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

Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) has this month relocated corporate partner Nick Dingemans from Moscow to Singapore, to lead its corporate team on the ground in the city-state.

Dingemans works primarily on cross-border transactions in the oil and gas, mining and financial institutions sectors, advising on a range of acquisitions, disposals and joint ventures.

His move follows NRF's hire of corporate partner Sheela Moorthy from DLA Piper, also in Singapore. He will be replaced in Moscow by a new partner Julian Traill.

Also in the city, Duane Morris & Selvam has hired Herbert Smith Freehills lawyer Samuel Sharpe as a director in its disputes department and head of the corporate crime and investigations group for Asia.

Sharpe focuses on UK Bribery Act compliance and investigations issues as well as Singapore anti-corruption legislation. He also leads a team advising on FCPA matters.

In China, Palo Alto-headquartered Cooley announced this week it had added Shearman & Sterling counsel and fund formation lawyer Pang Lee as a partner in its global private investment funds group, relocating him from Hong Kong to Shanghai.

Lee, who specialises in the formation and operation of various private investment funds, including venture capital funds, buy-out funds and special situations funds, also regularly advises fund managers and fund investors on investment management.

Dentons has at the same time expanded its corporate practice in China. Special counsel Frank Niu joins the firm from Baker & McKenzie as a partner in the Beijing.

Niu has extensive experience in M&A, foreign direct investment and China outbound deals.

Making a move back to private practice is senior China corporate lawyer Sharon Shi, who has joined Minneapolis outfit Fredrikson & Byron in Shanghai as an officer in the China, international and corporate governance groups.

Prior to Fredrikson, Shi was general counsel and chief compliance officer for Shanghai Environment Group. She relocated to Shanghai last year from London where she was head of Eversheds' China desk, working on outbound Chinese investment and international IPOs by Chinese companies.

Two other China specialists Patricia Tan Openshaw and Fang Xue have meanwhile moved to top tier US outfit Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, with Openshaw joining the Hong Kong office and Xue joining in Beijing.

Openshaw was formerly with Paul Hastings specialising in energy and infrastructure deals, while Xue was previously with Shearman & Sterling working chiefly on cross-border M&A and take-privates.

Other firms active in Asia this month include Eversheds and Sidley Austin - both in Hong Kong.

UK outfit Eversheds has added banking partner Samuel Chau from Gide Loyrette Nouel, while Sidley has recruited private equity lawyer Vivek Baid to join as counsel.

Chau is a highly regarded partner whose experience includes corporate banking, asset finance, project finance and real estate. Baid, who was previously an associate with Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, works mainly on private equity investments, PIPEs, strategic alliances and joint ventures.

Elsewhere in the region, K&L Gates has increased its disputes team in Tokyo after recruiting Haig Oghigian as a partner in the international arbitration practice, while Clifford Chance's affiliate firm in Indonesia, Linda Widyati and Partners (LWP), has boosted its finance team with the addition of Arisia Pusponegoro.

A former diplomat in Japan, Oghigian joins K&L Gates from Baker & McKenzie, where he was co-chair of the Tokyo litigation and dispute resolution practice group.

In Indonesia Pusponegoro, who works chiefly on infrastructure, public private partnerships and project finance transactions, has moved over to CC's partner firm from Clyde & Co's association outfit in Jakarta Lubis Ganie Surowidjojo (LGS).

Finally, Withers has hired wealth planning lawyer Stacy Choong in Singapore from local firm Rajah & Tann.