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Johnny Lim is a partner based in the Singapore office and serves as the Asia co-chair of the firm’s Global Corporate Group. He focusses in cross-border transactions across Singapore, Southeast Asia, and Greater China.
His experience encompasses a broad range of corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity, venture capital, and capital markets. Johnny’s practice spans the full spectrum from advising issuers on initial public offerings to managing post-listing corporate actions, special situation restructurings, and privatizations.
Experience
Representative matters
Representative matters
Advised a software solutions provider in connection with its acquisition of an international software company offering a digital sales platform specifically designed for manufacturers.
Advised the vendors on the 100% sale of the Masindo group of companies to an Australian transport and logistics and supply chain business.
Advised a Chinese state-owned-enterprise on the acquisition of a Singapore-based infrastructure civil engineering and general building contractor.
Mergers and Acquisitions; Joint Ventures
Advised a software solutions provider in connection with its acquisition of an international software company offering a digital sales platform specifically designed for manufacturers.
Advised the vendors on the 100% sale of the Masindo group of companies to an Australian transport and logistics and supply chain business.
Advised a Chinese state-owned-enterprise on the acquisition of a Singapore-based infrastructure civil engineering and general building contractor.
Represented Asia’s first dedicated offshore wind vessel operator in its acquisition of a significant majority equity stake in a prominent UK-based maritime environmental response vessel operator.
Advised a Global Fortune-500 corporation on a circa USD 400m investment and joint venture in an Argentinian lithium project as a joint venture with a European mining and metallurgy listed group.
Advised a leading steel corporation on its collaboration with an Indian steel, power, mining and infrastructure company in relation to the development of production facilities in Indonesia to produce NPI and nickel-matte.
Advised a Singapore family office on a potential strategic investment in HKEX-listed Morris Homes, principally engaged in the manufacturing of sofas and sofa covers in the PRC with an integrated design, manufacturing, sales, and marketing operation.
Advised the vendors in the sale of Singapore-based Fire-Guard Engineering to Singapore-listed Ever Glory United.
Acted for Singapore-listed Acromec in its collaboration with Nutara Investment to build, own and operate a waste-to-energy plant in Singapore, processing and converting farm waste into biogas for electricity generation.
Acted for Decent Investment in relation to its collaboration with Australia-listed Nickel Mines Limited to construct and operate four next-generation 54 KVA rotary kiln electric furnace (RKEF) lines with an annual nameplate production capacity of 36,000 tonnes of nickel metal (in nickel pig iron) and a 380MW coal-fired power plant in Indonesia.
Acted for various private investment units in the sale of an Indonesian smelter to a a Taiwan-listed company.
Advised a Singapore-listed company on the formalisation of a joint venture for co-working laboratories intended for entrepreneurs, early-stage bio and pharma companies.
Advised Eternal Tsingshan on its joint venture with Indonesia IDX-listed PT Merdeka Copper Gold to extract and process ore from Merdeka’s Wetar mine
Acted for Singapore-listed Sinarmas Land in a collaboration with Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Cooperation for Transport & Urban Development (JOIN), for an investment origination platform, one of the first of its kind. JOIN is a Japanese government-private sponsored infrastructure investment fund.
Takeovers
Acted for XinRen Aluminum Holdings Limited, formerly listed on the Main Board of the Singapore Exchange, in a voluntary conditional cash offer made by DBS Bank Ltd for Merit Stand Inc which valued XinRen at more than S$700 million.
Advised the controlling shareholder of Singapore Mainboard listed Sin Ghee Huat in relation to voluntary conditional cash offer made by DBS Bank Ltd, for Hong Hock Hardware Pte Ltd, valuing Sin Ghee Huat at SGD 60 million.
Advising a Singapore-based private investor on a proposed takeover of a Hong Kong listed furniture company principally engaged in the manufacturing of sofas and sofa covers in the PRC with an integrated design, manufacturing, sales, and marketing operation.
Acted for China Auto Electronics Group Limited, formerly listed on the Main Board of the Singapore Exchange, in a mandatory unconditional cash offer made by Stirling Coleman Capital Limited for THB Auto Electronics Limited which valued China Auto at more than S$200 million.
Capital Markets
Advised a leading digital transformation facilitator in the e-commerce enablement and digital optimization services market in Singapore on its IPO on the Nasdaq Capital Market.
Advised a Hong Kong-based wireless solutions provider on its secondary listing by way of introduction on the Main Board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
Acted as Singapore counsel for HKE Holdings Limited, a Singapore-based contractor specialising in the medical and healthcare sectors with expertise in performing radiation shielding works, in its listing and initial public offering on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Exchange.
Acted as Singapore counsel for CMON Limited, a fast growing hobby games publisher, in its listing and initial public offering on the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) of the Hong Kong Exchange.
Acted for AsiaPhos Limited, a Singapore-based phosphate resources company with mining and production operations in the PRC, in its listing and initial public offering on Catalist of the Singapore Exchange.
Acted for Sheng Siong Group Ltd, one of Singapore’s largest grocery retailers, in its listing and initial public offering on the Main Board of the Singapore Exchange.
Acted for XMH Holdings Limited, a diesel engine, propulsion and power generating solutions provider in the marine and industrial sectors, in its listing and initial public offering on the Main Board of the Singapore Exchange.
Restructuring and Insolvency
Advised Singapore-listed TA Corporation on its restructuring and compliance efforts, involving extensive interactions with both bank lenders and private creditors.
Advised the judicial managers in a distressed competitive sale of the largest upholstery furniture manufacturer in Singapore and leading player in China, which involves a complex pre-sale multi-jurisdictional reorganization.
Advising an white-knight acquirer in an asset acquisition in the course of restructuring proceedings involving a Singapore Mainboard listed company under pre-scheme moratorium protection.
Advising the judicial managers in a debt restructuring and white-knight investment rescue exercise in respect of a popular 4-star hotel situated in Ho Chi Minh.
Acted as corporate counsel for CNA Group Ltd (formerly listed on the Singapore Exchange) in its judicial management application and subsequent restructurings proposals, which involves a proposed transfer of listing status to white-knight investors.
Acted for the liquidator in the sale and disposal of assets in the marine offshore oil & gas industry.
Acted for a leading provider of fibreglass piping solutions in a management buy-out from a provisional liquidator.
Financial Services Regulatory
Assisted a leading Chinese brokerage in applying for a Capital Markets Services licence.
Advised a financial services group headquartered and listed in Hong Kong that provides global securities and futures brokerage, institutional sales and trading, corporate finance, fixed income, asset management and private wealth management services on their establishment of two regulated subsidiaries in Singapore which will conduct brokerage and corporate finance advisory activities.
Advised a brokerage and fund management firm and investment bank headquartered and listed in Hong Kong on a range of regulatory advisory matters including regulatory and corporate advice on fund management, fund formation, and on product distribution and conduct of business.
Assisted a technology-driven securities group in securing regulatory approval from the Singapore Monetary Authority to carry out financial services in Singapore.
Private Investments
Advised a Korea-based real estate focused private fund in various investments in SE Asia.
Advised a Singapore family office on a potential strategic investment in Morris Homes, a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange primarily engaged in manufacturing sofas and sofa covers in the People’s Republic of China with integrated design, manufacturing, sales, and marketing operations.
Advising a Singapore-based private investor on a proposed equity investment of up to 70% equity in Singapore Mainboard listed Plastoform Holdings Limited.
Advised a leading cryptocurrency platform based in Singapore on its seed and pre-series A funding rounds.
Advised the founders of a cloud gaming and mobile entertainment platform in its series A funding round.
Recognitions
Listed as Notable Practitioner in IFLR1000 Global for Singapore M&A, M&A-Foreign, 2023-2025
- “Johnny Lim is very commercial, has strong background knowledge and is very responsive.”
- Listed as Leading Partner in The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific for Singapore Projects: Foreign Firms, 2024-2025
- Listed as Leading Partner in The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific for Indonesia: Foreign Firms, 2024-2025
Credentials
Education
Education
- National University of Singapore, LL.B.
Professional admissions & qualifications
Professional admissions & qualifications
- Singapore
Professional affiliations
Professional affiliations
- Member of the Law Society of Singapore
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