RHTLaw Taylor Wessing and the RHT Group of Companies celebrated its annual Dinner & Dance (D&D) with our ASEAN Plus Group (APG) and Taylor Wessing colleagues on 26 August 2015 at the Fairmont Hotel. Themed “Dazzling ASEAN”, the event was a spectacular array of colours as everyone arrived dressed in their best ethnic costumes.   The D&D was also held to coincide with the 1st anniversary of the APG network. We were honoured to have with us Partners from the APG member firms - Azmi & Associates from Malaysia, DR&AJU from South Korea, Hanafiah Ponggawa & Partners (HPRP) from Indonesia, PBC Partners & RHTLaw from Vietnam, Siam City Law Offices from Thailand and V&A Law from the Philippines. Partners from Taylor Wessing UK and Taylor Wessing Germany also joined us to commemorate this joyous occasion. Two days before our D&D, we welcomed 10 new Associates to the Firm who completed their Practice Trainee journey with us. The newly called Associates were presented with personalised pens by our Senior Partner Mr Rajan Menon. We wish them great success as they embark on a successful career with the Firm.

RHTLaw Taylor Wessing is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Alvin Chen as General Counsel, Legal and Compliance, with effect from 1 August 2015.   Alvin worked as a lawyer in both the public and private sectors and was the Chief Legal Officer and Director of the Representation and Law Reform Department of the Law Society of Singapore.    Alvin was the General Editor of the Guide to Professional Conduct for Advocates and Solicitors, a 2011 publication of the Law Society of Singapore. He has written a number of articles for the Law Gazette (a monthly publication of the Law Society of Singapore) on professional ethics and was formerly the Subject Co-ordinator for the Ethics and Professional Responsibility module in the Part B course conducted by the Singapore Institute of Legal Education.

RHTLaw Taylor Wessing is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Azman Jaafar as Deputy Managing Partner with effect from 25 August 2015. Azman heads the Firm’s Corporate Practice. His corporate practice focuses mainly on energy and resources, and hospitality industries. He has advised and represented clients in numerous transactions involving mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, mining and oil and gas in Singapore, Indonesia, and the People's Republic of China. Fluent in Mandarin and Bahasa Indonesia, he also heads the Firm's Indonesia Practice and ASEAN Plus Group. He is an ad hoc tutor and lecturer at the National University of Singapore Law Faculty's Legal Case Studies programme and is also a regular speaker at seminars on mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings and regulatory compliance in Singapore. Azman was also named in IFLR1000 Leading Lawyers 2015 for the areas of M&A, Project Finance, Energy, Mining and Oil & Gas.

As part of the celebration, a conference was held in Singapore to examine the progress of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), the opportunities it presented and the legal pitfalls to be avoided. The conference’s keynote address was delivered by the Guest of Honour, H.E. Dr. AKP Mochtan, Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN for Community and Corporate Affairs. Topics discussed ranged from updates on the implementation of ASEAN FTAs, negotiations on Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the current ASEAN economic situation in an integrated ASEAN Community. The conference featured speakers and panellists such as Chris Humphrey, Executive Director of EU-ASEAN Business Council, Benjamin Yap, Senior Partner of PBC Partners & RHTLaw, Philip Teoh, Partner of Azmi & Associates, and Jusuf Wanandi, Co-Founder and Senior Fellow of Centre for Strategic & International Studies. The general consensus was that despite hurdles, the AEC will get there but not in full flourish. Manu Bhaskaran, Founding Director and Chief Executive Officer of Centennial Asia Advisors, asked a relevant question, “Do you want to see it as half empty or half full?” The consensus was that it was better to look at it as half full.  RHTLaw Taylor Wessing Deputy Managing Partner and Chairman of the ASEAN Plus Group Mr. Azman Jaafar said, “There is a strong positive relationship between connectivity and community building for the ASEAN Plus Group. The establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community reflects the importance placed on ASEAN’s continued relevance in the global economy. Together, the ASEAN Economic Community needs to seize the opportunities offered by its geographical and comparative advantages whilst meeting the competitive challenges of the global market head-on.” “With the ASEAN Economic Community and other major policy initiatives, we firmly believe that both the public and private sectors are committed to a more integrated ASEAN. We are highly confident in the future for this region, and that now is the ideal time for doing business in Asia.” The ASEAN Plus Group is a group of eight leading regional law firms with offices in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam. The ASEAN Plus Group comprises over 750 professionals throughout the region in nine cities.