Drew & Napier LLC welcomes Geraldine Ong as director and the new Head of our Real Estate practice.

As part of a strategic drive to expand our client service offering in the Asia-Pacific region, we are delighted to welcome five new partners to our offices in Asia. Four join us from other firms and one has been appointed internally.

Taylor Wessing today announces the addition of a Singapore presence of more than 60 fee earners to its existing 13 offices across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

KhattarWong is pleased to announce the recruitment of our new Partner, Wong Wan Ting, with effect from 1 February 2012.

Stamford law is advising SGX-listed Contel Corporation (‘Contel’), in an all-shares acquisition of Midland Silicon (‘Midland”), a US-based silicon trading group with a strategic focus on metallurgical solar grade and poly-silicon fines to solar wafer producers (‘Midland Acquisition’).

International law firm Stephenson Harwood’s Singapore office has recently advised on two media company acquisitions.

Stamford Law scored the lead role in advising SGX-listed United Fiber System (‘UFS’) in a S$1.5 billion reverse takeover transaction by which UFS will acquire 67% of IDX-listed coal mining Golden Energy Mines (‘GEMS’) from IDX-listed leading energy and infrastructure company, Dian Swastatika Sentosa (‘DSS’).

Hogan Lovells has bolstered its top-ranked projects practice with the hire of high-profile Asia finance partner Bruce Schulberg, who will join Hogan Lovells on 30 January.

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised Doedijns International BV (Doedijns) on its “bolt-on” acquisition of Singapore-based Wilmax Control Systems Ltd (Wilmax), a provider of control automation and process packages for the oil and gas and petrochemical industries, with facilities in Singapore, Indonesia and Dubai, supporting the South East Asia and Middle East markets.

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised Japan’s Mitsui & Co., Ltd., through Galaxy NewSpring Pte. Ltd., a joint venture company equally held by Mitsui and Singapore’s Hyflux Ltd., on the purchase of two of Hyflux’s water treatment companies for US$41.2 million. The agreement was signed on 27 December 2011.