Big four firm KPMG expands global legal network to Indonesia after entering an alliance with local heavyweight Lubis Ganie Surowidjojo (LGS). The alliance comes at a time when the Big Four, including KPMG, are making inroads into Asia’s legal services industry.

Shanghai soon

In January, KPMG established an affiliated law firm in Hong Kong named SF Lawyers and it intends on having a presence in Shanghai soon. Founded in 1985, Lubis Ganie Surowidjojo was the second-largest law firm in Indonesia by headcount last year, according to the ALB Top 50 rankings, with 115 lawyers. The Indonesian firm previously held an association with Clyde & Co. The LGS and KPMG alliance aims to provide services to clients in various sectors, ranging from financial services (banking, insurance, finance, fintech) to infrastructure and maritime. In a message launching the firm’s new website, Dr Mohamed Idwan Ganie, LGS managing partner, states “All of us at LGS are excited that effective as of 1st May 2019 we have entered into an alliance that links our firm to KPMG in Indonesia and the Global KPMG network.”

Existing relationship

Tohana Widjaja, the managing partner of KPMG in Indonesia, said, “This alliance will enable us to increase the services we offer to our clients and give them comprehensive advice on investment decisions and operational aspects in Indonesia. We have already had a professional relationship with LGS for years and we know that they have a strong reputation in their professionalism and integrity among the business community in Indonesia.” In KPMG Indonesia the registered public accounting firm is Siddharta Widjaja & Rekan, one of the first accounting firms established in Indonesia, founded in 1957.