UK-based firm Denton Wilde Sapte has quietly reopened its Singapore office, giving the stream of instructions coming from the region as the motivating factor. In 2004, the firm closed all its Asian offices – Singapore, Tokyo, Beijing and Hong Kong – after deciding that they did not fit into the firm’s broader strategy.

According to the Singapore ministry of law, the firm has been registered as a foreign law practice since December 2008. As part of the reopening, the firm has struck an exclusive alliance with local outfit Global Law Alliance. 

The office, which will focus solely on trade finance, will be headed up by London partner Jonathan Solomon, who will have two associates.Commenting on the reopening, Solomon said that the strategic move was influenced by the high number of instructions the firm was receiving from some of its blue-chip clients in the region – the likes of Deutsche Bank, Standard Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. “At the time of closing the Asian offices, it was seen as a strategic and financial decision. The strategy did not see the Far East being profitable enough. What has changed is that we have started seeing a good stream of instructions from Singapore, so for our trade finance group it made sense to open up here. The Singapore relaunch came in response to client requests. They wanted to continue to instruct us here, but said we needed people on the ground,” he explained, noting that the firm was unlikely to relaunch any of its other defunct Asian offices.