Asha Sharma

Asha has been a partner at Reed Smith Richards Butler since 1999. She qualified as a solicitor in Hong Kong in 1993 and in England and Wales in 1994. She is also a qualified legal executive in Hong Kong. Asha joined Richards Butler in 1991 as a trainee solicitor. Prior to starting her traineeship, she worked for the Companies Judge in the Supreme Court of Hong Kong for 10 years, during which time she gained extensive experience in bankruptcy and winding-up matters as well as a variety of company-related matters brought before the Companies Court. With her length of service in the Judiciary, Asha is very familiar with court rules and procedures.

Asha has extensive experience in commercial litigation. She specialises in a wide range of company-related and contractual disputes, including shareholder and boardroom disputes, bankruptcy and winding up, minority shareholders’ petitions, employment and labour disputes, debt recovery actions against borrowers and guarantors, property-related litigation, banking litigation, defending discrimination claims before the Equal Opportunities Commission, and handling reports and complaints made to the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data. She is experienced in handling complex and substantial claims involving loans, convertible bonds, and other financing instruments, as well as highly contested enforcement actions concerning the appointment of receivers and the sale of secured assets. She also advises on compulsory and voluntary liquidations, debt restructuring, and schemes of arrangement for private and listed companies.

Her areas of practice also include arbitration, agency disputes, immigration, insurance-related litigation (including employees’ compensation claims), personal injury (including medical negligence, traffic accident claims, and professional indemnity), defamation, and matrimonial disputes. She advises on investigations by the Commercial Crime Bureau and the Independent Commission Against Corruption, as well as compliance and regulatory matters relating to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Securities and Futures Commission, and the insurance sector. She has been a legal advisor to a self-regulatory insurance intermediary body for more than 18 years and regularly advises on insurance-related matters, including the preparation of compliance manuals for brokers and agents for the purposes of the new licensing and regulatory regime introduced in 2019 for insurance intermediaries. In recent years, she has also given talks and advised on the Competition Ordinance.

Asha has been recognised and ranked by legal directories, including Chambers and IFRL1000, for consecutive years. Clients have said: “She doesn’t just give you an answer to placate you, but goes in depth and makes sure she covers every base”. She was also an In-House Community Commended External Counsel of the Year in 2019.

Experience

Representative matters

Acting for a subsidiary of the PRC state-owned mining enterprise in its claim against the other shareholder of a joint venture company holding mining resources in West Australia and its ultimate owner for repayment of a substantial loan of over US$ 600 million.

Advising a leading global investment group based in China in recovering significant assets for repayment of a debt resulting from the default by an issuer in respect of various note where the amount at stake is over US$ 230 million plus further interest.

Advising a motor vehicle services company in its application for judicial review against the decision of the Director of Lands in Hong Kong refusing to process the company’s in-situ land exchange application in respect of a purchase of a large piece of the land in the New Territories for a consideration of over US$ 49.2 million.

Advised Arta TechFin Corporation Limited (“ARTA”) (Stock Code: 279) on the placing of shares to facilitate resumption of trading of its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (which was suspended for over 21 months, which successfully took place in Nov 2021, and other regulatory, employment and related issues.

Acted for a director of a listed company in defending a highly contested minority shareholders' petition in Bermuda

Acting for a company listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation in its claim of US$10 million for breach of contract, duty and negligence in respect of the purchase of bills of exchange

Acted for a listed company in a collective resignation incident organised and manipulated by a senior employee

Acted for a director and shareholder of a company listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and its subsidiaries in a series of contentious shareholders' disputes, including the buying-out of the minority interest and incidental corporate compliance issues

Acting on the instructions of a major insurer for a medical doctor in defending a claim for alleged professional medical negligence

Acting as legal advisor to Professional Insurance Brokers Associations (PIBA), one of the then 3 self-regulatory bodies under the Insurance Companies Ordinance, in preparing highly sophisticated submissions to the Government on the reform the entire insurance regulatory framework marked by the establishment of a new insurance regulatory body, the Independent Insurance Authority

Regularly advising PIBA on matters pertaining to the Insurance Companies (Amendment) Ordinance, and assisting PIBA and the profession on various fronts, including the formulation of measures, preparation of compliance manuals and guidelines with a view to facilitating PIBA and its members/registrants in the transitional arrangements and the new regulatory framework

Acting for a subsidiary of a listed company in a double derivative action brought by a minority shareholder

Acted for a US Bank and its corporate customer in the recovery of funds fraudulently transferred to a HK bank account as a result of a cybercrime email fraud incident

Acted for a senior employee of a multinational group of companies in defending prosecutions for using false instruments and involving his duties at the group

Acted for a full-service international banking corporation in Hong Kong in defending complaints of discrimination by a senior employee to the Equal Opportunities Commission, and complaints arising out of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance

Acted for a famous jewellery company on various employment issues arising from a transfer of business

Acting and advising a Taiwanese-headquartered bank in Hong Kong on various compliance issues under the Securities and Futures Ordinance and assisted in responding to enquiries made by the Monetary Authority

Advising on the Hong Kong Tourism Board Legislative Council Enquiry by the Public Accounts Committee

Acted for and advised a well-known estate agency in a high-profile dispute between two major developers over the construction of a hotel in Hong Kong.

Acted for a listed company that operates hotels and restaurants in their dispute with some tenants during the redevelopment of a hotel and in setting aside an injunction obtained in UK.

Advised the Hong Kong branch of a state-owned Indian bank in pursuing a claim against a trading company for outstanding debts (involving cross-border documentary credit and trade financing documents), and assisted the bank in reaching settlement

Regularly advising various branches of different Indian banks on banking related and compliance issues

Advising and acting for a worldwide fashion brand over the years on various different issues commercial, employment, data privacy, agency and property related matters

Acting for a listed company in a dispute involving a HK$128 million loan agreement.

Acting for an Indonesian state-owned oil company in defending enforcement of an arbitral award in the sum of US$270 million in Hong Kong, and acting for its subsidiaries in resisting a series of contentious enforcement actions

Acting for the securities and trading arms of a listed company in their reorganization and debt restructuring leading ultimately to a successful permanent stay of compulsory winding up proceedings

Advising and acting on contentious and non-contentious family matters, including divorce, custody disputes and ancillary relief applications

Advising and acting for banking institutions and market participants in relation to investigations by the Securities and Futures Commission, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority

Advising on a wide range of non-contentious regulatory and compliance issues under the Securities and Futures Ordinance and Banking Ordinance

Regularly advising and acting for the financial services arm of one of the largest state-owned banks in China in various matters, including commencing court proceedings for recovery of over tens of millions HKD in respect of default in the securities margin accounts of customers as well as taking other enforcement actions

Acting for an international banking corporation in its cross border claim for recovery of indebtedness due and owing under various credit facilities and cross guarantees

Acting for the New York branch of a global state owned banking corporation in its claim against a Hong Kong trading company and potentially other companies and individuals based in different jurisdictions including Hong Kong for repayment of a debt in relation to the supply of diamonds

Acting for the securities arm of a state-owned enterprise in recovering substantial debts involving court proceedings against an offshore company and individual guarantors and enforcement actions including appointment of receivers and sale of shares in a listed company

Acting for one of the largest property developers in Mainland China in Hong Kong arbitration proceedings involving claims for misrepresentations and breach of warranties in relation to the user of land

Recognitions

Ranked in Chambers Global for China Dispute Resolution: Litigation (International Firms), 2017-2025
Ranked in Chambers Greater China Region for China Dispute Resolution: Litigation (International Firms), 2020-2025
Awarded In-House Community Commended External Counsel of the Year, 2019

Credentials

Education

Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, East Asia Branch, 2005, Special Member Assessment
University of Hong Kong, 1991, Postgraduate Certificate in Laws
University of London, 1990, Bachelor of Law
Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 1986, Legal Executive

Professional admissions & qualifications

Hong Kong
England and Wales

Court admissions

Supreme Court - Hong Kong
Supreme Court - England and Wales

Professional affiliations

Member of The Law Society of Hong Kong
Member of The Law Society of England and Wales
Accredited Mediator with The Law Society of Hong Kong
Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)
Member of the Forum of Indian Professionals in Hong Kong
Member of the Indian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong
Legal Advisor to the Professional Insurance Brokers Association
Legal Advisor to St Joseph’s Primary School PTA
Independent Manager of St Joseph’s Primary School
Legal Advisor to the PTAs of Marymount Primary and Secondary Schools
Legal Advisor to the Incorporated Management Committees of Marymount Primary and Secondary Schools
Mentor of The University of Hong Kong Law Mentorship Programme since 2008