21 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS – AUGUST 2023 WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM increase operational efficiency in all sustainable finance transactions at the bank. This includes an annually updated “sustainability legal work plan” and a playbook on sustainable finance deals for legal and business teams. The larger SLWG shares relevant information and meets bi-weekly to discuss sustainability issues and hear from regional and product lawyers on sustainability issues affecting their teams. The team also developed a suite of legal documents flexible enough to use in 59 countries to support Standard Chartered’s $1 billion commitment to finance companies helping tackle COVID-19. The legal team at Hong Kong-based alternative investment company Sun Hung Kai & Co (SHK) used dynamic and pragmatic contract drafting principles during negotiations to help SHK close several transactions in 2022. The three-lawyer team led by group head of legal and compliance Phoebe Yuen negotiated for critical contractual ing in of a ‘right of first refusal’ clause, allowing the company to dispose of all its interest in FTX before it collapsed. The team also led regulatory and compliance in the closely watched AI and data space to help SHK become the first service provider to offer potential customers AI online property valuation services. The team also has leveraged new technology, including AI-powered document review tools, to increase accuracy and efficiency in contract review. Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings’ International Privacy and Data Protection Centre (IPDP) supports Tencent in providing exciting new products and services to a global audience while navigating the constantly evolving privacy regulatory landscape worldwide and the emergence of new technologies. The IPDP, set up in 2020, comprises 17 members in Hong Kong and Singapore and is led by attorney Timothy Ma. It is responsible for designing and implementing Tencent’s privacy program. METHODOLOGY • In-house teams’ significant achievement in aspects of: - Legal expertise - Efficiency/creativity - Team depth and strength - Breadth of jurisdiction/practice areas/industries - Use of technology - Support for the overall business goals and strategies - Impact and significance • Lawyers and law firms that have represented the team and feedback • Market recognition protection clauses in various commercial agreements to ensure the best possible outcomes for the company. This includes the disposal of SHK’s stake in the nowbankrupt crypto-exchange FTX. The legal team pushed the business vertical to push the transaction before the kickCongratulations on being recognized as one of Asia’s Top 15 In-house Legal Teams! What would you say sets your team apart and contributed to this achievement? Thank you very much. The International Privacy and Data Protection Team is deeply honored to receive this recognition. What sets us apart comes down to three things: 1. the team’s commitment to pursue excellence; 2. the ever-changing legal development in the global privacy landscape that drives us to stay agile and creative all the time in order to be compliant; and 3. Tencent’s dedication to privacy and data protection allows us to build a privacy culture within the organization. After all, privacy is essential to our businesses and we enjoy doing what we do! Could you provide some insight into the key strategies your team has implemented to drive success and ensure exceptional legal support within Tencent? We put in a lot of effort to understand how our products work. We refuse to simply be an ordinary lawyer doing tabletop exercises when it comes to providing advice on privacy issues. We build our own technical tools and Even though our team is spread across four different jurisdictions, we work together as ONE team. We hold regular team meetings to keep everyone up to date on what everyone is working on and share knowledge and intelligence. We also organize team retreats and join international conferences together such that we can all learn and grow together as ONE unit. Looking ahead, what are your priorities and goals for the future of the in-house legal department? Are there any specific areas or initiatives you plan to focus on to further elevate the team’s performance and contribute to the company’s overall success? Our goal has always been making sure our products and services adhere to the highest standard of privacy protection as possible with the professional legal service we provide to the business units. With this in mind, in addition to keeping ourselves abreast of the latest legal developments, we need to learn the in-and-outs of new technologies so we can continue to be the elite privacy team that our internal clients expect from us. A conversation with Timothy Ma BROUGHT TO YOU BY TENCENT a culture of truly understanding how the products work, such that we can provide useful and comprehensive legal advice to our internal clients. How do you foster a collaborative and cohesive environment within your legal team, enabling them to effectively work together and deliver outstanding results? Timothy Ma Head of International Privacy and Data Protection E: timothyma@tencent.com Tencent W: www.tencent.com
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