Chong Kin is a director with Drew & Napier LLC. He heads the firm's Competition and Regulatory, and Telecommunications, Media and Technology practices.
Chong Kin is highly regarded by his peers and clients. He is widely acknowledged as a leading competition lawyer in Singapore by ranking publications including Asia Pacific Legal 500, Chambers Asia-Pacific, Who's Who Legal, and Practical Law Company's Which Lawyer?.
His plaudits include:
"Antitrust specialist Lim Chong Kin is well known for his telecommunications, media and technology practice, and rivals say he combines the two practices flawlessly." – Global Competition Review "… highly regarded by clients and peers, who note: 'You can trust him to give solid practical advice.'" – Chambers Asia-Pacific; and, "He's provided excellent client service and demonstrated depth of knowledge. Always responsive and available for ad hoc assistance." – Asialaw Profiles: Singapore.
Chong Kin is known for his expertise in drafting first of-its-kind competition legislation, honed through his 16-year involvement in competition and regulatory matters. He regularly acts for competition regulators on liberalisation, market access, merger reviews, appeals and enforcement issues. He was appointed lead Singapore counsel for drafting of the Telecom Competition Code; the Media Market Conduct Code; and, the Postal Competition Code.
Chong Kin has worked on several market studies commissioned by the Competition Commission of Singapore ("CCS") and the sectoral competition regulators, including CCS's first study on price recommendations by trade and professional associations, and a subsequent study on the medical services sector, which led to CCS's negative decision on the Singapore Medical Association's widely used recommended pricelists for doctors.
He also regularly advises multi-national companies and local corporations on competition matters, including merger filings, transaction reviews, compliance programmes and investigations. He obtained clearance from CCS for Visa's Multilateral Interchange Fee system; and, an unconditional clearance for Singapore Airlines Limited's joint venture agreement with Scandinavian Airlines. He also obtained a Phase 1 merger clearance for United Parcel Service Inc.'s proposed acquisition of TNT Express N.V. Chong Kin also assisted CCS in a review of the current block exemption order for liner shipping agreements.
In tandem with competition law development in the ASEAN region, Chong Kin is actively involved with assisting clients with competition law compliance in the region. In 2008, he led an international consortium on a prestigious study on competition policy and law in the ASEAN economies.
He is co-editor of Singapore's first comprehensive competition law textbook: Bull, Lim and Whish, Competition Law and Policy in Singapore, published by the Singapore Academy of Law (2009). He also authored the competition chapter in Law Relating to Specific Contracts in Singapore published by Thomson Sweet & Maxwell (2008).