Chin Sook Kwan

Background

Sook Kwan’s work encompasses a variety of debt transactions including direct and syndicated corporate loans, conventional and Islamic private debt securities, project finance transactions, aircraft and ship financing. Sook Kwan also advises clients on asset securitisation and other structured financing transactions. She was legal counsel for a number of securitisation transactions in Malaysia including the first of such transactions approved under the Securities Commission guidelines.

Sook Kwan has been named as a leading lawyer in banking and finance and debt capital markets in many notable publications including Chambers, Legal 500, Who’s Who Legal and IFLR. She was one of only six lawyers from Malaysia included in the IFLR1000 Women Leaders Guide since 2018 up till 2023. She has also won multiple awards for her role in capital market transactions from, among others, Islamic Finance News, Asian Legal Business, Malaysia Law Awards and nominated for leading deals at the Financial Times Asia Pacific Innovative Lawyers Awards. Sook Kwan is also listed in Malaysia’s Top 100 Lawyers by Asia Business Law Journal since 2020.

Career

Sook Kwan began her legal career at Russell McVeagh Mckenzie Bartleet & Co, one of the largest commercial law firms in New Zealand. In 1996, Sook Kwan returned to Malaysia and joined Zaid Ibrahim & Co as an Associate. Sook Kwan was made a Partner of the firm in 2000