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

Herbert Smith Freehills has hired King & Wood Mallesons debt capital markets partner William Ku to join the firm's Hong Kong office.

Ku, who will work alongside debt capital markets partners Philip Lee in Singapore and Kevin Roy in Hong Kong, is the latest hire by the firm in its capital markets drive. Last year the firm hired finance specialist Laura Mouton in Sydney.

Linklaters associate firm in Indonesia Widyawan & Partners hired oil and gas partner Alan Frederik from his in-house role at Indonesian state owned oil and gas company Pertamina. At Pertamina Frederik served as chief counsel for legal and compliance.

Watson Farley & Williams has boosted its Hong Kong offering by hiring corporate partner Rosa Ng Sin Kiu from Squire Patton Boggs. Ng's practice covers flotations, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory compliance and Sino-foreign joint ventures. She is the eighth corporate partner to join the firm globally this year.

Stephenson Harwood has hired Singapore corporate partner George Cyriac from White & Case's office in the city state. Cyriac's practice focuses on Indonesia and India acting for private equity funds, multilateral institutions, state-owned enterprises and sovereign wealth funds.

He is US qualified and has experience across a number of sectors including infrastructure, pharmaceuticals and financial services.

Shipping partner Andrew Gray has joined Clyde & Co's Singapore office from Hill Dickinson. Gray's practice covers all aspects of admiralty work including marine insurance, cargo loss, oil pollution and piracy.

He served for 11 years in the Royal Navy before qualifying as an English law solicitor. His clients include ship owners, charterers, hull and machinery underwriters and salvors.

K&L Gates has added to its Sydney office hiring Diane Skapinker as a real estate partner from Gilbert + Tobin. Skapinker focuses her practice on property development, community titling, acquisitions, disposals and leases. Skapinker also has expertise advising on the property aspects of telecommunications and infrastructure projects.

Singapore's Rajah & Tann has launched a new practice group called Business Fundamentals, to service start-ups and small to medium size businesses. Partner Jonathan Yuen is heading the new practice area which aims to help new businesses build the right fundamental infrastructure for their operations. The firm also recently established an in-sourcing contract lawyer service.

Norton Rose Fulbright has hired Baker & McKenzie technology partner Anna Gamvros in Hong Kong. Her practice focuses on IT contracts and outsourcing, privacy and data protection, telecommunications and internet regulatory issues. She joins the firm's global technology and innovation group.

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher has continued to build up in Hong Kong with the hire of competition partner Sebastien Evrard from Jones Day. Evrard has experience on both inbound and outbound competition work in Asia and the European Union. His practice includes merger control, cartels, antitrust-related investigations and litigation matters, and compliance work.

In September Gibson Dunn widened its offering in the region hiring disputes partner Robert Pe from Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe.

In Singapore RHTLaw Taylor Wessing has hired litigation and dispute resolution partner Patrick Dahm from Dentons' Singapore merger partner Rodyk & Davidson.

Dahm, who is German law qualified and registered to practice Singapore law as a foreign lawyer, focuses his practice on international arbitration, employment and labour relations law.