Biography
Lydia Kong is a partner in the Corporate & M&A Practice Group of Wong & Partners and co-heads the Competition Law practice. Consistently ranked by Chambers Asia Pacific (since 2021) and recognised as a Leading Partner by The Legal 500 (since 2024), Lydia is a specialist in navigating complex antitrust issues in Malaysia.
She has extensive experience advising local and multinational clients on a broad range competition law issues, such as compliance, internal audits and investigations as well as merger control, with a focus on consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, financial services, aviation and digital markets. Lydia's practice is deeply integrated with Baker McKenzie's regional antitrust and competition practice, particularly for multi-jurisdictional merger control and cross-border compliance issues.
Having previously worked as in-house counsel for a leading regional private equity house, she provides a unique, commercially-grounded perspective on the intersection between transactional strategy and antitrust risks.
Practice Focus
With prior work experience in Brussels and Hong Kong, Lydia brings a sophisticated global perspective to competition mandates. She advises clients involved in cartel and dominance investigations, dawn raids, leniency applications as well as merger filings. She regularly conducts competition law trainings, audits and mock dawn raids for clients to strengthen their preventative compliance framework.
Drawing on prior extensive experience in international M&A transactions, she provides strategic counsel to clients on competition law issues arising in M&A transactions such as competition law due diligence, clean team arrangements and pre-completion integration within tight transactional timelines.
Representative Legal Matters
- Assisted the consortium of the joint offerors, Gateway Development Alliance Sdn. Bhd., in obtaining merger control approval from the Malaysia Aviation Commission (now the Civil Aviation Authority Malaysia) in respect of the successful privatization of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) through a conditional voluntary general offer for all the shares of MAHB not already held by the consortium. This significant and transformative takeover in the Malaysian aviation sector is based on a total equity value of RM 18.4 billion (estimated USD 4.17 billion), and is named the Best Privatisation Deal of 2025 by The Edge Malaysia.
- Assisted a consortium of international air cargo operators in obtaining an individual exemption from the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) for the establishment of a metal‑neutral joint business partnership relating to their cargo operations within a defined joint business territory, structured through revenue‑sharing and joint business agreements.
- Assisted a global biopharmaceutical company with its response to the Malaysian Competition Commission's (MyCC) request for information in relation to its general pricing practices to its distribution channels in Malaysia.
- Advised a global insurance corporation on its response to the MyCC’s request for information in connection with the MyCC’s investigation into price fixing practices relating to spare parts and labour charges for motor claims estimation.
- Assisted a leading poultry feed producer in an investigation by the Malaysia Competition Commission into alleged price‑fixing conduct in the poultry feed market.
- Advised a leading global technology company on its responses to queries from the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) in connection with a market study on the digital economy.
- Assisted a major Asia Pacific‑focused hyperscale data centre operator with competition law due diligence and gun‑jumping risk assessment in connection with its acquisition of a hyperscale data centre platform in Southeast Asia.
- Acting for a leading German multinational medical technology company on an internal investigation into whistleblower allegations of anti‑competitive practices involving a distributor.
Admissions
Barrister-at-Law, Bar of England and Wales (2009)
High Court of Malaya (2010)
Education
The University of Manchester, United Kingdom (LLB) (2008)
King's College London (LL.M. Competition Law) (2013)
Languages
English
Bahasa Malaysia