Oman's United Finance Co said on Wednesday that Bank Nizwa had approached it with a proposal for a strategic merger.

Kuwait's central bank governor Mohammad al-Hashel denied that he had conducted any illicit share trading, after a local newspaper reported the securities regulator had decided to refer him to prosecutors on suspicion of violating investment rules.

Vietnamese law firm VILAF has named senior partner, Dang Duong Anh as the new managing partner of the firm’s Hanoi office, succeeding Tran Tuan Phong. Tran had been office managing partner since 2006.

Private-client specialist law firm Withers has entered into a Formal Law Alliance (FLA) with Singapore’s KhattarWong. The FLA, which comes into effect in April, will see the firms form “Withers KhattarWong,” and the entire KhattarWong partnership will also become partners at Withers.

Publication of Guidance Note by Hong Kong’s Privacy Commissioner is likely to be the first step in implementing a long awaited prohibition on cross-border personal data transfers.

ALB’s Firms To Watch 2015 list celebrates 10 law firms that may be small in size but are certainly big in potential. The list has been compiled taking into account submissions from the firms themselves, along with market feedback and ALB’s own insight into Asia’s legal industry.

Al Tamimi & Company has entered into an alliance with Egyptian law firm Nour & Taha as it looks to tap into the potential of the “new Egypt.” The tie-up will come into effect on April 1.

Trowers & Hamlins has counseled Jordan’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources on a liquefied natural gas (LNG) sale and purchase agreement with Royal Dutch Shell. The agreement guarantees a five-year supply of LNG to the kingdom and has a total value of several billion dollars.

Malaysian law firm Azmi & Associates has hired Philip Teoh as a partner in its shipping practice in Kuala Lumpur, and Syed Muhammad Ridza Bin Syed Abdullah as a senior associate in Johor Bahru.