Lau Sok Hiang

Singapore

Drew & Napier LLC
10 Collyer Quay
10th Floor Ocean Financial Centre
Singapore 049315

Tel: +65 6531 2318

Email: sokhiang.lau@drewnapier.com
Web: www.drewnapier.com

Professional Biography

Sok Hiang is a Director and the Co-Head of the Real Estate and Corporate Real Estate Practice Group.

Her primary areas of practice include all aspects of real estate work, and banking and finance transactions. She has extensive real estate and real estate financing experience.

She has advised major institutional clients, including listed real estate developers, real estate investment trusts (REITS), multi-national corporations (including multinational technology corporations), major investment and property development groups with operations in the Asia Pacific region and beyond, property funds and asset managers, and high net worth individuals, on major real estate and real estate financing transactions, including the disposal (including collective sales), acquisition, leasing and financing of large local plant projects, data centres, large residential and industrial developments, prime commercial real estate, hotels and integrated resorts.

Sok Hiang is experienced in the structuring of real estate transactions, loans and other financial transactions. She has advised extensively on complex land issues, including issues relating to properties owned by the various statutory boards, such as SLA, JTC and HDB (including advising on the policies relating thereto, which could involve other statutory boards such as the URA and EDB) in relation to a myriad of transactions such as sale and purchase transactions (relating to property or shares), financing transactions, commercial and industrial leasing transactions, and other real estate-related transactions.

She advises major local as well as offshore banks and lending syndicates, finance companies and insurance companies on loan and other debt-related financing, including bilateral and syndicated loans and acquisition financings.

Sok Hiang is also a member of the Valuation Review Board, a Tax Board/tribunal under the Ministry of Finance, constituted under Section 23 of the Property Tax Act.

She is conversant in both English and Mandarin.

  • Acting for one of Asia’s largest real estate groups and the largest private property developer in Singapore, in the sale of units in various residential, commercial and mixed developments.
  • Advising on the structuring of transactions and documentation relating to integrated resorts and hotels.
  • Acting for a Singapore-incorporated subsidiary of a US Company (with subsidiaries worldwide), which operates a worldwide digital platform, as Singapore counsel in relation to the grant of credit facilities of up to a few billion US dollars.
  • Acting for a Singapore-incorporated subsidiary of a Tokyo-listed company in the lease of its new flagship store and largest retail space in Singapore (a large-format store concept, comprising electronics, IT, furniture and lifestyle concepts, spanning six storeys) in a retail podium of a commercial building in Orchard Road.
  • Acting for a leading chemicals producer in ASEAN and an integrated Chlor-Alkali producer in Indonesia with Indonesia as its home base in a mezzanine financing transaction for the purposes of financing an expansion project (polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)) at the client’s plant in Indonesia.
  • Acting for an international developer with Indian and Middle Eastern roots in respect of the lease of land, and the development and operation of a school on the leased land, including drafting, reviewing and negotiating on a shareholders’ agreement, and advising and negotiating with the authorities on the documentation relating to the alienation of the land and the related mortgage and financing documentation thereafter.
  • Acting for a syndication of banks in the grant of credit facilities to a hospitality real estate investment trust, where the transaction had to be structured to take into account the interests of the various master leases comprised in the various properties.

Drew & Napier’s Real Estate Practice stands at the forefront of the property sector.

The team has managed numerous high-value and complex property transactions, and regularly advises and represents clients in major real estate disputes. As one of the most experienced practices in the field, the group is known for simplifying bureaucracy and adopting a straightforward, pragmatic approach.

The Real Estate Practice maintains an active industrial and commercial property division, handling acquisitions of sites through tender, auction, private treaty, collective sale, and purchase. The team is also engaged in leasing property for mixed developments, shopping centres, hotels and resorts, warehouses, and distribution centres. Its clients include leading developers, corporations, financial institutions, statutory boards, foreign and local investors, and private individuals.

Drew & Napier’s lawyers provide a personal yet professional service, representing prominent developers, corporate groups, statutory boards, and financial institutions in real estate transactions involving residential, commercial, and industrial properties.

With deep industry knowledge and extensive experience, the practice delivers comprehensive advice on legal, compliance, and regulatory matters. Clients benefit from dedicated, first-class service and the additional expertise offered by the firm’s other specialist departments.

Since its establishment in 1889, Drew & Napier has provided exceptional legal advice and representation to discerning clients and has grown to become one of Singapore’s largest law firms.

The firm’s work is recognised internationally at the highest levels of government and industry, underscoring its reputation as Singapore’s world-class law firm.

Clients place their trust in Drew & Napier to resolve their most complex challenges, protect their interests, and guide them forward. The firm’s lawyers and senior counsel are the preferred choice when the stakes are high and the issues intricate.

Drew & Napier’s lawyers are consistently ranked among the top in their respective practice areas, reflecting the firm’s unwavering commitment to excellence and client service.