Stephenson Harwood has ramped up its Asia presence with a formal association in Singapore and the launch of an office in Beijing.

The agreement with Singapore's Virtus Law, which was signed at the start of April, will cover all Singapore law aspects, with a particular focus on corporate, litigation and asset finance.

Virtus is staffed by senior partner Arthur Loke, managing partner Daryll Ng and three registered foreign lawyers. It is a successor firm to Arthur Loke LLP, which was established in Singapore in 1981.

Meanwhile, the firm has also officially opened a representative office in Beijing, after its application for a licence to set up a regional base was given the go-ahead by the Ministry of Justice late last year.

The base, which is currently staffed by PRC-qualified legal director James Zhang, focuses on corporate and maritime law, with a view to expand to a multi-practice offering within the next few years. The firm is currently recruiting in maritime and international trade, arbitration and asset finance.

Stephenson Harwood Greater China managing partner Voon Keat Lai said: "The firm's focus is to create an inter-Asia network to capture the significant amount of opportunities within Asia, especially in resources, securities, finance and international trade sectors.

"Through our new Singapore association, for instance, we are able to offer Singapore listings on top of UK and Hong Kong listings to China clients, and to provide securities and corporate law advice based on Singapore laws.

"China also remains a very important destination for the firm and will be the focal of our growth in Greater China. Our Beijing office commenced operations in April 2013 with a senior Beijing based corporate lawyer who will be joined by another senior lawyer practising maritime and international trade laws."

The Beijing launch adds to the firm's existing Asia bases in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Singapore, as well as an associated office in Jakarta, which launched in 2011 after the firm formed an association with local firm Christian Teo Purwono & Partners.

Last year Stephenson Harwood was among 23 firms to apply for Qualifying Foreign Law Practice licences to practice local law in Singapore, with four licences subsequently awarded to Linklaters, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Jones Day and Sidley Austin.