Mark Lim

Biography

Mark Lim is the managing partner of Wong & Partners and also heads the Finance & Projects Practice Group. With over 28 years of legal experience advising domestic and multinational clients, Mark is ranked in Band 1 for Banking & Finance by Chambers Asia Pacific since 2023 and is listed in the Hall of Fame for Banking & Finance by Legal 500 Asia Pacific since 2021.

Practice Focus

Mark focuses on conventional and Islamic banking and finance, debt capital markets, structured finance and project financing. He has vast experience and has advised various institutional lenders in relation to complex aspects of syndicated financing deals. He has also advised in numerous capital market transactions (local and cross-border) and represented various multinational corporations and financial institutions in landmark deals.

Representative Legal Matters

• Represented a syndicate of local and foreign banks as lead counsel in connection with multi-currency financing facilities of up to MYR 15 billion granted to WG Data Hub Sdn Bhd and related borrower entities, subsidiaries of GDS Holdings Limited, one of China’s largest carrier-neutral data centre operators. The facilities comprise an offshore term loan of up to USD 1.7 billion and an onshore Murabahah term facility of up to MYR 7.5 billion, structured under common terms with shared security and intercreditor arrangements, to refinance existing facilities and finance data centre developments in Johor.
• Represented Maybank Investment Bank Berhad and OCBC Al-Amin Bank Berhad as the joint principal advisers and joint lead arrangers in connection with Westports Sdn Bhd's inaugural establishment of an Islamic medium term notes programme of up to MYR 5 billion in nominal value under the Shariah principle of Wakalah Bi Al-Istithmar with a sustainable and responsible investment structure (Sukuk Wakalah Programme) and issuance of Islamic medium term notes thereunder (Sukuk Wakalah).
• Representing HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad and RHB Investment Bank Berhad as the joint principal advisers and joint lead arrangers in connection with LBS Bina Group's inaugural establishment of an Islamic medium-term notes programme of up to MYR 750 million in nominal value under the Shariah principle of Wakalah Bi Al-Istithmar, with a sustainable and responsible investment structure and issuance of Islamic medium-term notes thereunder. This is the first Sustainable and Responsible Sukuk programme for the issuer, who is one of the largest property developers in Malaysia. This deal was awarded Malaysia Deal of the Year and Sustainability Deal of the Year by Islamic Finance News 2024.
• Represented Maybank Investment Bank Berhad as the principal adviser / lead arranger / lead manager in connection with the Islamic medium term note of up to MYR550 million in nominal value based on the Shariah principle of Murabahah (via Tawarruq arrangement) established by Cypark Ref Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cypark Resources Berhad. This transaction was recognised as the Green Project Deal of the Year by Islamic Finance News and Islamic Finance Deal of the Year by Project Finance International in 2020.
• Represented Coara Marang Sdn Bhd (“Borrower”) in connection with the term loan facility and bank guarantee facility of up to MYR 300 million granted by Malayan Banking Berhad. The Borrower is a special purpose vehicle owned by a German solar projects developer, ib vogt GmbH together with its Malaysian contemporary, Coara Solar Sdn Bhd to undertake the construction of a large-scale solar (LSS) plant in Marang, Terengganu (“Project”). The proceeds from the Facilities will be utilised to, amongst others, fund a portion of the project costs ahead of the planned establishment of a Sukuk facility by the Borrower under the Securities Commission Malaysia’s Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) Sukuk framework and the ASEAN Green Bonds Standards.
• Acted as Malaysian law counsel to a syndicate of international lenders, including JPMorgan Chase Bank, UBS AG and The Siam Commercial Bank Public Company Limited, in connection with the acquisition financing facilities of up to USD 4 billion (or equivalent) granted to C.P. Retail Development Company Limited for the acquisition of all the shares in Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and Tesco Stores (Thailand) Limited.
• Acted for a Malaysian telecommunications company in connection with an up to MYR 4.3 billion financing facility jointly arranged and funded by major local and regional banks, with a leading investment bank acting as the sole loan coordinator to support the rollout of Malaysia’s second 5G network.
• Represented a data centre developer in connection with secured green facilities of up to MYR 2.8 billion granted by a syndicate of financial institutions to finance additional phases of the development of a 150MW greenfield hyperscale data centre campus in Johor, Malaysia. • Advised Sime Darby Berhad in relation to a proposed subordinated sukuk programme of up to MYR3 billion in nominal value under the Shariah principles of Wakalah. This was the largest non-bank perpetual sukuk issuance in the world.
• Acted as deal counsel for CIMB Bank Berhad; Maybank Kim Eng Securities Pte Ltd; Standard Chartered Bank; and Standard Chartered Saadiq Berhad on the GBP1.35 billion financing of the Battersea Power Station, one of the largest real estate financings in the UK in recent years. Battersea Power Station is an iconic decommissioned coal-fired power station located on the south bank of the River Thames in London. The financing comprised a GBP750 million facility for Phase 2 and a GBP600 million facility for Phase 3 for development of the site, the latter consisting of a combination of Islamic financing and conventional financing.  

Admissions

Malaysia (1997)
Kuala Lumpur (1997)
England & Wales~United Kingdom (1996)

Education

University of Greenwich (LL.B. Hons) (1995)
Swinburne University (Bachelor of Business Acc) (1993)

Languages

English
Malay