Watson Farley & Williams has hired corporate partner Ivy Liu in Singapore.

Liu, who is qualified in China and the U.S., joins from the Bangkok office of southeast Asian firm DFDL, where she was a partner and head of the firm's China desk.

Liu specialises in corporate and commercial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and foreign direct investments, for Chinese companies that are investing in southeast Asia, especially in Thailand and Vietnam. She focuses on companies in the energy, infrastructure and mining sectors.

In addition to Singapore, Liu will also spend time in Bangkok, where Watson Farley is one of only a handful of international firms with a substantial presence. Earlier this year, the firm absorbed its Vietnamese associate firm LVN & Associates in Hanoi.

Liu leaves DFDL after five years. Last year she made partner at the firm and was appointed the Bangkok office's China desk head. Earlier in her career, she was an associate in Shanghai at legacy King & Wood.

DFDL could not immediately be reached for comment.