Clyde & Co has appointed a new Singapore managing partner with the relocation of City shipping partner Brian Nash to the region, as the firm continues to bulk up in Asia.

Nash has taken up the role as of this month and has also been appointed to the firm's Asia regional board. He has been a partner at Clydes since 1987 and has also previously spent time in Clydes' Dubai office as head of dispute resolution.

The firm has been building out its Asia platform in recent months, with Nash's move coming after global corporate insurance head Andrew Holderness began splitting his time between Hong Kong and London in autumn last year.

Over the last 12 months Clydes has grown its partner headcount in Asia from 12 to 23, while total staff numbers in the region currently standing at around 200.

The insurance firm has also taken on a number of lateral hires with Stephenson Harwood construction partner Gilbert Kwok joining in September 2011, after former Minter Ellison partner Ian Cocking moved to the firm at the close of 2010 to launch the firm's regional construction practice.

The news follows confirmation earlier this month that Clydes has added Beijing, Australia and Mexico to its list of international targets.

The firm is currently weighing up office launches in Beijing and Australia in a bid to take advantage of the booming Asia-Pacific market, although any launch in these two regions is unlikely to happen before 2013.