Clifford Chance has outstanding regional credibility, particularly in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines where it continues to close a number of headline deals. It represents a range local, regional, and multinational corporate clients and has an impressive following of financial sponsors. Melissa Ng has an outstanding record in Southeast Asia M&A and private equity deals, with particularly impressive experience in Indonesia and in energy and resources deals. Valerie Kong is another experienced name in the team, recently advising EQT Infrastructure on the establishment of a 51:49 joint venture company that will serve as an investment platform for the renewable energy sector in India. Satbir Walia is an emerging talent and Tom Lin was elevated to partner in May 2020; he is having an increasingly integral role in developing the office's private equity practice.

Milbank remains noted for its outstanding record in private equity and Indonesia transactions. Moreover, it has extensive experience in M&A and corporate transactions throughout Southeast Asia and the wider Asia Pacific region; Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand are also key markets. Building on its eminence in energy and infrastructure deals, it has gained further plaudits for its work in the TMT sector. Singapore managing partner David Zemans is frequently singled-out for his experience in Indonesia deals, though has much broader regional credibility; he recently advised  Columbia Pacific Management on its sale of a portfolio of 17 hospitals in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Jacqueline Chan has also emerged as a leading player in Southeast Asia M&A and private equity.

Hogan Lovells Lee & Lee has an impressive record in cross-border and multi-jurisdictional M&A, along with a solid presence in private equity deals. It has a particular focus on TMT, energy and natural resources, life sciences, financial services, education, consumer, and food and beverages. Singapore managing partner Stephanie Keen is a recognised private equity specialist with an additionally strong reputation in international M&A. Mark Cooper has joined Latham & Watkins LLP.

Jones Day has a substantial presence in Singapore, the large team covering strategic M&A and private equity, particularly real estate private equity. It now has a lengthy list of private equity clients alongside a number of blue-chip multinational corporate clients. Dennis Barsky has a strong focus on private equity transactions, while Elizabeth Cole has a fine background in inbound Asia investments by multinationals. Alex Cull is a leader in oil and gas M&A and recently advised PTTEP HK Offshore on its acquisition of Murphy Sabah Oil and Murphy Sarawak Oil. Ben Witherall was elevated to partner in 2020.

Latham & Watkins LLP has undergone significant expansion in recent years. Mark Cooper is the latest to expand the partner ranks following his move from Hogan Lovells Lee & Lee in April 2020. The Singapore office has successfully leveraged the firm’s outstanding global reputation in private equity, now representing the likes of Silver Lake Partners, TPG Capital, and others. It has also attracted an impressive list of big-name local and regional clients. Michael Sturrock and Sharon Lau are senior names in the market, along with Singapore-qualified partner Farhana Sharmeen. Marcus Lee is an emerging talent. The team further expanded with the hire of James Clayton-Payne and Sidharth Bhasin from Shearman & Sterling LLP in August 2021.

White & Case Pte. Ltd.'s highly rated team was further bolstered at the senior level with Jon Bowden and Tabitha Saw's elevation to international partner status. Bowden is driving forward the firm's flourishing private equity practice, particularly in Indonesia where the team has concentrated its efforts for many years; Vietnam is a more recent growth market. Saw specialises in private equity real estate, notably advising on a series of recent data centre and digital asset deals. The hugely experienced Jonathan Olier leads the team, further building its standing in distressed transactions and corporate restructurings, along with traditional big-ticket strategic M&A.

Ashurst LLP remains best known for energy and resources M&A, though it has significantly expanded its offering with a series of key hires in the last few years. It now represents a range of Southeast Asia businesses, wider Asia Pacific organisations (particularly from Japan), and further multinational companies from around the world. Private equity is another growing area for the team. Simon Brown leads the team and has an extensive record in energy and resources M&A; he led the team that advised Eni, through its subsidiary Eni East Sepinggan, on the transfer of a 20% participating interest in the East Sepinggan area in Indonesia to Neptune Energy Group, through its subsidiary Neptune Energy East Sepinggan.  Waltter Kulvik is noted for private equity and infrastructure M&A. Michelle Phang has a fine background in cross-border M&A in Asia Pacific, and is Singapore and UK qualified.

King & Spalding LLP is further evolving its M&A practice beyond its traditional forte of energy transactions. M&A and private equity transactions in multiple industries are now a genuine feature of the practice led by senior figure Lee Taylor. He led the team that advised Catalina, an industry leader in the legacy reinsurance space and a portfolio company of Apollo Global Management, on its agreement to acquire Asia Capital Reinsurance Group, the Singapore-headquartered reinsurance business.

Morrison & Foerster (Singapore) LLP has impressed in headline M&A over recent years, though the departure of Jake Robson and of counsel Nick Davies to King & Wood Mallesons is a considerable blow to the Singapore team. The firm remains notably active in fintech, insurtech, and venture capital investments, along with logistics and real estate M&A. Shirin Tang is now the senior figure in the team, while Lip Kian Ang was promoted to partner in January 2020. Of counsel Maria Steeples remains one of the market leaders in warranty and indemnity-linked M&A.

Shearman & Sterling LLP has impressed further with its range of headline and big-ticket M&A, private equity, joint-venture, and venture capital transactions. The Singapore team has attracted some of the most illustrious engagements in the market and continues to be recognised for its core energy sector expertise, and has genuine private equity prominence. Insurance and bancassurance deals are also a forte for the group. The team lost James Clayton-Payne and Sidharth Bhasin to Latham & Watkins LLP in August 2021.

Stephenson Harwood LLP has a highly reputable presence in Southeast Asia with a particularly fine record in Myanmar and Indonesia. Its practice centres on an impressive mix of strategic M&A and private equity, most notably in the healthcare, technology, and telecoms sectors. Though principally known as a mid-market M&A firm, the Singapore office has achieved prominence in headline and bulge-bracket deals. It advised Equinix Asia Pacific and Equinix Inc, as the ultimate parent of the Equinix group, on the corporate restructuring of the Equinix group. The firm is a recognised leader in Myanmar where Tom Platts has a particularly illustrious reputation. George Cyriac is noted for Indonesia deals, especially private equity transactions. Helen Rhind-Hufnagel provides further senior-level support at of counsel level.

CMS is a leader in tech sector venture financings and mid-cap M&A. The Singapore team has an excellent record in local and Indonesia deals, though has a credible record across Southeast Asia. The group has worked on multiple deals in the gaming, e-commerce, healthtech, and fintech sectors; it advised Ecommerce Enablers (ShopBack) on its extended $75m fundraising round and its acquisition of Ebates Singapore and Korea. Department head Toby Grainger is an experienced figure in Singapore and Indonesia deals and is playing a key role in developing the group's practice into other parts of the Asia Pacific region.

DLA Piper's purposeful expansion in Singapore continued in 2020 with the arrival of New York and Hong Kong-qualified David Kuo from Milbank in Hong Kong; Kuo brings a background in big-ticket M&A, private equity, and capital markets transactions, especially in the real estate, technology, and energy sectors. The wider practice has an impressive record in Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand transactions, and has achieved further growth in Vietnam, Malaysia, and Taiwan. It has also expanded its practice in technology M&A and venture capital. It continues to advise a range of ASEAN and other multinational clients. Experienced Singapore managing partner Joe Bauerschmidt continues to play a pivotal role in boosting the firm's prominence in the region and has attracted a series of big-ticket engagements; he led the team that advised Singapore Technologies Engineering on its €250m acquisition of Newtec, the Belgium-based satellite communications company.

Duane Morris & Selvam LLP, the joint law venture firm, covers both Singapore and international law elements of transactions. It has a particularly extensive record in Singapore, Vietnam, and Myanmar, jurisdictions where it also has offices. The firm is also prominent amongst early-stage and mature businesses in a range of sectors. Department head Krishna Ramachandra has an impressive record in headline deals, including those in the TMT and fintech sectors. Leon Yee provides further senior-level corporate expertise and advises a range of Singapore and China-based clients, along with a series of private equity houses. Mark Wong has joined Shook Lin & Bok LLP.

Watson Farley & Williams LLP has a strong focus on energy and transport transactions, along with a fast-developing venture capital practice. The venture capital piece is principally driven by Damian Adams, who returned to the firm from Simmons & Simmons in February 2020. His work centres on fintech, healthtech, medtech, and proptech, while moving into the firm's forte areas, notably energy and transport (this includes sustainable shipping). Ivy Liu joined the team from the Bangkok office of DFDL Legal & Tax in November 2019 bringing additional expertise in China inbound investment; she is PRC qualified and a Mandarin speaker. Nick Dingemans has moved to Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP.