Norton Rose set to launch in Tokyo

Norton Rose set to launch in Tokyo" />Norton Rose is to open an office in Tokyo before Christmas to take advantage of Japanese companies investing in the Middle East.

While no launch date has been set, the office will support Japanese-backed projects in the Middle East and will target sponsors and financial institutions.

Peter Martyr, Norton Rose’s chief executive, said: “The establishment of an office in Tokyo will enable us to push forward our strategic coverage of the principal financial and business centres worldwide. As the financial centre of the world’s second biggest economy, Tokyo plays a key role in this strategy.”

The firm’s Moscow head Chris Viner will become the chief at the new Tokyo office. Currently, there is no immediate replacement for Viner in Moscow.

Viner, a corporate finance partner, will be joined by banking partner Jeremy Gibb who is currently based in Norton Rose’s London office but he previously worked out of the Hong Kong office.

Norton Rose’s principal client targets will be Japanese trading houses and Japanese banks, including export credit institutions. It will also target M&A, AIM listings and IPOs.

The areas which the Tokyo outfit will concentrate on includes corporate finance, transport, energy, financial institutions and technology.

Jeffery Barratt, the firm’s projects chief, added: “We have a well-established projects practice in the Middle East backed by Japanese banks and investors and the establishment of the Tokyo office demonstrates our commitment to this area.”

Norton Rose is the latest firm to announce its intentions to boost its presence in Japan. Earlier this year Allen & Overy launched a Japanese law practice in its Tokyo office after hiring Japanese qualified lawyer - a bengoshi - Nobuo Nakata from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in March this year.