Peiying Chua Heikes

Peiying is the firm’s Singapore Head of Financial Regulation Group and is widely regarded as a leading financial regulatory lawyer, advising clients in Singapore and internationally on all issues associated with financial regulation. 

She advises banks, investment managers, broker-dealers, market operators, commodity houses, insurance companies and intermediaries, as well as technology, payments and other companies expanding into the fintech sector. Her full range of expertise includes licensing and structuring; regulatory change projects and compliance; regulatory investigations; and corporate M&A in the financial services sector.

Peiying has built from a standing start a leading financial regulatory practice, which has been ranked Tier 1 in The Legal 500 for the last five years. She has also been ranked in Chambers’ Fintech Guide and in Chambers’ Banking & Finance: Regulatory. A client notes, "Peiying is an excellent lawyer with deep awareness of the financial services market, close relations with the regulator, and a keen sense of client service. She makes you feel safe with your legal issues handed to her for analysis."  Another remarked “Peiying Chua is extremely sharp and has a strong ability to interpret the regulations in the financial services space. Deliverables are on time and top-notch quality”. She has been ranked 'Next Generation Partner’ for four years by The Legal 500 and was recognised by Innovate Finance in the global ‘Women in Fintech Powerlist 2019’ as an inhouse specialist, the go-to for fintech trends and an influential voice on sector innovation and diversity in finance.  

Peiying takes a keen interest in social impact work and is the firm’s Social Impact Partner in Singapore.

Work highlights

Among the many matters on which Peiying has led or been a key adviser, she has advised:

• on licensing requirements and obtaining requisite financial regulatory licences for clients, including the launch of innovative products or platforms such as for Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited.
• international banks on key business conduct obligations, including best execution, individual accountability / senior manager regimes and anti-commingling rules.
• global asset managers (private equity, real estate, etc.), trading houses and market operators on successfully obtaining the relevant licences, and on ongoing regulatory compliance requirements.
• a global insurance company on the establishment of a new Singapore entity to house its digital business, including applying for the relevant licence.
• The Siam Commercial Bank on its joint venture with Julius Baer to provide private banking services to Singapore and Thai clients.
• BondEvalue on its blockchain trading platform and issue of fractionalised bonds, and other fintech firms on tokenisation of assets structures.
• various fintech, payments, technology and cryptocurrency firms on regulatory regimes concerning payment services and digital assets, including the Payment Services Act in Singapore and upcoming regulatory changes.
• Association of Crypto Currency Enterprises and Start-ups Singapore (ACCESS) on drafting its Code of Practice, setting out anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism best practices for cryptocurrency firms operating in Singapore.

Peiying is a regular speaker at fintech conferences, including at the Singapore FinTech Festival organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, where she was recently invited by the regulator to speak at a closed-door industry session on Rules to Power a Stablecoin Driven Future Economy. 

Peiying is an active participant in industry discussions on fintech and wider regulatory reform. She sits on the Blockchain Association of Singapore’s Regulatory and Compliance Sub-Committee, and has represented other industry associations on regulatory reform, such as Asia Securities and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) and the Singapore Fintech Association.

She also sits on the firm’s global Fintech Steering Group and Innovation Steering Group, which drives fintech and innovation strategies for the firm.

She is an active participant in lobbying regulatory authorities on regulatory reform. She has represented the Blockchain Association of Singapore, the Asia Securities and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) and the Singapore Fintech Association on consultation responses, such as regarding Proposed Regulatory Measures for Digital Payment Token Services and Proposed Regulatory Approach for Stablecoin-Related Activities. She is regularly invited by regulators to closed-door consultation sessions, including recently on investor protection measures for the digital assets industry.

Peiying has experience as an adjunct instructor for a course “A Digital Customer Journey” in the Singapore Management University’s School of Law. She is also a guest speaker on “Digital Risk Management” for the Master of Science in Wealth Management programme in the Singapore Management University’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business.

Prior to joining Linklaters, Peiying was director and assistant general counsel in Bank of America Merrill Lynch, acting as Singapore legal and regulatory counsel and APAC banking counsel for the private bank. She also spent time on secondment in Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers.

Peiying studied law at the National University of Singapore, which included an exchange year with Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Canada.

She speaks English and Mandarin.