Nearly six months after its official separation from Australian firm Mallesons, King & Wood has launched its Singapore office deepening the presence of the firm in one of the leading financial and commercial centers in Asia. Marking a new chapter in its international growth strategy the firm has moved into a new address at the Marina Bay Financial Centre. Bringing together an experienced team of nine partners under the King & Wood brand this expansion strengthens the cross-border capabilities of the firm across China, Southeast Asia, and globally.
Currently subject to local regulatory approvals the Singapore office will be led by Senior Partner Harry Liu (刘海涛). The specific partner structure features Mr. Liu alongside Sophie Qi (齐元) and Bai Bing (白冰) anchoring the dispute resolution practice. The corporate practice is driven by Morgan Jiang (姜梦笔) and David Fei (费大可) while capital markets capabilities are supported by Edward Jing (景岗), Gao Yimin (高怡敏), and Liu Xiaoguang (刘晓光). Elle Zhang (张昊青) leads the banking and finance practice. This expansion reflects the deepening economic ties between the Chinese Mainland and Southeast Asia with Singapore playing an important role as a gateway for Chinese companies investing across the region and for international businesses engaging with China.
Serving as a hub for Southeast Asia and as a gateway to global markets the Singapore team will provide integrated legal services across the full lifecycle of cross-border investment, financing, corporate transactions, regulatory compliance, investigations, dispute resolution, and private wealth matters. Furthermore the team will work closely with the offices of the firm across China, North America, and Japan with a special connection to the Hong Kong SAR office to deepen engagement with the needs of clients.
Wang Junfeng (王俊峰), Global Chairman of King & Wood, stated that Singapore occupies a unique position in the regional and global economy serving as a major hub for international arbitration and technology as well as an increasingly important springboard for Chinese companies going global. Mr. Wang noted that the new office builds on the longstanding market presence of the firm and serves as a natural extension of its international platform. Hayden Flinn (范凯敦), Chief Executive of the Hong Kong office at King & Wood, emphasized that clients are increasingly operating across markets rather than within them. Mr. Flinn added that bringing Singapore into the international platform gives clients another important point of connection strengthening the ability of the firm to support them as they invest and operate across Asia and internationally.
The Singapore opening is the latest step in the international growth strategy of King & Wood following the recent launch of offices in Los Angeles and Vancouver alongside continued investment in its Hong Kong SAR platform. Together these initiatives demonstrate the commitment of the firm to building the leading international law firm in Asia connecting clients, capital, and opportunities across the fastest-growing markets in the world.
