Magdalene Leong

Partner

Magdalene’s areas of practice encompass debt capital markets and structured finance.

She has considerable experience advising on local and international debt offerings, including secured and unsecured vanilla bond issues, medium term note programmes, convertible/exchangeable bonds, asset securitisations and other structured finance products.

Magdalene has worked on a number of landmark structured finance transactions in Singapore. Notably, she led the team that advised on the establishment of all Singapore covered bond programmes.

Magdalene is ranked as a notable practitioner in Chambers Asia-Pacific for Capital Markets: Securitisation & Derivatives, listed as a Leading Partner in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific for Capital Markets: Structured Finance, Derivatives and Securitisation, and recognised as a leading lawyer in capital markets by Lexology Index: Capital Markets.

Magdalene joined Allen & Gledhill in 2002 after she was called to the Singapore Bar. From 2005 to 2008, Magdalene worked in the London office of Linklaters, where she practised in the fields of international capital markets, specialising in convertible bonds, exchangeable bonds and other equity-linked products.

Magdalene rejoined the Firm in 2008 and has been a Partner since 2009. She is also a non-practising solicitor of England and Wales, having been admitted to the Roll of Solicitors of England and Wales in 2005.

Work Highlights

• Advised DBS Bank Ltd., United Overseas Bank Limited, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited, Maybank Singapore Limited and Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) Limited on the establishment of their respective Singapore covered bond programmes and issuance of covered bonds pursuant to these programmes.
• Advised United Overseas Bank Limited on the first auto-securitisation in Singapore – the establishment of a S$500 million secured medium term note programme, and the issue of two series of sustainability-linked notes by M&T Investments Pte. Ltd, backed by proceeds received from the sale, deregistration and/or lease of vehicles sold by Lion City Rentals Pte. Ltd.
• Acted for Trafigura Pte Ltd and Trafigura Commodities Funding Pte. Ltd. on the issue of US$470 million senior variable funding notes by Trafigura Commodities Pte. Ltd., backed by inventories of crude oil and refined metals. The transaction won the IFLR Asia Awards 2018 Structured Finance & Securitisation Deal of the Year.
• Advised DBS Bank Ltd. on the establishment of its S$10 billion multicurrency covered bond programme, the first Singapore covered bond programme, which won the IFLR Asia Awards 2016 Structured Finance & Securitisation Deal of the Year, IFR Asia Awards 2015 Singapore Capital Markets Deal, Asian-MENA Counsel Deals of the Year 2015 and ALB SE Asia Law Awards 2016: Debt Market (Premium).