UAE-headquartered Al Tamimi & Company has hired Stephen Lansdown as the head of its Qatar office from the London office of Hill Dickinson, where he led the commercial team.

AZB advises Housing Development Finance’s QIPs of NCDs and warrants, J. Sagar and Khaitan on Nippon Life Insurance’s purchase of a 14% stake in Reliance Capital Asset Management for $184 million, and many more in this week’s Southeast Asia deals table.

Indian law firm Trilegal has added Faraz Alam Sagar as a partner in its dispute resolution practice in Mumbai from Economic Laws Practice (ELP), apart from promoting five lawyers to its partnership.

Offshore law firm Carey Olsen has opened its first office in Asia with a launch in Singapore.

Allen & Gledhill advises DBS Bank on its issuance of covered bonds worth $1 billion, J. Sagar Associates acts on Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited’s $613 million QIP, AZB & Partners represent GTL in the sale of its O&M and energy-management businesses to E2 Energy Services, and more in this week’s Southeast Asia Deals table.

Baker & McKenzie Habib Al Mulla has hired Omar Momany from K&L Gates as a partner in its corporate and dispute resolution practice in Dubai.

Davis Polk & Wardwell and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have scored advisory roles in Comcast Corp’s agreement to acquire a majority stake in Universal Studios Japan for $1.5 billion, its biggest investment outside the United States.

AZB advises Axis Bank on a medium term note programme worth $5 billion, Clifford Chance and associate firm LWP act on the Indonesian government’s $799 million samurai bond issuance, Khaitan represents Lindsay Goldberg Vogel on the transfer of its majority shareholding in Weener Plastic Packaging Group to 3i Group for $280 million, and more in this week’s Southeast Asia Deals table.

Simmons & Simmons has hired James Coleman as a corporate partner in its Dubai office from Allen & Overy.

Ashurst has appointed Dyfan Owen as head of the firm’s dispute resolution practice in Dubai.