Ashurst Names New Asia Head, Adds Another Singapore Partner
Hong Kong-based debt capital markets partner Jini Lee takes over as the new leader for the region; while financial regulations partner Evan Lam joins the firm in Singapore.
May 18, 2020 at 06:33 AM
3 minute read
Ashurst has made several recruits in Asia so far this year.
Ashurst has appointed Hong Kong partner Jini Lee as the firm's new regional head of Asia, the second woman to lead the firm's Asia practice.
Lee, a debt capital markets specialist, joined the firm in 2015 from Linklaters. In 2018, she co-led the firm's representation of a Chinese investor consortium on a $4.1 billion bond offer to finance the acquisition of Hong Kong skyscraper The Center.
Lee took over from predecessor and Beijing partner Patrick Phua on May 1. Phua continues his role as managing partner of the Beijing office.
Former partner Lina Lee headed the region before leaving the firm in 2016.
In addition to appointing a new Asia head, Ashurst also made its third partner hire in the region since March.
Financial services regulatory partner Evan Lam joins in Singapore from local firm Allen & Gledhill, where he was a partner. Lam advises banks, fund managers, and brokerage houses on Singapore financial regulations; he specializes in advising on over-the-counter derivatives. In 2018, he was part of a team that advised Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. on issues under the bank's $10 billion covered bond program.
Lam has been with Allen & Gledhill his entire professional life, starting out as a trainee in 2007. He will also be a director of Singaporean firm ADTLaw, with which Ashurst operates a formal law alliance in the city-state.
Firms are looking to boost expertise in debt finance as the COVID-19 pandemic is plunging the world's economies into a deep recession. The Singaporean government is projecting a contraction of 1% to 4% of the nation's economy in 2020, which could mean the worst shrinkage since the city-state's independence in 1965.
Demand for alternative fundraising increases as companies seek funding to pull through a crisis. Baker McKenzie this week recruited finance partner Kenneth Ching in Hong Kong while Simmons & Simmons hired asset-backed securitization expert James Pedley, also in Hong Kong.
Ashurst has hired several new recruits in Asia this year. In April, the Singapore office added partner Danny Tan, also a former Allen & Gledhill partner, who will lead an investment fund practice across the Asia Pacific. Earlier this year, Ashurst also picked up former DLA Piper capital markets partner Melody He.
Related Stories:
Simmons & Simmons Adds Clifford Chance Lawyer in Hong Kong
Ashurst Hires DLA Piper Corporate Partner in Hong Kong
Ashurst Launches Consulting Arm, Hiring Deloitte Partner in Australia
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