SINGAPORE - The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) has appointed Senior Counsel Davinder Singh as the new chairman of its board of directors, with effect from Friday (Dec 16).

Mr Singh, the chief executive of Drew & Napier LLC, takes over from Mr Lucien Wong, who was recently appointed the next Attorney-General of Singapore, SIAC said on Thursday in a statement.

During Mr Wong's term as SIAC chairman, the centre had a number of milestone achievements, including receiving a record number of cases and registering a record total sum in dispute in 2013 and again in 2015.

In its 2015 annual report released in February, SIAC said 271 new cases were filed by parties in 55 jurisdictions, a 22 per cent rise from 2014 and an increase of almost 5 per cent from the previous record of 259 new cases filed in 2013.

The centre also set a new record in terms of the total sum in dispute, which grew 24 per cent year on year to $6.23 billion from a year ago.

Mr Wong also oversaw the expansion of SIAC's operations internationally, with the establishment of overseas representative offices in Mumbai, Seoul and Shanghai.

Mr Singh, widely recognised as a leading disputes practitioner, was in the first batch of Senior Counsel appointed in Singapore. In addition to being a top litigator, he has an active international arbitration practice involving complex commercial disputes and multiple jurisdictions.

In a statement on Thursday, Mr Wong said he has "every confidence that he (Mr Singh) will steer SIAC to even greater heights".

Mr Singh said of his appointment: "It is an honour and privilege to be succeeding Lucien as chairman of SIAC. Lucien leaves a hugely impressive legacy, having achieved so much for SIAC."