Allen & Overy (A&O) has appointed corporate partner Chris Moore as the new head of its Singapore office, taking over from capital markets expert Kenneth Aboud, who has been in the role for a decade.

Moore, who specialises in cross border M&A in South East Asia, will begin the role on May 1, and will be responsible for overseeing A&O's regional practice as well as a team of 57 lawyers on the ground.

New York qualified Aboud will meanwhile continue to head the firm's international capital markets practice in Singapore, advising on a mix of regional debt and equity-linked securities transactions.

He was appointed head of the Singapore base in 2004, which at the time had a joint law venture with local outfit Shook Lin & Bok.

He replaced Andrew Trahair who had managed the office for two years previously but was relocating back to London. Trahair is now the co-head of the firm's global banking practice.

Allen & Overy is among several firms to announce a management update in Singapore this month, with Clifford Chance re-electing Geraint Hughes as managing partner and Hogan Lovells appointing corporate lawyer Stephanie Keen as the new leader in the place of James Harris.

The magic circle firm was also one of the four outfits to have its Qualifying Foreign Law Practice (QFLP) or local licence renewed for a further five years in February, alongside Latham & Watkins, Clifford Chance and Norton Rose Fulbright.

It currently has 57 lawyers based in Singapore, up from 56 last year, including 11 partners, three of which are Singapore qualified.

Related: Clifford Chance elects Geraint Hughes as Singapore head for second term