
Chee Chien is a litigator with a focus on contentious restructuring and insolvency, shareholders’ disputes, commercial litigation, and arbitration.
His experience relating to restructuring and insolvency includes acting in schemes of arrangement, judicial management, winding up and personal bankruptcy. This includes acting as the restructuring counsel for a number of Malaysian public and private companies and acting as counsel in contentious winding up matters.
He has represented private equity firms and individual shareholders in various shareholders’ disputes such as minority oppression actions and cases of removal of directors. He also has experience advising the Board of Directors of a number of Malaysian public companies on issues relating to board members and management.
His experience relating to arbitration includes opposing an International Chamber of Commerce (“ICC”) arbitration in Singapore and advising on several court-related arbitration matters.
Chee Chien graduated from Cardiff University and is a Barrister-at-Law (Middle Temple). He recently completed INSOL International’s Foundation Certificate in International Insolvency Law, where he read the insolvency laws of various jurisdictions such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, British Virgins Island, the People’s Republic of China and others. He currently represents Malaysia in INSOL Future Leaders Technical Committee.
Key Practice Areas
Restructuring and Insolvency
- Acting as junior counsel in a scheme of arrangement utilising the new provisions under the amended Companies Act 2016.
- Acted as junior counsel in appointment of an interim liquidator and the winding up of a Labuan investment bank involved in a USD1 billion Ponzi scheme. See Probis Financial Services Pty Ltd (administrators appointed) v City Credit Investment Bank Ltd [2024] 12 MLJ 832.
- Acted for a company under receivership in the implementation of a scheme of arrangement which obtained 100% support from its scheme creditors of an abandoned mixed development condominium.
- Acted as junior counsel in a construction dispute involving a conflict of law between Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Act 2012 and Companies Act 2016. See CT Indah Construction Sdn Bhd v BHL Gemilang Sdn Bhd [2020] 1 CLJ 75.
Shareholders' Disputes
- Acted as junior counsel to oppose a minority oppression claim filed by the founder shareholder of one of Malaysia’s largest pharmaceutical company. The matter was litigated up to the Federal Court. See Ho Sue San @ David Ho Sue San v Hovid Bhd & Ors [2024] 5 MLJ 165.
- Acted as junior counsel in a director-shareholder dispute that clarified the law on a minority shareholder’s rights to requisition the Board of Directors to convene a shareholders’ meeting. See Lim Swee Chai v Advancecon Holdings Bhd & Anor [2024] 6 CLJ 902.
Commercial Litigation and Arbitration
- Currently acting as junior counsel in an international arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce over a trade dispute worth more than USD20 million.
- Acted as junior counsel to oppose an anti-arbitration injunction to restrain re-arbitration: See Government of The Lao People’s Democratic Republic v Thai-Lao Lignite (Thailand) Co Ltd (a Thai company) [2024] 12 MLJ 41.
- Acted as junior counsel to oppose a court application to stay ongoing arbitral proceedings. See Lee Son Hong v Tael Management Co (Cayman) Ltd & Ors [2022] MLJU 3425.
- Acted as lead counsel to oppose a tort of conversion claim filed by a mining company. See Geonex (M) Sdn Bhd v Ecostrength Sdn Bhd [2023] CLJU 2904.
- Acted as junior counsel in a claim arising from the termination of a sale and purchase agreement of a pulp and paper manufacturing plant worth RM1.2 billion.
Qualifications
- Foundation Certificate in International Insolvency Law, INSOL (2024)
- Advocate & Solicitor, High Court of Malaya (2017)
- Barrister-at-Law (Middle Temple) (2016)
- LL.B. (Hons), Cardiff University (2015)
Publications and Talks
Authored the following articles
- Malaysia’s Road to Clearer and Fairer Competition [2017] 2 MLJ 1