Firm’s expansion into Asia a result of increasing FDI investment into other locations 

SHANGHAI, Feb. 22 – Dezan Shira & Associates, the specialist foreign direct investment practice, announced today the establishment of two new offices in India, and the new opening of a Vietnam practice with offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The firm, which celebrated its fifteenth anniversary last year, has long been a China-based practice, and remains a significant player in China with nine offices on the mainland and Hong Kong. However, increased investment from multinationals elsewhere in Asia has spurred a flurry of activity around the region, with Dezan Shira adding offices in Kolkata (Calcutta) and Bangalore to its existing practices in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.

“We are seeing increased interest in India investment from the U.S. and also China” said Nazia Vasi, the head of the firm’s India desk in Shanghai. “We are now assisting Chinese businesses establish retail and manufacturing operations in India, in addition to an increase in India investments. These additional offices will assist us to better serve our multinational clients.”

Concerning Vietnam, Alberto Vettoretti, the firm’s Managing Partner for China, mentioned: “Manufacturers are moving away from South China as the regulatory environment in China tightens and the tax base increases. Vietnam is now a logical step for many, with Ho Chi Minh now developed as a major investment destination for manufacturing exporters, while Hanoi is fast developing as a link to South-West China and Yunnan, with the proposed new Free Trade Agreement between the two countries in this region bound to have stimulating effects on growth.”

Chris Devonshire-Ellis, Dezan Shira & Associates Senior Partner stated that the firm needed to service clients and provide them with a truly Asian perspective. “Pure China practices simply do not have the scope to comment. Our expansion into India and Vietnam is a testimony to our desire to provide quality service to our clients, and further underpins our strengths as a specialist firm dealing exclusively with foreign investment,” Mr. Devonshire-Ellis said. “By deliberately not seeking to develop a domestic practice in the countries we operate in we are able to concentrate our full attention and resources to our international clients and provide them with far more attention to detail in matters concerning foreign direct investment law and tax.”

The firm’s website, with details of new offices and locations is here.

Dezan Shira’s India Briefing magazine is here, the firm’s 2point6billion.com site, detailing China-India bilateral developments is here, while the new Vietnam Briefing site, also maintained by the firm, is located here (the initial issue will appear in two weeks).