Channel Islands firm to open office in Singapore

Collas Crill is set to become the first Channel Islands based law firm to open an office in Singapore when it launches its new premises in the third quarter of this year. The announcement comes just two months after Collas Crill was formed by the merger of Collas Day in Guernsey and Crill Canavan in Jersey.

Sean Cheong, a partner in Collas Crill’s Guernsey office, will relocate to Singapore to head up the new office, which will practise Guernsey and Jersey law.

The move into a new jurisdiction is Collas Crill’s response to demand from institutional and private clients in Asia for Channel Islands legal services, particularly in corporate, funds and trusts.

The firm will also offer Guernsey fiduciary services through Guernsey Trust Company, which is majority owned by the partners of Collas Crill.

Sean Cheong said: “We are very excited to be the first Channel Islands law firm to set up in Singapore. We feel it is important to be able to support our clients who have operations in the region. It also gives us a great opportunity to access the emerging markets from a well established hub.”

Sean Cheong, originally from Malaysia and qualified to practise in Malaysia, England and Wales and Guernsey, is a regular visitor to Singapore and other jurisdictions in Asia, having been actively involved in Guernsey Finance initiatives in recent years, particularly in Hong Kong and China.

Singapore was the fastest growing Asian economy in 2010 and Asian stock markets and investors are benefiting from quicker rates of economic growth than are being seen in Western markets.