Gwyneth S. Ong

Partner, Corporate and Commercial Group
Co-Head, Capital Markets
Co-Head, Projects & Energy

Qualifications

  • University of the Philippines, Bachelor of Laws, Order of the Purple Feather (2003)
  • Ateneo de Manila University, B.S. Legal Management (1999)
  • Admission to Bar (2004)

Gwyneth is a member of Martinez Vergara & Gonzalez Sociedad’s Corporate and Commercial Group, and co-heads the Firm’s Capital Markets and Projects & Energy Practice Groups.

Gwyneth specializes in and has extensive experience in capital market transactions having handled a whole range of securities transactions involving both equity offerings and debt securities issuances. With the implementation of the recently revised regulations of the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT) law, she is one of the pioneer lawyers in the Philippines handling REIT projects.

She is also well versed in infrastructure projects under the Public-Private Partnership program of the government as she assisted the Firm’s client in biddings leading to, among others, the award of an international airport project and an integrated transport terminal project. Also included in her wheelhouse are mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and project finance.

Throughout her more than a decade in practice, Gwyneth has handled clients in various industries including business process outsourcing, real estate development, manufacturing, construction, renewable energy, infrastructure, investments and banking, routinely assisting and counselling them on legal and regulatory issues.
 
Prior to joining the Firm, Gwyneth was an associate at Picazo Buyco Tan Fider & Santos Law Office until 2006. She was also legal counsel at Philweb Corporation and foreign legal consultant in Makes & Partners in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Banking & Financing

  • Acted as counsel to issuer Sta. Lucia Land Inc. (PLC) in its Php5.0 billion notes facility agreement arranged by China Bank Capital Corporation.
  • Advised Sta. Lucia Land Inc. (PLC) on its Php7 billion notes facility arranged by RCBC Capital Corporation.

Capital Markets

  • Acted as counsel to DDMP REIT, INC. on its initial public offer (IPO) of common shares with total offer size of Php14.71 billion, one of the first real estate investment trust (REIT) listings in the Philippines.
  • One of the few IPOs in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, acted as counsel to MerryMart Consumer Corp. (MerryMart), a consumer focused retail company principally engaged in the operation of retail stores in the supermarket and household essentials categories.
  • Acted for DoubleDragon Properties Corp. in the USD75,000,000 bond offering of its wholly-owned subsidiary which it listed with the Singapore Stock Exchange.
  • Acted as counsel to DoubleDragon Properties Corporation (PLC) relating to its follow-on offering and sale of 135 million common shares.

Projects & Energy

  • Acted as counsel to Aboitiz Infracapital, Inc. in its investment agreement with Terra Digital Pte. Ltd. in relation to the acquisition, construction, development and operation of at least 5,000 macro towers all over the Philippines.
  • Acted as counsel for Citicore Power Inc., an affiliate of publicly-listed company Megawide Construction Corporation, in its acquisition of five operating renewable energy generation plants located in Luzon and Mindanao with a total capacity of approximately 59.9 MW installed capacity.
  • Represented Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation an affiliate of PSE-listed, Megawide Construction Corporation, in establishing a joint venture with Ace Endeavor, Inc., a subsidiary of the AC Energy Philippines which is listed with the PSE and a member of the Ayala Group of Companies for a project involved establishing the framework for the joint development, ownership and operation of solar and other renewable power plants in the Philippines.

Mergers & Acquisition

  • Advised a Hong-Kong based listed company in its acquisition of majority ownership of a Philippine company (PLC) involved in the development of an integrated hotel and casino project in Manila Bay Reclamation Area.

The Asia Pacific Legal 500

Capital Markets 2021 – Next Generation Partner

Capital Market – Recommended Lawyer (2015 and 2021)

  • ‘Manuel Z Gonzalez Gwyneth S Ong Janice L Co: All three of them, working as a team, are dedicated to their client’s goals, work tirelessly to ensure that the client’s objectives are achieved, and they are dutiful and have a keen eye for detail in the documentation of the agreements that are reached between the seller and buyer sides.’
  • ‘Manuel Gonzalez and Gwyneth S Ong provide up to date and relevant legal advise that are important to the client’s IP interests and decision-making, as well as in charting the course of the company’s business.’
  • ‘Martinez Vergara Gonzalez & Serrano’s lawyers have ‘practical knowledge and a proactive approach’. The ‘driven and dynamic’ Manuel Gonzalez heads the department which includes Gwyneth Ong, who is ‘diligent and very easy to work with’.’
  • Member, Integrated Bar of the Philippines