Ameera ASHRAF heads the Antitrust & Competition Practice and is a Partner of the Corporate Regulatory & Licensing Practice.
Since the introduction of competition law in Singapore, Ameera has led the WongPartnership antitrust practice in some of the most important antitrust decisions issued by the Competition Commission of Singapore ("CCCS") and the Competition Appeal Board. This includes the first appeal on a merger, as well as in decisions which have established the law and procedure in a number of areas of competition law in Singapore. She advises on a full range of competition issues, including merger control, restrictive practices, abuse of dominance, issues in licensing and other intellectual property agreements and compliance programmes.
Ameera also offers guidance on sectoral competition laws including the codes of practice published under the Telecommunications Act and the Media Development Authority Act.
In her Regulatory Practice, Ameera advises clients in regulated markets on the applicable regulatory framework, and supports them in their dealings with government departments in areas such as trade regulation, consumer protection and fair-trading laws and environment, health and safety regulations. She provides compliance advice, regulatory due diligence and strategic advice on the impact of government regulations on their businesses. Some of the regulatory matters she has been involved in include advising on the legislative framework in the transport, electricity and gas industries and in relation to the food industry. In the transportation industry she has guided clients across complex regulations in areas such as autonomous vehicles, regulation of ride-hailing, taxis, trains and airlines.
She is a regular participant in roundtable discussions organised by the CCCS for the review of competition guidelines and legislation in Singapore, and has participated as a non-governmental advisor at the International Competition Network conference since 2013. Ameera also has experience in UK and EC competition law through a stint with the Antitrust Group of an international law firm in London.
Ameera is a board member of the Competition Appeal Board, which is an independent body hearing appeals against the decisions of the CCCS. She also sits on two statutory boards, Enterprise Singapore, which supports enterprise development, and the Building and Construction Authority, which oversees the development and transformation of the built environment sector. She also sits on the Main Committee of the Yellow Ribbon Fund, which is a charity focused on the development and implementation of rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for ex-offenders and their families. She is an active member of the International Bar Association where she serves as an officer of its Antitrust Committee. She is also a member of the American Bar Association's International Cartel Task Force.
Significant transactions that Ameera has been involved in include advising / acting for the following:
- Nachi Fujikoshi Corporation in its successful appeal against the quantum of financial penalty imposed by the (then) Competition Commission of Singapore.
- Uber Singapore in the first ever appeal against a merger decision by the CCCS.
- Singapore Chemi-con (Pte) Ltd, Nachi-Fujikoshi Corporation, and Nishi-Nippon Railroad Co. Ltd. in the first three infringement decisions involving multijurisdictional cartels issued by the CCCS.
- Luxottica Group in its successful Phase 2 clearance without commitments in its merger with Essilor International.
Related Practices
- Antitrust & Competition
- Corporate Regulatory & Licensing
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- The Merger Control Review, Singapore Chapter – 2nd to 5th Editions
Ameera has been acknowledged as a leading Antitrust and Competition lawyer in Singapore by various independent publications such as The Legal 500: Asia Pacific – The Client's Guide to the Asia Pacific Legal Profession, Chambers Asia-Pacific – Asia-Pacific's Leading Lawyers for Business, Who's Who Legal – Global Competition Report and asialaw Profiles – The Guide to Asia-Pacific's Leading Domestic Law Firms. In 2023, Ameera had the distinction of being listed in Asia Business Law Journal’s A-list of the Top 100 Lawyers in Singapore and was recognised in Best Lawyers for her expertise in Competition / Antitrust Law. Chambers Asia-Pacific describes her as being "super hands-on, pragmatic, very responsive and plugged into a great network of counsel all over Asia" and "widely respected on the competition circuit", who is "very experienced, intelligent, clear and practical" and is "fantastic in giving strategic direction and providing very sound judgement". Clients have praised her advice for "making it as commercially understandable as possible". In The Legal 500: Asia Pacific, she has been described by a client as "the best practitioner in Singapore in this area" highlighting that "she's very creative, not afraid of speaking her mind, and always willing to push the envelope".