Ow Yong Thian Soo

Ow Yong Thian Soo is a Senior Partner and Head of the Real Estate & Property Department at Lee & Lee in Singapore. His practice focuses on Real Estate Law, with over 40 years of practice.

Ow Yong was an articled clerk under Kwa Geok Choo, one of Lee & Lee's founders. He was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 1982, and rose through the ranks, being made a Partner in 1984, an Equity Partner in 1985 and eventually becoming Head of Department.

Throughout his career, Ow Yong has structured and seen to completion numerous large-scale transactions in virtually every area of real estate practice. He has represented many public listed and private companies, banks, societies, charities and individuals in acquisitions, dispositions, leasing of and development of vacant land, residential, industrial and commercial properties and hotels. He has acted for both major financial institutions and borrowers in many high-value loan transactions, including financing purchases of large commercial buildings, construction loans to housing developers, and syndicated loan arrangements.

He has also advised government agencies in real estate matters, including the sale of land belonging to the Minister for Finance to the lessees of Normanton Park and the proposed sale of land to the lessees of Neptune Court, represented the Insolvency and Public Trustee's Office in the collective sale of Henley Industrial Building, and advised the Central Provident Fund Board regarding mortgage-backed securities. Ow Yong also specialises in the "en bloc" sale and purchase of properties, having acted for purchasers and sellers in numerous en bloc sale and purchase transactions.

His case highlights include acting for a joint venture involving multiple MNCs in the purchase of the Farrer Court development at a record price of S$1.3388 billion; acting for a joint venture involving an established property developer in the purchase of a Government Land Sales site in Marina Gardens Lane for S$1.03448 billion; representing the owners of the Leedon Heights development in their collective sale, which fetched S$835 million; and acting for the owners in the collective sale of Pearlbank Apartments, which was sold at S$728 million. He also represented the owners in the collective sale of Tulip Garden, which sold at S$907 million, and acted for the owners of Peace Centre and Peace Mansion in the collective sale of their development, which went for S$650 million.

He is a member of the Law Society of Singapore and the Singapore Academy of Law, and serves as a Director of Hogan Lovells Lee & Lee and as an Independent Director of Charisma Energy Services Limited, Koh Brothers Group Limited and MYP Ltd.