Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) is set to open its second Asia base in Hong Kong, in a bid to target work in the Chinese real estate sector.

The firm is currently in the final planning stages for a Hong Kong launch, and is expecting approval of its licence application within weeks, with the firm hoping to be able to announce initial staffing for the office at that point.

BLP is currently in talks to hire a team of lawyers in the market, although no deal has yet been finalised. The firm is also planning to relocate lawyers from other parts of its network, with initial plans to staff the Hong Kong base with around a dozen lawyers in the short term.

The firm plans to have a multi-disciplinary legal practice in the office, focused around a few key sectors in order to differentiate it in the local market. The base will be principally focused around real estate and built environment, as well as infrastructure and natural resources, as well as aviation and asset finance – two areas in which the firm already advises frequently in the region.

BLP said the launch comes as part of a wider strategy to target the growth region, which could see it also opening offices in mainland China in the future. The firm has an existing Asia presence in Singapore, which it opened in 2007 and which focuses on corporate, asset finance, banking and capital markets transactions and dispute resolution.

BLP managing partner Neville Eisenberg (pictured) said: "One should look at this in the context of our wider Asia strategy. Hong Kong will give us the opportunity to better serve our clients in the China region and while we will now focus on getting Hong Kong set up, in the long term it is important, in order to tackle that market, to have a presence also on the mainland."

The news comes as BLP bulked up the Singapore arm with the hire of a six-lawyer corporate finance team from Holman Fenwick Willan last month after it had been serving a notice period since the end of last year. The team is led by new office managing partner Alistair Duffield.

BLP also has an international presence in Paris, Brussels, Moscow and Abu Dhabi.