Norton Rose Fulbright has made asset and structured finance partner Keith Sandilands head of aviation in Asia.

He has joined the firm’s Singapore office, moving from London, and will be responsible for managing its aviation finance operations, including leasing, cross-border finance, sale and purchase of aircraft.

Sandilands has been with predecessors of Norton Rose Fulbright for more than 20 years and worked in Singapore and Jakarta between 1991 and 1999.

He will oversee a team of six aviation finance partners across Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Jakarta, Singapore and Sydney and will report to Jeff Smith, head of Southeast Asia.

Smith says of the appointment: “Keith is an aviation specialist, has a strong Asian client base and has previously worked in the region. His focus will be to further develop our aviation practice across Asia, especially in India, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.”

Sandilands says: “Singapore is an important regional hub for aviation. We’re expecting to see further growth in aviation across Asia, and I’m looking forward to returning to the region to assist clients with that growth.”