China

• Our reputation in China is confirmed by our rankings in the Asia legal directories and our pre-eminent position in numerous league tables published by Bloomberg, Refinitiv and MergerMarket
• We have 13 partners and over 60 associates, trainees and paralegals in our Beijing and Hong Kong offices who are engaged in a broad range of corporate, commercial and financing work.

Our main areas of practice include:

• Corporate and M&A - We advise on all aspects of mergers and acquisitions, often involving multiple jurisdictions, in China. We have experience of all types of corporate and commercial work, including general advice on listing, governance and board matters, joint ventures and other strategic co-operation arrangements and restructurings.
• Competition - We advise on all aspects of competition law in China and Asia and work as an integrated team with our offices in London and Brussels. We have been at the forefront of Hong Kong’s sector-specific competition practice and in the Asia Pacific region our experience includes cross-border mergers and merger control regulation, competition litigation, including appeals and private actions, and antitrust advice.
• Equity and Debt Capital Markets - We have extensive experience of equity and debt capital markets transactions, handling primary and secondary offerings in many different industry sectors and acting for both issuers and underwriters, as well as advising on bond issues and debt programmes. We provide US, Hong Kong and English law capabilities for capital markets transactions in Hong Kong.
• Private Equity - We advise on the full range of transactions, from venture capital investments to cross-border deals and from initial investment all the way through to exit.
• Financing - We act for lenders, borrowers, issuers, underwriters and sponsors on a broad range of financing transactions.
• Disputes and Investigations -  We advise on a wide range of matters, including commercial and financial disputes, shareholder disputes, commercial fraud, domestic and international arbitrations, regulatory and other formal inquiries and investigations and judicial review.
• Real Estate - We have a substantial property practice which covers commercial and residential property work, including property development and financing, acquisitions and disposals and REITs.
• Environmental, Social and Governance - We provide our clients with teams of committed, high-quality multi-specialists, all with experience advising at the forefront of ESG developments. Those teams are complemented by our dedicated sustainability lawyers. They keep pace with, and advise on, ESG issues full-time, and act as the glue between the many strands of ESG-related work across our practice areas.

RANKINGS

CHAMBERS GREATER CHINA 2023

Leading firm in Asia-Pacific Region for:

• Corporate/M&A

Leading firm in China for:

• Corporate/M&A: The Elite (International Firms)
• Competition/Antitrust (International Firms)
• Capital Markets: Equity (International Firms)
• Banking & Finance (International Firms)

Leading lawyers:

• Benita Yu - Corporate/M&A – Tier 1, Capital Markets: Equity
• Lisa Chung - Corporate/M&A
• John Moore - Capital Markets: Equity
• Natalie Yeung - Competition/Antitrust – Tier 1
• Chris McGaffin - Corporate/M&A

LEGAL 500 ASIA PACIFIC 2023

Leading firm for the following Hong Kong practice areas:

• Corporate (including M&A) - Tier 1
• Antitrust and Competition - Tier 1
• Capital markets (Equity)
• Banking and finance
• Capital markets (Debt)

Hall of Fame:

• Benita Yu - Capital markets – Equity
• John Moore - Capital markets – Equity
• Peter Brien - Corporate (including M&A)

Leading Individuals:

• Benita Yu - Corporate (including M&A)
• Natalie Yeung - Antitrust and competition

Next Generation Partners:

• Vincent Chan – Corporate (including M&A)

Rising Stars:

• Alexander Lee - Antitrust and competition

IFLR1000 ASIA-PACIFIC 2022

Leading firm for:

• Hong Kong – M&A – Band 1
• Hong Kong – Banking
• Hong Kong – Capital markets: Debt
• Hong Kong – Capital markets: Equity
• Hong Kong – Financial services regulatory
• Hong Kong - Private Equity
• China – M&A – Foreign
• China – Capital Markets – Foreign

Highly regarded lawyers are:

• Peter Brien - Capital Markets: Debt, Capital Markets: Equity, M&A
• Benita Yu - Capital Markets: Debt, Capital Markets: Equity, M&A
• Jason Webber – Private Equity
• Lisa Chung – Banking, Private Equity
• John Moore - Capital Markets: Equity
• Natalie Yeung – Competition
• Chris McGaffin – M&A

Notable practitioner:

• Clara Choi - Capital Markets: Equity, M&A

Rising star partner:

• Jing Chen - Capital Markets: Equity
• Ben Heron – M&A

Rising star:

• Vincent Chan - M&A
• Jocelyn Poon - Banking

ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS 2022

• Asia M&A Rankings for Hong Kong – Band 1

WHO'S WHO LEGAL 2022

Thought leaders:

• Benita Yu – M&A
• Natalie Yeung – Competition

Global Leaders:

• Peter Brien - Capital Markets: Structured Finance
• Benita Yu - M&A, Corporate Governance, Capital Markets – Debt & Equity
• Natalie Yeung – Competition, Foreign Investment Review

National leaders: Mainland China & Hong Kong SAR:

• Peter Brien – Capital Markets
• Benita Yu – M&A, Corporate Governance, Capital Markets
• Natalie Yeung - Competition

AWARDS

CHINA BUSINESS LAW JOURNAL DEALS OF THE YEAR 2022

• Capital Markets
  • SenseTime’s USD740m Hong Kong listing
• Cross-border
  • Chinachem and ESR cold storage JV
  • Coca-Cola’s subsidiary disposal in mainland China
  • Great River acquisition, take private of Dragon Crown
  • INEOS-Sinopec USD7bn asset transactions and JV
  • Link REIT’s HK12bn sustainability-linked loan

CHINA LAW AWARDS 2020

• The firm is a finalist for M&A Deal of the Year – Alibaba’s strategic partnership with Richemont and joint venture with YOOX Net-A-Porter Group

THE ASIA LEGAL AWARDS 2020

• The firm is a finalist for M&A Deal of the Year: North Asia – Cathay Pacific Airways’ Acquisition of Hong Kong Express Airways
• The firm is a finalist for M&A Deal of the Year: South & Southeast Asia – FWD Group's Acquisition of Siam Commercial Bank’s Life Insurance Business