Fangda Partners has set up its first overseas branch in Singapore and hired former Watson Farley & Williams’ Ivy Liu as a partner.
Singapore’s Ministry of Law website says Fangda’s newest office is registered to practice foreign law. It is permitted to advise on foreign law-related matters and can only provide limited Singapore law-related services. It is considered a small-scale office, which houses one to five lawyers.
Aside from its headquarters in Shanghai, Fangda currently has five other offices in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanjing and Hong Kong.
Liu, a corporate specialist with 16 years of experience, previously worked in Singapore, Thailand and Shanghai. The PRC and New York qualified partner specialises in advising Chinese energy, construction and mining companies on investments in Southeast Asia, particularly in Thailand and Vietnam.
She was the former head of the China desk at DFDL, a law firm that focuses on providing tax and investment advisory services in Southeast Asia. After DFDL, she joined Watson Farley & Williams as a Bangkok and Singapore-based partner where she helped the firm to expand its business in the technology sector.
In the past year, Chinese law firms have shown a clear interest in expanding their businesses overseas. Aside from Fangda, Grandall Law Firm has tapped into the Southeast Asia sector this year with the establishment of a Malaysia branch in June. Han Kun Law Offices opened its first overseas office in June last year, setting up an outpost in Singapore.
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