EY Law is set to practise foreign law in Singapore for the first time after a firm that is a member of its global network was granted a foreign law practice licence.

The firm is still finalising the required registration process, but hopes to set up shop with local counsel in July after the licence was granted to DA Partners Pte Ltd, an independent member firm in the EY network.

The accountant first applied for the licence in October last year after entering into an alliance with Singapore outfit PK Wong & Associates, which practices Singapore law only.

The two network firms will "collectively form the Association of Southeast Asian Nations hub for the provision of legal services to global clients", according to EY.

It is understood that there will be no new hires into the offices as a result of a licence.

EY global leader Cornelius Grossman told Legal Week that the firm was not targeting winning any particular type of work in Singapore, but wanted to take advantage of the jurisdiction as a "growth market".

The accountant's legal arm currently has bases in 66 jurisdictions, with plans to be in 75 by the end of 2015.

Grossman would not be drawn on where those new jurisdictions would be, but said EY already had "a few lined up".

The firm has previously announced that it would like to establish a practice in Hong Kong. It has also previously been in discussion with firms in Malaysia about possible alliances.

"We are continuing our journey and continuing to grow," Grossman said. "We can't really comment on what the other accountants are doing; they are growing too but that's not really a concern of ours."

EY will reach the end of its financial year at the end of this month. Grossman declined to give a forecast of EY's financial performance, but said it had hired around 550 lawyers over the last year.

"We are actually getting increasingly interesting applications in from a whole host of firms," he added. "Individuals are coming to us, not the other way round."

Last month EY hired former Addleshaw Goddard managing partner Paul Devitt and corporate partner Richard Thomas, with Grossman saying that the accountant would "continue to hire in the UK".