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HFW strengthens Singapore with South East Asia triple play

Energy and shipping specialist HFW has made a major play in its longstanding Singapore office, bringing in a trio of partners from rivals in the region.

HFW now boasts an 18-partner office in Singapore following the arrivals of finance partner Siri Wennevik, projects and energy partner Alistair Duffield and corporate partner Ivan Chia, taking the firm’s total partner additions in the region to six over the last year. HFW now has over 100 lawyers and 58 partners across its six Asia-Pacific branches.

Wennevik joins from Norwegian law firm Wikborg Rein after previously acting as its Singapore managing partner. Wennevik’s practice spans shipping, offshore finance and commercial transactions with a particular focus on asset, project and cross-border financings.

Duffield arrives at HFW from White & Case, and was previously Berwin Leighton Paisner’s managing partner for South East Asia as well as co-head of its mining and natural resources group. Duffield, who advises energy and mining companies on M&A transactions, is returning to HFW after previously acting for the firm for eight years from 2003 as head of its mining group.

Chia operates in the energy and transport sectors and offers corporate transactional counsel. He joins HFW from fellow energy and shipping specialist Watson Farley & Williams (WFW), who established a new Singapore office in December last year after securing an alliance with local firm Wong Tan & Molly Lim.

HFW senior partner Richard Crump commented: ‘Siri gives us even greater critical mass in ship finance across the region, while Ivan will help grow our renewables offering. We’re also extremely pleased to welcome Alistair back. He is vastly experienced and will be a real boost for the office. We will continue to target further growth opportunities in the aerospace, commodities, construction, energy, insurance and shipping sectors.’

HFW first opened an office in Singapore in 1990, and added to its presence in South East Asia in November last year through an association with Indonesian practice Rahayu & Partners. In early 2016, HFW entered a formal association with Shanghai outfit Wintell & Co, enabling it to offer domestic law.

tom.baker@legalease.co.uk