporate transactions and investment work, acquisitions, disposals, securitisations, management and leasing of commercial, industrial and residential properties, property advisory work, property development and finance work, government land sales.

Publications

- Chambers Global Practice Guides - Real Estate - Singapore Chapter, 2017 – 2022 editions

- The Legal 500: Real Estate Country Comparative Guide, 2022

Work Highlights

Significant transactions that Monica has been involved in include advising / acting for the following:

- ESR Funds Management (S) Limited (the manager of ESR-REIT) in the merger with Viva Industrial Trust by way of a trust scheme of arrangement. At the close of the transaction, the merger valued Viva Industrial Trust at S$936.7 million and created Singapore's fourth largest industrial REIT with approximately S$3 billion in property assets. This deal won Best Singapore Deal at the FinanceAsia Awards 2018 and M&A Deal of the Year (Midsize) at the ALB SE Asia Law Awards, 2019.

- The successful tenderers and approved developer in the financing of their acquisition of a Hillview Rise residential site through a government land sale with a top bid of S$460 million. The acquisition was made under a dual-envelope system whereby tenderers were required to submit concept proposals as part of the tender.

- The Central Provident Fund ("CPF") Board in the sale of the CPF Building at 79 Robinson Road, Singapore, to Southernwood Property Pte. Ltd. (a company wholly-owned by the Ascendas-Singbridge group) for S$550 million.

- ESR Funds Management (S) Limited, as manager of ESR-REIT, in the acquisition by RBC Investor Services Trust Singapore Limited, in its capacity as trustee of ESR-REIT, of 80% of the issued and paid-up share capital of 7000 AMK Pte. Ltd. which has a leasehold interest in the land known as 7000 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5, Singapore 569877 (together with the buildings and plant and equipment thereon) for approximately S$240 million.

- The syndicate of mandated lead arrangers, lenders and hedge banks as transaction counsel, in the S$830 million financing to Asia Square Tower 2 Pte. Ltd. for the development of a Grade A office and retail building and a fully-integrated 5-star hotel with entertainment, dining and conference facilities within the heart of the newly-crowned central business hub of Singapore, Marina Bay.