Juliana Yap
Managing Director
T: +65 67278900
Juliana was called to English Bar by the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple in London in 1995 and is a senior member of the Singapore Bar where she is admitted as an Advocate & Solicitor. She is also admitted to the roll of solicitors of England and Wales and is effectively dual-qualified in both English and Singapore laws.
Juliana specialises in high-end asset finance work and corporate transactions particularly in the shipping, marine and offshore sectors. She acts for banks and financial institutions, export credit agencies, lessors, lessees, shipowners and operators as well as shipbuilders in debt and leasing transactions, workouts and restructuring. Juliana is particularly well-placed to handle transactions involving a multitude of jurisdictions and has closed deals involving virtually all the major maritime jurisdictions in the world.
Apart from leading deals and cross-border transactions, Juliana also advises on shipbuilding contracts and conversion contracts for all types of vessels as well as project related performance and refund guarantees, the sale and purchase of ships, flagging and other regulatory issues, corporate structuring and restructuring including the formation of companies, re-domiciliation of companies, mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures; the drafting, review and negotiation of documentation in these areas as well as other commercial documents.
Juliana is recognised as one of the best lawyers in Singapore in Maritime Law (The Best Lawyers in Singapore (2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 Editions)). She is also the Singapore winner of the 2020 Client Choice Award for Shipping & Transport. She has been invited to speak and write about trends and technical/legal aspects of ship financing at conferences and client seminars. Her published works include the Singapore chapters of Directors’ Liabilities in case of Insolvency (Kluwer Law, 1999) and the Chambers Global Practice Guides for Shipping (2017).
Pro bono work
Juliana chairs the Law Society’s Project Law Help Committee, which runs a programme of matching community organisations such as charities, volunteer welfare organisations and social enterprises, with law firms in Singapore for the provision of pro bono legal services. She also volunteers with the Community Legal Clinics and Community Organisation Clinics organised by the Law Society’s Pro Bono Services Office.
Selected examples of transactions .
- Acted for a syndicate of banks in a US$460 million syndicated multi-currency term loan / revolving contingent instrument facility involving security over 30 vessels for a listed marine services provider to the offshore oil and gas industry.
- Acted for a US bank in a US$74 million secured facility for the pre- and post- delivery financing of Capesize bulk carriers for a leading drybulk carrier.
- Acted for a major Chinese shipping group as lessors in drawing up lease financing master documentation in respect of newbuildings constructed at its shipyards.
- Acted for borrowers (subsidiaries of a major Japanese international shipping group) in ECA backed financing transactions of over US$121 million for new building ore carriers of approximately 250,000 DWT each.
- Acted for a Chinese shipbuilding/shipowning group in its debt restructuring involving 14 drybulk and tanker vessels.
- Acted for a syndicate of banks in a US$60 million financing for chemical tankers in a leasing finance transaction to a major Korean shipping group.
- Acted for a syndicate of banks in a US$66 million mezzanine financing for a fleet of anchor handling tug supply vessels leased to subsidiaries of a Singapore listed marine offshore group.
- Acted for financiers in a shariah compliant murabaha facility for the acquisition by a Malaysian listed company through its Singapore subsidiary of a US$120 million offshore subsea construction vessel. This transaction involved advising on securities under a related bond issuance and coordinating the closing of the various transactions involving parties located in no less than 5 different locations across the globe.
- Acted for lessees in sale and leaseback transactions in respect of livestock carriers for one of the world’s largest livestock carriers.
- Acted for a Swiss bank in a US$60 million financing of secondhand product tanker vessels for a joint venture between companies listed in Singapore and Europe. This transaction also involved advising on joint venture issues and limited recourse guarantees.
- Acted for a Japanese bank in a US$94 million financing of newbuilding car carriers acquired through a joint venture between a Singapore listed company and a major Japanese shipping group. This was a highly negotiated transaction particularly on vessel insurance issues.
- Acted for financiers in the debt restructuring of a major offshore and marine group with total liabilities of around US$1 billion.
- Acted in the restructuring of a large international offshore group involving, among other things, the redomiciliation of foreign companies into Singapore and reflagging of multiple vessels.
- Acted as Singapore counsel in a US$300 million financing for the procurement of copper cathodes from the Swiss trading arm of a prominent global commodities trading company.
Client details have been omitted for confidentiality reasons.