Feria Tantoco Daos lawyers, from left, senior associate Michael Tantoco and managing partner Michelle Carisse Balois with their Miura & Partners peers – partners Ryota Miura, Yoshie Midorikawa, and Mihiro Koeda – at the signing ceremony for their alliance in Manila.
Tokyo-based Miura & Partners has entered the Philippines legal market with a new office in Manila through a strategic alliance with local law firm Feria Tantoco Daos, expanding its Southeast Asia network consisting of existing bases in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Ryota Miura, founding partner of Miura & Partners in Tokyo, told Asia Business Law Journal that, particularly in the context of M&A, there was a growing demand for long-term support concerning post-merger integration after acquisitions and corporate management, extending beyond temporary assistance during acquisitions or investments.
“This trend is underpinned by the increasing number of Japanese companies seeking to expand into Southeast Asia who are now considering the Philippines as a market following Indonesia and Vietnam,” Miura said.
Last month, the Manila Times reported that Japanese companies, including karaoke chain operator Koshidaka Holdings, had committed to invest at least PHP51 billion (USD877 million) in the Philippines, citing the department of trade and industry following a high-level mission to Osaka.
Against such a backdrop, Miura said the strategic alliance with Feria Tantoco Daos was formed to provide appropriate solutions to the numerous legal issues Japanese companies face locally, such as new market entry, fraud investigations and dispute resolution.
“Feria Tantoco Daos is a law firm with over a century of extensive experience in M&A, finance, dispute resolution, labour law, energy and other fields in the Philippines, staffed by Philippine law-qualified attorneys specialising in each area,” said Miura.
Michelle Carisse Balois, managing partner of Feria Tantoco Daos, and Ryota Miura, partner of Miura & Partners, sign the agreement.
For Feria Tantoco Daos, the firm’s managing partner Michelle Carisse Balois, told ABLJ that the purpose of this strategic alliance was to strengthen our ability to serve clients with cross-border needs, particularly those involving Japan and the Philippines.
“We have seen steady and growing demand from Japanese clients in recent years, driven by Japan’s continued interest in the Philippine market and growth potential as part of its broader Asean strategy,” said Balois.
Balois pointed to legal needs covering M&A and joint ventures, particularly in infrastructure, logistics, distribution and retail, energy and manufacturing. Regulatory and compliance involving navigating Philippine corporate, labour and tax frameworks, as well as dispute resolution covering commercial disputes and local investigations, were also key legal needs among Japanese investors, Balois added.
Operating under Feria Tantoco Daos in association with Miura & Partners starting from 1 October this year, the Manila office will focus on providing legal, tax and financial support for global corporations undertaking M&A in the Philippines, while advising on new business ventures, dispute resolution and compliance matters.
“Furthermore, leveraging Miura Law Office’s regional presence in Asia, we support Philippine companies expanding into these countries and undertaking M&A activities,” said Miura.
The 18 Philippine-licensed attorneys, including seven partners and of counsel plus 11 associates, will work closely with Ryoichi Inoue, head partner of Miura & Partners’ Southeast Asia practice, who specialises in handling M&A transactions in the Philippines and other Asian jurisdictions. Additionally, Kanto Taruta, a co-founder of M&P Asia – a consulting firm specialising in Asia and emerging countries co-founded in 2021 by Miura & Partners – would be stationed on a rotating basis between Indonesia and the Philippines, the Japanese firm said.
AloJapan.com