Rajah & Tann has expanded its regional footprint again with the addition of Assegaf Hamzah & Partners in Indonesia as a partner in its fast-expanding Asean legal network.
Singapore’s largest law firm announced today that it has signed a strategic tie-up with Assegaf Hamzah, Indonesia’s fourth largest law firm, that will give the group access to the largest economy in Southeast Asia. Assegaf Hamzah, with 60 fee earners, is ranked one of the leading go-to firms for corporate law in Indonesia.
The tie-up, effective from May 2013, comes four months after Rajah & Tann NK Legal and R&T Sok & Heng Law Office commenced operations in Myanmar and Cambodia, respectively.
This latest partnership arrangement makes Rajah & Tann the only regional law firm with physical presence and full-service capabilities in eight out of the 10 Asean countries. Rajah & Tann, already the largest law firm in Southeast Asia, will now have a team of over 400 fee earners, and award-winning practices in dispute resolution, international arbitration, insolvency, restructuring, merger & acquisition and shipping.
Rajah & Tann’s regional network includes offices in China, Thailand, Lao PDR, Vietnam, an associate office in Malaysia as well as regional desks focusing on Japan and South Asia.
Managing Partner Mr Lee Eng Beng, SC, said: “This strategic tie-up we have forged with Assegaf Hamzah is one of the most significant and exciting since we embarked on our regionalisation drive. From this month, Rajah & Tann clients can look to a fully-fledged integrated team offering the broadest range of law services across all the major markets in Asean.
“In Indonesia in particular, they will be well served by very experienced and responsive lawyers who have gained a reputation for their commercial acumen and strong client-servicing culture.”
Assegaf Hamzah is a full-service Indonesian law firm founded by Fikri Assegaf and Chandra Hamzah in 2001. In just over a decade, it has established itself as a leader in Indonesia’s capital markets, banking and finance arenas. Managing Partner Fikri Assegaf and several other partners served as advisors to the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency — the body charged with restoring the country’s banking sector to health following the Asian financial crisis — and are highly respected for their considerable knowledge of Indonesian banking regulations and corporate law. The firm’s clients span a cross-section of the economy, from banking to mining, property to petrochemicals.
On teaming up with Rajah & Tann, Mr. Fikri Assegaf said: “We are honoured to be a partner in Rajah & Tann’s regional network and look forward to providing our clients with smooth, seamless service when they seek legal counsel outside of Indonesia.
“We have no doubt that the Rajah & Tann network will open up considerable resources and opportunities for our clients as we pool our expertise and experience to give clients the best one-stop legal shop in Southeast Asia. In turn, Rajah & Tann will benefit from our recognised knowledge and experience of the legal and business sectors in a booming and outward-looking Indonesia.”
Assegaf Hamzah has advised on some of the largest and significant capital market transactions in Indonesia over the years, including energy producer Star Energy Geothermal (Wayang Windu) Ltd’s March issuance of USD 350,000,000 in seven-year bonds listed on the Singapore Exchange; Bank Mandiri’s USD 1.24 billion rights issue, Indonesia’s biggest by a bank and the country’s second biggest ever; and national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia’s 2011 USD 382.8 million global offering under Rule 144A/Reg. S, the first ever IPO by an Indonesian airline.
Assegaf Hamzah has also developed a reputation as a leading force in Indonesia’s developing Shariah market, with the firm acting as a key advisor to the Government of Indonesia on the drafting of the country’s first sukuk legislation, and subsequently representing the Ministry of Finance in its highly successful USD 650 million debut global sovereign sukuk. More recently, the firm advised the Ministry on its USD 1 billion seven-year sovereign Sukuk Ijarah.
In addition to capital markets and corporate finance, Assegaf Hamzah is a market leader in antitrust, aviation, technology, telecommunications, M&A, and arbitration.
Rajah & Tann’s network in Asia offers a comprehensive range of practice areas including corporate finance and capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, shipping, arbitration, technology, insolvency, regulatory and litigation.
