The Transfer Window: Asia is a regular round-up of recent legal moves in Asia Pacific. Please send all announcements to: [email protected]

Clifford Chance is to boost its project finance practice in Tokyo with the relocation of its Paris-based project finance partner Ross Howard in September 2013.

Howard, who typically advises public sector entities, sponsors and lenders on projects in the energy, natural resources and infrastructure sectors, is expected to add to the Asia finance practice as sources of project finance become more diverse.

His relocation follows that of project finance specialists Ashvin Seetulsingh to Hong Kong and Phil Sealey to Perth in 2012, bringing the total number project finance practitioners in Asia Pacific to 30, and the number of energy and resources lawyers to 110.

Ince & Co has meanwhile added to its Shanghai office with the appointment of shipping and energy lawyer Dimitris Seirinakis as a consultant.

Seirinakis, who is UK and Hong Kong qualified and focuses on dry shipping and contentious matters, has extensive experience as an international commercial lawyer, having worked both in-house at an international energy conglomerate in Hong Kong and in private practice.

During his time in-house, he handled a wide range of shipping matters, upstream oil and gas transactions, as well as other general commercial matters. Before that, he worked for an international shipping law firm where he advised shipowners, charterers, P&I Clubs, and commodities traders in respect of maritime and international trade related disputes.

Another firm ramping up in the region is Hong Kong local outfit Howse Williams Bowers (HWB). The Reed Smith Richards Butler spin-off has added to its banking and finance practice with the hire of Norton Rose Fulbright partner Jonathan Silver.

Silver joins from NRF's Hong Kong office, and has experience in ship finance, project finance, aircraft finance, acquisition finance, structured trade and commodity finance and general banking.

He works with major European, HK, PRC, US and other international banks, Asia-based export credit agencies, financial leasing companies, shipowners and operators, trading companies and shipyards. He is fluent in English and Mandarin.

Three Asia-based lawyers at French firm Gide Loyrette Nouel (GLN) have also been made up to partner, alongside eight other lawyers who have been promoted in other offices.

Guo Min, who is the head of Gide's China tax practice, has been promoted to partner in the firm's Beijing office, whilst corporate lawyer Gilles Cardonnel and banking and finance specialist Rebecca Finn have been made up in Hong Kong.

Min specialises in PRC taxation and accounting, and joined Gide's Beijing office in 2005 after working in the tax department of one of the big four accountancy firms as a tax consultant.

Cardonnel joined in 2008 and specialises on infrastructure projects across Asia and corporate transactions in Hong Kong. Finn, who will be relocating from London to Gide's Hong Kong office, advises clients on a wide range of cross-border finance transactions including mainstream bank lending, project development and financing, acquisition finance, Islamic finance and structured finance.

White & Case has at the same time made key appointments in both Japan and Singapore.

In Japan, the US firm has strengthened its M&A practice with the hire of transactional lawyer Mangyo Kinoshita from O'Melveny & Myers, whilst in Singapore it has recruited counsel David Gartside from Allen & Overy to join its energy, projects and infrastructure practice.

The firm has also relocated Beijing partner Steve Payne to Singapore to lead the energy, projects and infrastructure team with a view to enhancing its capability at partner level.

Kinoshita in Tokyo is licensed to practice in Japan and California, and is experienced in matters concerning cross-border and domestic M&A, joint venture, strategic alliances, private equity and venture capital.

Payne has been with the firm for more than 15 years advising sponsors and commercial, export credit and multilateral lenders on conventional and renewable power, oil and gas, petrochemical matters, telecommunications, and water and wastewater projects.

Another firm adding in Singapore is Morrison & Foerster, which reopened in the city state earlier this year.

The US outfit has taken on two corporate partners from Norton Rose Fulbright in the region, namely Jake Robson and Adam Summerly, as it continues to strengthen its offerings on major cross-border transactions originating in Singapore.

Robson and Summerly have been based in Singapore for eight and 14 years respectively, and both have substantial experience handling inbound, outbound and intra-regional transactions across South and Southeast Asia.

Robson works primarily in the banking, insurance, natural resources, commodities and telecommunications sectors, whilst Summerly specialises primarily in infrastructure, transportation, natural resources, telecommunications and oil and gas.

In Australia, HWL Ebsworth has recruited banking and litigation partner Greg Lewis from K&L Gates.

Lewis, who focuses on complex insolvency-related litigation for banks, insolvency firms and corporate clients, has joined the firm's Sydney litigation team.

Outside the field of insolvency and restructuring, he also has experience in more general commercial disputes, acting for principals, contractors and financiers on significant construction and engineering matters. Prior to K&L Gates he was a partner at Mallesons Stephen Jaques.

K&L Gates has at the same time continued to grow Down Under, and last month added three new partners in employment and corporate across Melbourne and Sydney.

In Melbourne, Nick Ruskin joins the labour, employment and workplace safety practice from DLA Piper, while both Edward Nixey and Glenn Hughes join the firm's Sydney office as partners in the corporate and transactional practice, arriving from Ashurst and Henry Davis York.

Ruskin is a well known labour and employment lawyer in Australia, with a focus on industrial relations, whilst Nixey's practice concentrates on public and private M&A, equity capital markets and securities regulation.

Hughes also specialises on mergers and acquisitions but with an emphasis on private equity. He has advised on equity capital raisings, joint ventures and restructuring transactions.

On the in-house side, King & Wood Mallesons is understood to have hired NBA China General Counsel as a new partner in its Beijing office.

Steven Toronto was previously China GC for the National Basketball Association, and is experienced advising Chinese companies on US public offerings.

He previously worked for Morrison Foerster in Beijing as a corporate partner, which he joined from now defunct Coudert Brothers in the capital.