Irene Yong

Irene Yong is a Partner at Shearn Delamore & Co., heading the Tax Advisory practice. She advises on all aspects of tax and revenue law, including structuring, planning, audits, investigations, dispute resolution, and litigation. Her expertise covers income tax, sales tax, service tax, GST, transfer pricing, real property gains tax, stamp duty, indirect taxes, taxation of oil and gas companies, tax incentives, trusts, and asset protection.

Irene has appeared as counsel before the GST Appeal Tribunal, the Special Commissioners of Income Tax, and the Superior Courts of Malaysia. Notable matters include acting for Boston Consulting Group in a landmark transfer pricing case before the High Court, where the Court held that Revenue's transfer pricing adjustments under the Transfer Pricing Guidelines for pre‑2009 years were invalid, resulting in a full refund of taxes and penalties. She also acted for Wincor Nixdorf in judicial review proceedings on remission of import duties and sales tax, and for Bridgestone Chemical Products in successfully compelling Customs to rectify an exemption error covering the correct period. Irene has provided tax advisory on corporate transactions including Scientex's RM190 million acquisition of Klang Hock Plastic Industries, Puma Energy's share disposal to Dialog Terminals, and Nine Dragons Paper's entry into Malaysia. She also acts as sole Malaysian tax counsel for Saudi Aramco on the US$27 billion RAPID project with Petronas, covering cross‑border structuring and direct and indirect tax implications.

Irene holds an LL.B (Hons) from the University of London, an MBA from the University of Warwick, and a Certificate in Legal Practice. She was admitted as an Advocate & Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in 1999 and also admitted in New South Wales, Australia in 2019. She is a member of the Malaysian Bar, the Bar Council's Tax Sub‑Committee, the International Bar Association, and the International Fiscal Association, and serves as the Malaysian representative of the Women of IFA Network.

She is fluent in English, Malay, and Japanese.