Tokyo partner Jeremy Pitts has been appointed as Baker & McKenzie’s new regional chair for the Asia-Pacific region, as incumbent Poh Lee Tan succeeds David Fleming as managing partner of the firm’s Hong Kong, China and Vietnam offices.
In his new role, Pitts has set out growth targets for a number of areas within the region, as the firm looks to grow its position in the financial centres (Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, Tokyo) and emerging markets (China, Indonesia and Vietnam), and invest in specific practice groups such as natural resources, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals and corporate compliance.
Pitts expects M&A work in the natural resources sector to remain active as Chinese, Japanese and Indian companies look to resource-rich countries and regions like Canada, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Latin America and Africa for resource supply and strategic assets. “The financing of these projects is likely to be another growth area for us,” he said.
Other types of work Pitts predicts strong growth for over the next 6 to 12 months include outbound investments from China and Japan, M&A activity in the pharmaceutical sector and banking & finance. “M&A activity in the pharmaceutical sector is likely to be on the rise as pharmaceutical companies seek to increase market share, gain control or critical patents and enhance R&D. Banking & finance work will be an area of rising importance, as Chinese banks continue to expand globally to support Chinese investments,” he said.
“Another strategically important area for us is corporate compliance as multinationals place great emphasis on compliance, governance and internal controls focussing on FCPA requirements and anti-bribery legislation,” Pitts said.
Pitts plans to continue efforts to focus on the development of outflow work from markets such as Korea and India, where foreign law firms are still prohibited from practising local law. Pitts also plans to work closely with local counsel in those jurisdictions on inflow matters.
“Some predict this will be the Asia-Pacific decade. With various forecasts suggesting that Asia Pacific will be the fastest growing region in the global economy between 2010 and 2014, global multinationals based inside and outside this region will be very active,” Pitts told ALB in an interview.
Pitts said he will continue to spend time in the Tokyo office but is planning frequent visits to the firm’s offices in Asia-Pacific and around the world. “I will probably spend more time in airplanes and airports than just about any other location,” he said.ALB
Sectors in jurisdictions across Asia that are ‘heating up’ – According to Jeremy Pitts | |
Natural resources | Australia, Indonesia, Philippines |
Energy, renewable energy | Across the region |
Pharmaceuticals | Particularly companies expanding into China and India |
Corporate compliance | US and European-based multinational companies across the region |
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