About

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Si Cheng is counsel at Omni Law. He focuses on international commercial and investment disputes in Southeast Asia. He has worked on cases spanning different industries (energy & mining, finance & insurance, retail, real estate, etc.), governing laws (Singapore, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Indian, English, Cayman, etc.), and arbitration rules (SIAC, ICC, HKIAC, LCIA, UNCITRAL, etc.).

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Si Cheng graduated from Durham University with an LLB (First Class) in 2015. He trained under a leading international arbitrator, gaining admission to the Singapore bar in 2017. In 2019, he joined the disputes practice of a global white-shoe law firm, focusing on commercial arbitration. He went on to join Omni Law in 2022 after completing the BCL at Oxford University with distinction.

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Past work

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Commercial disputes – Energy & Mining sector

• Acted for a Guatemalan power plant owner in successfully resisting an application by a Chinese contractor to set aside a USD 129 mil ICC arbitral award in Singapore: China Machine v Jaguar Energy [2018] SGHC 101. Forum: Singapore courts.

• Acted for a Japanese-owned general partner of a USD 200 mil Cayman fund (which focused on energy projects) against the limited partners in relation to the termination of the fund. Governing law: Cayman law. Forum: SIAC arbitration in Singapore.

• Tribunal secretary in a USD 23 mil commercial arbitration arising out of the sale and purchase of shares in an Indonesian mining joint venture. Governing law: Indonesian law. Forum: SIAC arbitration in Singapore.

• Assisted an arbitrator in a USD 1.45 bil commercial arbitration arising out of a joint venture for the mining of iron ore reserves in a South American State. Governing law: English law. Forum: LCIA arbitration in London.

• Advised a Dutch LNG seller on the operation of a price review provision in the LNG SPA, its interaction with the arbitration agreement, and relevant standards and timeframes applicable to the price review. Governing law: English law. Forum: ICC arbitration in Singapore.

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Commercial disputes – Media sector

• Acted for a Korean-owned partner in a USD 35 mil commercial arbitration against its Vietnamese partners of a media & entertainment joint venture in connection with a competing business. Governing law: Vietnamese law. Forum: SIAC arbitration in Singapore.

• Acted for an Indonesian digital platform owner in a USD 20 mil commercial arbitration against a Qatari-owned entity in relation to the acquisition of media licences in breach of restrictive covenants. Governing law: Singapore law. Forum: SIAC arbitration in Singapore.

 

Commercial disputes – Real estate & infrastructure sector

• Acted for the buyer in a SGD 0.8 mil litigation against the seller-developer in an appeal against assessment of damages. Governing law: Singapore law. Forum: Singapore courts.

• Tribunal secretary in a USD 225 mil commercial arbitration between joint venture partners stemming from the development of a residential and commercial complex in Dubai. Governing law: Dubai law. Forum: LCIA arbitration in Singapore.

• Tribunal secretary in a USD 50 mil commercial arbitration arising from the dilution of the minority shareholder’s stake in an Indian hospital operator. Governing law: Indian law. Forum: SIAC arbitration in Singapore.

 

Commercial disputes – Commodities & trading sector

• Assisted an arbitrator in a USD 46 mil commercial arbitration arising out of a joint venture agreement for the trading of aircraft engines and parts. Governing law: Hong Kong law. Forum: HKIAC arbitration in Hong Kong.

 

Commercial disputes – Retail sector

• Advised a Hong Kong-based brand retail and distribution group in a dispute with a luxury fashion company arising from put options in the joint venture agreements. Governing law: English law. Forum: LCIA arbitration in London.

 

Investor-State disputes

• Assisted in an appeal against an arbitral tribunal’s jurisdictional ruling in a USD 315 mil arbitration against an Asian State that raised issues of the interaction between successive treaties. Governing law: Public international law. Forum: PCA arbitration in Singapore.

• Tribunal secretary in a USD 3 bil investor-State arbitration on the compliance of the State's imposition of retroactive withholding tax with the State’s BIT obligations. Governing law: Public international law. Forum: UNCITRAL arbitration in Singapore.