Allen Choong

Partner

Allen’s areas of practice include international commercial arbitration, energy, engineering and infrastructure work. He has extensive experience across a wide range of commercial, shareholders and investment disputes and is among the inaugural batch of select practitioners to be recognised as Accredited Specialists in Building and Construction Law by the Singapore Academy of Law.

Allen is ranked Highly Regarded for project development and energy by IFLR 1000. He advises sponsors and developers on project documentation for the development, construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure, engineering, energy and renewables projects. In connection with such projects, he advises project owners and stakeholders on the duties and responsibilities imposed by environmental and pollution control laws including requirements for environmental impact assessment reports. He also has considerable experience advising on contract administration and management issues in infrastructure projects.

In dispute resolution, Allen is recognised as one of Asia’s Super 50 Disputes Lawyers by Asian Legal Business. He represents a diverse range of clients including investors, developers and contractors in international arbitrations over complex commercial, shareholders, company law, energy, engineering and infrastructure disputes. He has also acted in arbitration-related litigation and other complex disputes before the courts in Singapore and Malaysia. Clients describe him as “very helpful, experienced disputes lawyer, patient, proactive”.

Allen is ranked in arbitration by Who’s Who Legal and is recognised as a leading lawyer in arbitration, mediation and construction law by Best Lawyers.  Benchmark Litigation has ranked him in the areas of international arbitration, construction, commercial and transactions. The Legal 500 Asia Pacific recommends Allen as an “experienced engineering lawyer”; “reliable and strategic”; having “particular projects disputes and international arbitration experience” who “keeps on top of multiple work streams”.   

Allen is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and sits as arbitrator in arbitrations administered by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC), the ICC Court of Arbitration and the Law Society of Singapore. He is on the panel of arbitrators of the SIAC, the AIAC, the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association, the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB) International, the Chinese Arbitration Association and the Law Society Arbitration Scheme.

He is also on the panel of Specialist Mediators of the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) and on the panel of Neutrals of the Law Society Neutral Evaluation and Determination Scheme.

Allen is concurrently a partner in Rahmat Lim & Partners, the Firm’s associate firm in Malaysia, and previously worked in an international law firm.  

Allen maintains a keen interest in ESG-related matters and participates in an energy transition group that aims to socialise what needs to be done to make a transition to clean energy to achieve net zero emissions.

Work Highlights

• Representing entities of a government-linked private equity fund against a listed technology company in AIAC international arbitrations and in arbitration related proceedings before the Malaysian courts. The disputes arise from a US$100 million investment in the acquisition of an award winning semiconductor wafer manufacturing foundry.
• Representing an investment holding company in Singapore in an SIAC international arbitration involving claims and counterclaims in excess of US$300 million over disputes relating to the acquisition of a global leading surgical glove company by one of the world’s largest glove manufacturers and the premature removal of the management of the company.
• Representing a major regional property developer against an investment holding company in an SIAC arbitration concerning various disputes and issues arising from a US$140 million contract for the sale and purchase and fit out of a major mixed commercial, residential and retail complex in Vietnam.
• Advising a global pharmaceutical company on the project documents for a S$350 million vaccine manufacturing facility.
• Advising an international renewables developer on the development of a large-scale floating solar photovoltaic plant. The brief required advice on the project owner and operator’s duties and responsibilities under environmental and pollution control laws and regulatory requirements for environmental impact assessment reports.