Ron Cheng

Some of the matters in which Ron has handled include:

Investment Funds / Private Equity / Venture Capital

• Establishing investment funds with strategies in private equity, venture capital, hedge, fund-of-funds, cryptocurrency, real estate, and other asset classes which are typically structured as VCCs, limited partnerships, unit trusts or private limited corporations.
• Advising clients on obtaining various types of capital markets services licences (in particular, the AILFMC or VCFM regime) and the establishment of single-family offices (SFOs) and multi-family offices (MFOs), in Singapore.
• Advising on the acquisition of licensed fund management companies in Singapore.
• Advising a licensed fund manager on the transfer of an investment fund managed by it to another incoming manager.
• Advising a listed group of companies on obtaining a capital markets services licence in fund management for venture capital funds and establishing a venture capital fund, of which a government-linked entity is a lead investor.
• Advising a Dutch pension fund asset manager as lead investor in a private equity transaction, involving a tax-exempted fund managed by a related corporation of a major Indian real estate developer.
• Advising a Singapore licensed fund manager on the set up of a Singapore master-feeder fund structure investing into Indonesian real estate through private credit arrangements.
• Advising various Malaysian State-owned entities on their investments into a VCC which invests into venture capital companies.
• Advising an Indonesian State-owned entity on its investments into a VCC which invests into non-performing loans in Indonesia.
• Advising a State-owned entity in South Asia on its potential investment as anchor investor into a limited partnership fund investing in start-up companies in conjunction with a bootcamp / accelerator program.
• Advising a Singapore fund manager backed by a prominent Chinese fund management group and an international bank in its establishment of Cayman funds and advising on complex regulatory compliance.
• Advising sponsors on their cross-border investment into a VCC which is intended to hold companies with concession rights in mining in various jurisdictions.
• Advising fund structures on applying for the section 13O or section 13U tax incentive schemes. The latter includes various permutations of Feeder-Master-SPV structures.
• Advising funds with non-tradable listing on their compliance requirements with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Exchange.
• Advising major international banks and private funds on their funds regulatory compliance issues, including notification of restricted schemes and annual declarations, and advising on their distributorship agreements.
• Advising Singapore start-up companies or their lead investors in private equity or venture capital fund-raising through seed and multiple Series rounds.

Mergers & Acquisitions / Joint Ventures / Corporate Restructuring

• Advising a well-known Singapore real estate company in their joint venture with an international real estate investment fund, and the subsequent provision of operator and property management services to the portfolio real estate assets.
• Advising a major snack company from Germany in their joint venture with an Indian company specialising in the production of cashew nuts and the parties’ subsequent multi-million-dollar investments into the joint venture company.
• Advising a Singapore corporation in its sale of the ERA real estate group of companies.
• Advising a Singapore subsidiary of a United States-based conglomerate in its private acquisition of shares in a Singapore company (involving the transfer of a JTC property) for S$35 million.
• Advising a United States-based conglomerate on the amalgamation of two of its Singapore subsidiaries, one of which is the registered owner of a JTC property.
• Advising an SGX-listed company in the construction industry on its proposed participation as leading member of a Consortium in the design, construction, and operation of a new international airport structured as a Build-Operate-Transfer project.
• Advising an SGX-listed Bermuda company in its acquisition of selected assets (including land, buildings, plant, and machineries) worth about S$20 million from a ceramics company in China.

Corporate Finance / Capital Markets

• Advising an institutional guarantor and the foreign issuer in relation to the update of an existing multi-currency euro-certificates of deposit programme (and the related security documentation) to, inter alia, increase the programme size to an amount of A$3 billion.
• Advising a corporate finance advisory firm on a private placement exercise of S$6 million worth of shares to places in Hong Kong and Singapore.
• Advising a trade-related financial services provider in its investment into a fund specialising in trading receivables.
• Advising a Japanese conglomerate in their pre-IPO cornerstone investment of about S$50 million in a listed commercial trust and an investment of about S$765,000 in a business space fund.
• Advising the manager of a real estate investment trust which was proposed to be listed on the SGX-ST.

Employment Law

• Advising various clients on employment law issues in Singapore, such as contract formation, employee share option schemes, vesting agreements, termination of employment, leave and retrenchment benefits, employee insurance, and the duties and liabilities of employers and employees.

Asialaw Awards
Client Choice Awards 2025 – Singapore Lawyer of the Year: Ron Cheng

Chambers Asia-Pacific
Investment Funds 2026 – Leading Individual for 4 consecutive years

• “Mr Ron Cheng is a talented and highly skilled lawyer who comprehends complex investment strategies and is highly sensitive to commercial viabilities. He works round the clock to deliver tier 1 deliverables.”
• “Ron is very experienced, knowledgeable and responsive. He is sensitive to clients’ interests and is great to work with.”
• “Ron Cheng has displayed a top-notch level of professionalism and competencies. His commitment to perfection and service is unmatched. He is undoubtedly one of the best legal counsels we have met.”

Asia-Pacific Legal 500
Investment Funds 2026 – Leading Individual for 6 consecutive years, previously a Recommended Lawyer for 4 consecutive years
Capital Markets 2022 – Recommended Lawyer for 2 years

• “Ron Cheng is always available for urgent matters, and will help think of innovative yet practical solutions.
• “Ron Cheng is very experienced and provides solutions that are commercially viable.”
• “Ron Cheng and Gladys Lim are comprehensive in their analysis, advice and drafting. Ahead of their competitors in understanding developments and issues facing the industry and able to offer innovative solutions.”
• “Ron Cheng is sharp, has the ability to remove the ‘noises’ and identify the major issues.”
• “Ron Cheng is experienced and knowledgeable, especially on matters pertaining to investment funds. He is able to explain the legal concepts clearly and concisely to clients and to assist with their requirements.”
• “Ron Cheng has proved to be top-tier with his professionalism, in-depth knowledge, capability to breakdown complex problems and create innovative solutions.”
• “Mr Ron Cheng, the co-head of investment funds at Drew & Napier, has demonstrated unparalleled levels of professionalism and competencies. His responsiveness to communications is unmatched by any other legal counsel we have worked with. His capability to clearly dissect and compartmentalise information has allowed him to comprehend and provide solutions for some of the most complex cases or structures we presented.”
• “Ron Cheng from Drew & Napier LLC is very experienced and knowledgeable on legal matters pertaining to fund structures. He is also very responsive and can explain legal concepts clearly to clients.”
• Ron “demonstrated that he has a strong grasp of the various legal issues for investment funds. He is also very familiar with different fund vehicles and structures. Ron is truly a leading lawyer in his field and I would not hesitate to recommend him to our clients”.
• He specialises in the structuring and listing of funds, “manages a good team”, and “always delivers well thought out practical advice”.
• “His expertise and ability to navigate through complex and unconventional fund structures is admirable.”
• A client praised Ron for being “highly accessible and responsive”.
• Ron Cheng stands out for his “experience and knowledge”. He is strong in all aspects of funds management and private equity transactions together with regulatory regimes and related tax issues.
• He “provides exception innovative strategy” in alternative investment funds.
• “Ron Cheng is capable to analyse complex fund structure, provide exception innovative strategy, and execute his task effectively and efficiently.”

IFLR1000: The Guide to the World’s Leading Financial Law Firms
Investment Funds 2025 – Highly Regarded for 4 consecutive years

• “Attentive, very knowledgeable, detail-oriented to the matter at hand.”
• “Friendly and approachable.”
• “Deep industrial knowledge and fast turnaround.”
• “Very responsive and will work quickly to solve problems working late into the night. Looks out for client's interests and points out potential downsides.”
• “Mr. Ron Cheng is a talented and highly skilled lawyer who is capable of comprehending complex investment strategies and structure. He possesses a broad understanding of legal frameworks across multiple disciplines while being highly skilled and updated in investment fund-related regulations.”
• “Ron is experienced, skilled, and responsive.”
• “Ron is very responsive to clients' queries, even outside of the regular working hours. He is also able to explain complex legal concepts to the clients in a clear and concise manner.”

Asialaw Leading Lawyers
Investment Funds 2025 – Distinguished Practitioner, previously Notable Practitioners for 2 consecutive years

• “Knowledgeable and able to understand and meet the client’s needs.”
• “Ron has been extremely meticulous when it comes to his work. He ensures that he covers all angles and risks that the fund may encounter locally or abroad. Ron is able to understand complex problems and comes up with innovative solutions and structure.”
• “Ron ably assisted several of my companies in their respective corporate matters, spanning shareholders' agreements, joint ventures, investments, employment and together with another litigation partner in the firm, some contentious matters. I, and my companies, rely on Ron's expertise and legal acumen, which he delivers with speed and precision. He is my corporate legal adviser of choice, and I am very pleased with our outcomes working together. He deserves the title of a leading individual in his field of expertise.”
• “Ron is extremely well versed and professional. He is able to provide meaningful and valuable insights into how we can plan and execute our funds more effectively. Ron's work is prompt and always deliver the work within the given timeline.”
• “Ron is very professional, knowledgeable and efficient. I am very pleased with his work.”
• “Ron was responsive and attentive to our needs, despite facing multiple urgent matters. Was experienced and knowledgeable on the relevant areas of law that he advised on, including providing insights such as non-public insights from regulators.”

Singapore Business Review
Singapore’s 70 most influential lawyers aged 40 and under in 2016 – Listed lawyer

• Member, Singapore Academy of Law
• Member, Law Society of Singapore
• Member, Law Society of England & Wales

• Co-author of the Singapore chapters to “The International Comparative Legal Guide to Securitisation” in 2016, 2014, 2012 and 2011, published by the Global Legal Group.
• Co-author of “Timetable for Implementation of Amendments to the Companies Act”, April 2015, published by Lexology and Drew & Napier LLC.
• Author of “Impending Provisions in the Singapore Companies Act Relating to Duties of Chief Executive Officers”, February 2015, published by Lexology and Drew & Napier LLC.
• Co-author of the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network’s guide “Getting Started in Venture Philanthropy in Asia – Legal Framework Profile for Singapore”, published by the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network in 2014.
• Co-author of “Duties and Liabilities of Directors of Insolvent Companies” published by Asian Legal Business in June 2003.