Internationally experienced and commercially astute projects/construction and corporate practitioner interested in getting the deal done.

Steven has extensive experience both domestically and internationally in advising on major utility, energy and infrastructure projects as well as corporate transactions. In addition to Malaysia, he was previously resident in Singapore and the Middle East where he was attached to international law firms. He now leads our front-end Projects & Construction practice.

Projects/Construction

Steven has worked on, amongst others, independent water and/or power projects as well as projects in the transport, oil & gas, metals and real estate sectors in Southeast Asia and the Gulf. He has acted for sponsors, governments, contractors, lenders and other stakeholders in relation to greenfield project development as well as the sale or acquisition of existing project assets or companies, whether on a negotiated or competitive bid basis. He is also an adviser to clients in the construction industry. He regularly counsels developers, contractors, consultants and suppliers on major construction and engineering and other service agreements. He is well versed with the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) suite of contracts used in various guises in international transactions.

M&A/Corporate

Throughout two decades of practice, Steven has maintained an active corporate practice, particularly in the field of mergers and acquisitions, including private equity transactions. He has advised on, amongst other things, share sale agreements, asset purchase agreements, joint venture or shareholders’ agreements, land development contracts and hotel contracts, often in relation to cross-border transactions.

Steven has been recently ranked as a “Leading Individual” for Projects and Energy by The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2024. He was also recently ranked “Band 2” in Projects, Infrastructure & Energy, and ranked “Band 3” in Construction by Chambers Asia-Pacific 2024. He was ranked as “Highly Regarded” in the IFLR1000 2023/2024 lawyer rankings, and acknowledged as a “Notable Practitioner” by Asialaw Profiles 2023/2024.

• Power and Utilities
• Transport and Infrastructure
• Energy and Natural Resources
• Construction and Engineering
• Corporate and Mergers & Acquisitions
• Real Estate

• LLB (Hons), University of Melbourne
• LLM, King’s College London
• Advocate & Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya
• Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales

• Advising a consortium of bidders for the Ras Azzour IWPP project in Saudi Arabia, and in particular, the preparation, negotiation and/or finalisation of various project documents such as the EPC contract, operation and maintenance agreement, RO O&M subcontract, membrane supply agreement and shareholders’ agreements (with estimated project cost of 5 billion).
• Advising the government-owned power and water company on the procurement by way of a public competitive tender of an independent water project in Oman (with estimated project cost of USD300 million).
• Advising the contractor on the EPC contract for certain facilities forming part of an oil refining and integrated petrochemical engineering project (commonly known as the Rapid Project) in Johor, Malaysia (with estimated project cost of 4 billion).
• Advising the employer on the EPC contract for a gas treatment plant in the Republic of Kazakhstan (with estimated project cost of USD500 million).
• Advising an investor on the drafting, negotiation and finalisation of the operating agreements and shared facilities agreement relating to Petronas LNG Complex, one of the world’s largest LNG production facilities at a single location, in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia.
• Advising the employer on the EPC contract for the underground works in relation to a rail transport project in Malaysia (with estimated project cost of USD4 billion).
• Advising the Supervision Committee for the Expansion of the Abu Dhabi International Airport in relation to the airport expansion project, including the development and operation of the midfield terminal building and associated facilities (with estimated project cost of USD6 billion).
• Acting for a government-owned entity on development and financing of an integrated steel plant project comprising a DRI plant, steel meltshop and two rolling mills in United Arab Emirates, including the EPC contract and raw material supply agreements (with estimated project cost of USD800 million).
• Advising the project delivery partner in relation to the 49 billion development and upgrade of the 2,000 km Pan Borneo Highway in Sarawak, Malaysia.
• Advising a state-owned entity on the proposed development and financing of a methanol and methanol derivatives petrochemical plant in Sarawak, Malaysia (with estimated project cost of RM8 billion).
• Advising the sponsors on the development of a manganese smelting facility in Sarawak, Malaysia (with estimated project cost of USD300 million).
• Preparation of and advising on various construction and consultancy agreements for Eithad Towers, a major land development project in the United Arab Emirates (with estimated project cost of USD1 billion).
• Advising a government corporation on two Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects, in each case involving the grant of a concession for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of a specialized economic zone in United Arab Emirates.
• Advising a government-linked fund on its proposed acquisition, via a competitive bid exercise, of equity interests in two life insurance companies in Malaysia (with estimated value of RM6 billion).
• Advising a government-owned private equity fund on the divestment of all its equity stakes in two managed care organizations in the Malaysian health insurance industry.
• Advising a government-owned private equity fund on its investment in a global market leading company involved in the manufacture and supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).
• Advising a state-owned investment fund on its investment in a Malaysian online B2B procurement platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
• Assisting with the acquisition by a private equity fund of a majority interest in a Malaysian group of companies involved in the sale and manufacture of clean room products in Southeast Asia and the People’s Republic of China.
• Advising the purchaser on its proposed acquisition of equity interest in two separate liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in Sarawak, Malaysia.
• Advising a private equity fund on the acquisition of assets and liabilities of the wholesale and retail businesses of a Malaysian FMCG group of companies.
• Advising a Gulf-based private equity fund on its acquisition of an equity interest in an independent water and power project in Oman.
• Advising on the acquisition by a private equity fund of a Saudi Arabian group of companies engaged in the distribution of telecommunication devices.