Regional firm DFDL Mekong has told ALB that it is expecting to convert its representative office license in Singapore to a fully-fledge foreign law practice (FLP) license this month, pending approval from the Ministry of Law. It plans to launch its Singapore office by early January 2011.
Tremendous growth in the firm’s Singapore-based clientele has led to the need for an office on the ground, said DFDL Mekong founding partner and partner in charge of the Bangkok and Lao office, David Doran. Doran will be the managing partner of the Singapore office once it is operational.
“We don’t have any plans to do any Singapore-related legal work. All the work will be offshore Singapore. We get a lot of referral business from Singapore and foreign law firms based in Singapore and we don’t want to be competing with them for their work,” said Doran when asked if he would consider starting an alliance with a local firm further down the line.
Some firms that refer work to DFDL from Singapore include Stephenson Harwood, Latham & Watkins, Rajah & Tann, and Baker & McKenzie.Wong&Leow.
“Our first objective for setting up in Singapore is to serve our existing Singapore based clients, which have projects and investments in the greater Mekong region and also South Asia. Another is to be close to the financial centres as the financing of these regional projects are increasingly coming out of Singapore. Also in the areas of renewable energy and infrastructure, the areas we look at, Singapore has the human resources who have expertise in these areas,” he said.
According to Doran, the Singapore office will be staffed initially with two lawyers and a number of support staff.
“Singapore companies are investing more and more throughout the region,” Doran said. “In terms of renewable projects, Laos for the time being continues to be a big growth area. We expect to Bangladesh to also be a big growth market for energy. But right now, Laos is where we are seeing the most growth.”
Vietnam, home to a number of large energy projects, is moving at a slower pace in the renewable sector, more specifically in hydro-power projects, Doran said.
In terms of outbound trends, DFDL Mekong has witnessed strong activity from Thai companies and banks. “We are seeing Thai companies at the moment and Thai banks particularly being cash-rich and looking to markets outside of Thailand for profits and revenue. There are a lot of Thai companies investing in Laos and Laos energy projects – and they are also investing in Indonesia and parts of South Asia,” he said.
According to Doran, almost all agreements and contracts sighted by Doran and his team for the past few years, now include SIAC arbitration clauses – a shift away from other arbitral institutes such as the ICC which was more popular previously. This development has further justified the firm’s decision to open an office in Singapore. “All the agreements that I have seen in the last three years have SIAC clauses and we are now seeing all the major deals in Laos using SIAC clauses.”
In addition to its infrastructure, project finance, renewable energy, arbitration and power practice focus, DFDL Mekong has a strategic plan to use Singapore as a hub for its regional tax practice. Doran said the firm is looking to bring over a number of high-level senior tax advisors.
DFDL Mekong has close to 100 lawyers and at present has five partners. Rashed Idrees, a lateral partner hire from Deacons Singapore, will be appointed as the sixth partner on 1 Jan 2011. He will manage the newly launched Singapore office.ALB
Other related stories:
- Milbank, Melli Darsa & Co, Assegaf Hamzah & Partners, Sidley Austin rings in on US$650m Indosat deal (20 Aug 2010)
- Laos: Chandler & Thong Ek, DFDL, LS Horizon, Milbank and Latham & Watkins act on multi-billion dollar power project (20 Aug 2010)
- Nabarro latest firm to zero in on Singapore legal services boom (28 Sep 2010)
