Spanish law firm Pérez-Llorca will open an office in Singapore in the first quarter of 2023, making it the first law firm from the European country to have a presence in the city-state.

Pérez-Llorca is the latest international firm to either open, or announce an office in Singapore, this year. Earlier this month, U.S. law firm Goodwin Procter established a Singapore office, while another U.S. law firm, Greenberg Traurig set up an office in April. And in February, arbitration outfit Three Crowns launched in the city-state.

The new office, headed by corporate lawyer Pablo Hontoria, will be Pérez-Llorca's first in Asia and sixth globally. “Singapore is close to important Asian economic centers such as China, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, the Philippines, and Vietnam, and fits its Asian strategy,” says Pedro Pérez-Llorca, senior partner at Pérez-Llorca, in a release. “The Asian economy is, as we speak, outperforming both the American and European economies.”

Hontoria advises on mergers and acquisitions, transfers of assets and business units, as well as on corporate and corporate governance matters. His clients include private equity funds and industrial groups in sectors such as energy, infrastructure, software, and food. Hontoria has worked at Pérez-Llorca for eight years across two spells, on either side of a three-year stint at Willkie Farr & Gallagher.