London-headquartered law firm, Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), has announced the promotion of 11 key staff members across its Asian network of flagship and associated practices, to senior associate level.
Effective from July 01, the new appointments form part of a global promotions push across 106 employees in total. Those in Asia span the firm’s Corporate, Disputes and Finance practices.
In China, Beijing-based Brian Ge (Capital Markets) is promoted alongside Chengdong Xing (International Arbitration) in Shanghai and Sean Ji (Capital Markets), who works at the firm’s joint operation partner firm, Kewei, in the same location.
Meanwhile in Hong Kong, Trevor Ho (Litigation) is promoted alongside Steven Wenham (Investigations and Tax Disputes) and David Webb (Intellectual Property), who will relocate to the special administrative region (SAR) from August.
Discussing the outlook for cross-border activity in the region, Ge told FinanceAsia, “Regulators in both the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong SAR are determined to broaden market reach through, among other things, the Connect Schemes.”
“For example, HKEX recently launched the RMB counter for share trading, which is expected to enhance liquidity and investor accessibility.”
In Indonesia, Paskalia Deviani Ekaputri (Energy and Infrastructure) and Giovanna Nicky R (Finance) are promoted within the Jakarta Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung (HBT) office; while Marcus Lyon (Energy), Jarry Tay (M&A) and Hui Qi Lim (M&A, Energy and Infrastructure) are promoted in Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, respectively.
Also posted in Jakarta, is telecommunications and competition law specialist, Randitya Adiguna, who takes on a new role at HBT, as First of Counsel.
Sharing thoughts on the areas that are most likely to contribute to Asian dealmaking over coming months, the team pointed to the opportunity offered by the transition to net zero.
“While the traditional energy majors remain extremely active, energy transition investment is now evident across industries. Companies are embedding their own power and storage technologies within production and infrastructure projects, creating a very diverse demand for investment and advice,” said Japan-based Lyon.
M&A specialist, Lim, pointed to BlackRock’s recent investment in up to five large-scale solar projects in the Philippines with a total capacity of 1GW, as an example of those looking to explore market entry through related sectors.
“Energy transition looks to fuel more mergers and acquisitions across Southeast Asia as governments prioritise investments into renewables,” she said.
Also in the renewable energy space, in January 2021 HSF advised BP on its entry into a strategic partnership with Equinor, to develop offshore wind assets. The first stage of the collaboration saw BP acquire a 50% stake in Equinor’s Empire Wind and Beacon Wind assets.
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