professional services
Proskauer adds to Asia funds group
Global law firm Proskauer has appointed Lynn Chan as a consultant to the private investment funds group, working out of Hong Kong. She was previously a counsel in the investment funds practice at O’Melveny & Myers in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Duff & Phelps appoints new head of China investment banking
Financial advisory and investment banking firm Duff & Phelps has appointed David Lu as managing director and head of its investment banking practice in China. Lu joins from Cowen Group, where he was head of Asia investment banking. He previously held...
J-Star buys ‘fourth hand’ Primagest
Primagest, a firm whose primary business is using optical character recognition (OCR) to turn documents in data, appears every bit the tech-savvy up and comer. However, it has been doing the same thing – in one form or another – for 45 years.
Burden of compliance
Alternatives fund managers have a mountain to climb, but they are confident of reaching the summit. This, broadly speaking, is the conclusion drawn from State Street's recent global manager survey, in which the regulatory obstacles facing the industry...
A&M launches India transaction advisory practice, hires Vikram Utamsingh
Alvarez & Marsal (A&M), a consultancy specializing in performance improvement and turnarounds, has expanded its India business with the launch of a dedicated transaction advisory practice. The new practice will be led by Vikram Utamsingh, formerly of...
Proskauer boosts China fund formation capabilities
Global law firm Proskauer has recruited Yong Ren to its private investment funds group as a partner. He previously worked at Mayer Brown and, before that, at Ropes & Gray and Simpson Thacher.
Walkers adds to Hong Kong investment funds group
Walkers, a global law firm specializing in offshore services, has appointed Mark Cummings as counsel in its investment funds group in Hong Kong. Cummings, who joins the firm from Appleby, advises private equity and hedge fund managers on establishing...
Cogent adds to Shanghai team
Cogent Partners has appointed Dominik Woessner as a director in its Shanghai office. He has relocated from the secondary market-focused firm’s London office as part of ongoing efforts to develop its footprint in Asia.
Alvarez & Marsal appoints Asia forensic, disputes services head
Alvarez & Marsal (A&M), performance improvement, turnaround and business advisory services provider, has appointed Keith Williamson as Asia leader of its global forensic and dispute business in Hong Kong and China.
Orrick strengthens Japan M&A, PE practice
Orrick has appointed Edward S. Johnson as a partner in its M&A and private equity practice in Tokyo. He joins from Paul Hastings, where he previously served as managing partner of the Tokyo office.
Chinese online legal site receives $1.88m funding
Morningside Technologies, ZhenFund and Chinese angel investor Zhikang Dai have committed to a RMB11.5 million ($1.88 million) Series A round of funding for Legal.cn, a Beijing-based online legal services provider.
King & Wood Mallesons merges with SJ Berwin
King & Wood Mallesons and London-based SJ Berwin will merge to form a single law firm valued at $1 billion. With over 2,700 lawyers in more than 30 countries, the combined entity is expected to be one of the 25 largest law firms in the world.
Kroll boosts China investigations practice
Kroll Advisory Solutions has hired Peter Glanville as an associate managing director in its Greater China investigations and disputes practice. He joins from Deloitte where he was a senior member of the forensic accounting team.
Rich man’s game: The cost of fundraising in Asia
Asian GPs and fund lawyers are struggling with a demand-supply imbalance. LPs are negotiating more and conceding less - but for all that managers say fundraising costs are going up, lawyers say fees are going down
Cambridge Associates to offer discretionary services in Singapore
Cambridge Associates has received a license to offer discretionary portfolio management services via its Singapore affiliate. The group has been operating in Asia since 2001, offering independent research and advisory services to institutional investors....
Sidley Austin adds PE lawyer to Singapore office
US law firm Sidley Austin has hired Gregory Salathé, a cross-border M&A specialist who represents PE and hedge funds, as a partner in its Singapore office. He will relocate from Tokyo, where he was previously co-managing partner of Morgan Lewis' office.
eFront launches Sydney office
Financial software provider eFront, a leading supplier to alternative investment managers, has opened an office in Sydney. This is the company’s first foray into Australia but its fifth base in Asia Pacific, complementing existing locations in Beijing,...
Kuwait-based Asiya launches Hong Kong operation
Kuwait’s Asiya Investments has opened a Hong Kong office, only its third service center globally, in response to rising demand from Arab investors for exposure to Asia.
NEPC forms alliance with Singapore’s GFIA to boost Asia advisory business
NEPC has entered into a research agreement with a Singapore-based investment consultant GFIA to bolster its coverage of Asia-based managers and investment strategies.
Life sciences VC investor Domain creates China partnership
US-based venture capital firm Domain Associates has teamed up with Chinese financial advisor Elite Consulting to support Western healthcare companies entering China. Several global VC investors and related service providers have been bulking up their...
Mercer restructures Asia investments team
Mercer has shuffled its Asia investments team following the creation of a new growth markets region, including Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
Deloitte sued over US-listed ChinaCast Education
Deloitte is being sued by a group of US investors over its auditing role at ChinaCast Education Corp. The Chinese company, which was backed by VC investors in its early years, went public in the US via a reverse merger in 2007 but has since been de-listed.
KPMG India appoints new PE head, Utamsingh leaves firm
KPMG India has appointed Vikram Hosangady, its head of transaction services, as its new private equity leader. His predecessor, Vikram Utamsingh, has left the company.
Kirkland & Ellis adds Chinese PE lawyer to HK office
Kirkland & Ellis has added private equity M&A specialist Frank Sun to its Hong Kong practice. Sun joins the firm as a partner from US rival Paul Weiss.