SSEK Legal Consultants has again been recognized as one of Indonesia's leading mergers and acquisitions firms by Asian Legal Business (ALB). The ALB rankings of top M&A firms were based on the volume, complexity and size of work, a firm's visibility and profile in the marketplace, presence across Asia and in individual jurisdictions, and key clients and new client wins.
SSEK is also recognized as a top-tier M&A law firm by Chambers Asia Pacific, IFLR1000 and Legal 500. SSEK received a 2013 Asian-Mena Counsel Deal of the Year for its work on the BlueScope Steel-Nippon Steel joint venture.
ALB noted that Southeast Asia had seen an increase in M&A activity over the last several years, including a visible surge in the first half of 2014. It said M&A activity in the region was likely to continue its growth, driven by the encouraging growth rates, attractive manufacturing costs and burgeoning middle class of several jurisdictions.
ALB flagged the upcoming integration of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations into the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which is expected to happen by the end of 2015. It said the AEC would create a trading bloc of more than 600 million people with a GDP exceeding $5.6 trillion, which would make it the seventh-largest economy in the world.
ALB is owned by Thomson Reuters and provides insight and analysis on the legal industry in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East.