Taylor Wessing is set to launch in Singapore through a tie-up with newly-formed local firm RHT Law.

The formal cooperation agreement between the two firms is already live, with the deal coming around three months after 53 fee-earner firm RHT Law launched on 28 May.

Taylor Wessing said the country was a strategic priority for the both the firm and its clients because of Singapore's status as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, with a GDP growth rate of 14.5%.

RHT is a spin-off from KhattarWong, which was Eversheds' local alliance partner until 2005.

Taylor Wessing managing partner Tim Eyles commented: "Emerging economies are a key driver of our geographic strategy and, as a centre for investment flows into and out of Asia, India, China and the Middle East, Singapore is an obvious move for Taylor Wessing."

"More than 50% of our clients have a presence in Singapore and that interest will only increase. In RHT Law we have found a dynamic partnership with a deeply rooted practice and understanding of the region, as well as a synergy with our international offering to cutting edge industries."

Taylor Wessing already has offices in Shanghai and Beijing. Local Bar rules mean most international firms seeking to open in Singapore can only practice local law through a cooperation agreement with a local law firm.

Eyles also confirmed that the firm is in the advanced stages of planning a launch in Hong Kong, with a team currently on the ground looking at local opportunities.

He added that the firm is considering further office launches in the Middle East, with Qatar and Saudi Arabia included among potential targets. The firm already has a base in Dubai.

He said: "We have been looking at Asian expansion for the last year and we are still looking in relation to Hong Kong. We already have two offices in China but we were losing out on opportunities in Singapore, which has one of the largest GDP growth rates in the world, is a hub for the local region and a key financial centre.

"Hong Kong will square the circle and I am sure that once we are present in those two key locations other Asian opportunities will open up."

A small number of international firms won licences to practise local law under their own business banner in December 2008. The six firms winning licences to set up a Qualified Foreign Law Practice were White & Case, Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, Herbert Smith, Latham & Watkins and Norton Rose.