Kevin Au

Full Profile

Kevin is a Senior Associate in Clyde & Co's International Arbitration team in Singapore. 

Kevin's practice experience is in dispute resolution, with a particular focus on international arbitration and commercial litigation over a range of industries including hospitality & leisure, building & construction, and international trade. These disputes are often of a complex and multi-disciplinary nature, dealing with both procedural issues such as jurisdictional challenges, preliminary injunctive actions and expedited/bifurcated procedures, as well as substantive issues in law such as breach of contract, misrepresentation, fraud, negligence, and claims in equity relying on sophisticated trust instruments. 

Kevin's arbitration experience extends to numerous international arbitrations administered by the institutional rules of SIAC, HKIAC, ICC, LMAA, MARC and DIFC-LCIA, as well as UNCITRAL and ad hoc arbitrations, seated in Singapore, Hong Kong, London, Mauritius and Dubai.  At the same time, his litigation disputes have taken him regularly before the High Court, including interim measures in support of arbitration such as freezing and anti-suit injunctions, enforcement proceedings and applications for the setting aside and appealing of arbitral awards. He has also been involved in several landmark cases before the Court of Appeal.

He is dual-qualified as an Advocate and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore and a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales. He has also recently been received as a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb).

Experience

• Represented a Japanese-owned real estate & hospitality investment company in relation to a S$500m ICC arbitration for fraudulent misrepresentation and breach of contract against one of the world’s largest fund management companies over the sale and purchase of a renowned hotel in Singapore. Also acted in both the appeal and setting aside proceedings of the Final Award in the Singapore High Court.
• Represented one of the largest Thailand-based hospitality and leisure groups in APAC in a US$25m DIFC-LCIA arbitration in the termination of a hotel management agreement and claim for loss of profits against a Dubai state-owned company which involved issues of jurisdiction, seat, interim measures, enforceability and valuation expert evidence.
• Advised an US-based internationally renowned hospitality and leisure group in a US$300m cash acquisition comprising 53 properties including hotels, resorts and spas which involved the review and analysis of various legal and financial documents involving the 53 properties. 
• Represented one of the most established US-based international hotel brands in two parallel HKIAC arbitrations over the termination of a hotel management agreement and involving a pre-arbitration preliminary injunction in the Korean courts.
• Represented one of the largest Chinese-owned offshore service providers in a US$200m LMAA arbitration against a Chinese state-owned multinational engineering and manufacturing company over the construction of two offshore jack-up drilling oil rigs.
• Represented a Spain-based construction and engineering company in a A$112m SIAC arbitration against a Chinese manufacturing company over a supply contract for the design and manufacture of bulk handling machines as part of an iron-ore mine processing plant and port in Australia  for delay, defects, modularisation and payments.
• Represented a JV of Korean construction companies in a US$11m ICC arbitration against an Iraqi company in respect of the construction of an oil refinery in Iraq involving complex issues of jurisdiction, anti-suit/anti-enforcement injunctions and stay of court proceedings.
• Represented a Serbian state-owned defence company in the Singapore Court of Appeal in garnishee proceedings involving cross-border trust instruments and the ownership of beneficial interest in excess of US$17m.
• Represented a Dubai-owned company in an SIAC arbitration and subsequent enforcement proceedings concerning a back-to-back coal contract and the recovery of US$1.3m for failure of basis and consideration, and unjust enrichment, as well as the setting aside of a related arbitral award in the Singapore High Court and Court of Appeal. 
• Represented a Chinese-owned commodities trading company in a US$2.1m SIAC arbitration and successfully claiming repudiatory breach of an iron-ore supply contract.