The Legal 500

The ‘large team’ at Allbright Law Offices is widely recognised as a market leader in capital markets, acting for both issuers and underwriters. The securities practice covers stock and bond issuance, and acts for Chinese companies on IPOs. The firm is consistently ranked as a leading advisor on small and medium cap boards and Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) listings. It has advised a number of state-owned enterprises and private companies in capital-raising activities on other exchanges such as the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, NASDAQ Global, Euronet, ASX, AIM and SGX. These are typically through IPOs, reverse public offerings, reverse merger transactions, follow-on and secondary offerings as well as private investments in public equities (PIPEs) and alternative public offerings (APOs). Highlights included advising on the first Paris listing of a Chinese health food producer at Euronext Paris, and acting for China Commercial Aircraft on a RMB3bn bond issuance. It is also strong in fund formation and in advising hedge funds and other international funds on Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) issues. Recommended practitioners include Steve Zhu, Guoquan Shen and Lawrence Zhu.

‘One of the leaders in the market’, Fangda Partners has a strong presence in both debt and equity. Its vast experience includes stock exchange listings and flotations, IPOs, bonds and debenture issues, the establishment and listing of mutual funds, and advising on all aspects of securities laws. With 13 partners across its three China offices specialising in capital markets work, it has been involved in the listing of more than 100 companies on the stock exchanges in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Singapore, London and New York. It is regularly instructed to serve as counsel to Chinese companies and financial institutions in debt offerings in the Eurobond market, and has recently been involved in convertible bonds and securitisation transactions in China. Senior partner Jonathan Zhou is a widely recognised expert in the field, with a track record that includes major transactions such as the IPOs of Alibaba, Fosun International, Baosteel, Shanghai Industrial Investment, Forte Land, Southeast Electric Power and Shanghai Airlines.

Llinks Law Offices represents issuers and underwriters in IPOs, follow-on offerings, investment-grade, high-yield and convertible debt offerings. It is accustomed to handling every stage of clients’ corporate development, from initial capital raising to additional equity and debt securities. The firm has an excellent track record which includes representing Sinochem in its issue of separately tradeable bonds and warrants, one of the first such transactions on the China market. A recent highlight has been acting for Shanghai Media Group in the restructuring of SVA Information, involving the takeover of the listed companies, sale of assets and the restructuring of the listed companies. The team, led by Christophe Han, has strong relationships with various government agencies including the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Commerce.

Boss & Young Attorneys at Law provides a ‘very responsive service’ to clients, including Fortune 500 companies, leading Asian banks, US and global financial institutions and hedge funds, and Chinese companies. Hubert Tse is ‘well connected with regulators’, and is widely renowned for his expertise in China private equity, Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII), Qualified Domestic Institutional Investors (QDII) and investment funds. The practice’s broad remit also includes secondary offerings, stock repurchases and transfers, shell listings, issuance of bonds, convertible instruments, warrants and redeemable preferred shares. It has advised on a number of listings of many companies in Chinese and overseas stock exchanges, and recently has been advising two leading Asian-listed financial institutions on a planned IPO on the Shanghai International Board (SIB).

Chen & Co. Law Firm’s roots lie in advising foreign and domestic clients with PRC capital markets issues. With proven expertise in equity, debt and derivative offerings, corporate restructuring, strategic equity investment, regulatory matters and legal due diligence, the firm is well-placed to advise issuers and underwriters, alongside a range of other financial institutions. In 2010, it was instructed as PRC counsel to JinkoSolar in relation to its IPO and listing of American depositary shares (ADS) on the New York Stock Exchange. Additionally, it acted as lead counsel to Beijing Venustech Inc (BVI) on its initial A-share offering and listing on the SME Board of the Shenzen Stock Exchange; the initial offering raised RMB625m. Frank Chen is recommended.

Jun He Law Offices regularly advises issuers and underwriters on IPOs and refinancing projects both inside and outside of China. With six offices in China including a strong team in Beijing, the firm has considerable strength and is regularly active in the offshore debt market, primarily Hong Kong and Singapore. Expertise includes restructuring, domestic and overseas private placements, the sale of assets for domestic and foreign-listed companies and other securities-related transactions. The firm recently acted as PRC counsel to the underwriters in the landmark IPO for Hutchinson Ports’ Singapore listing on SGX, which raised $5.5bn and is the biggest ranking IPO in Singapore to date. Adam Li and Xudong Tao led on the deal. Regular clients include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS.

King & Wood’s capital markets expertise includes securities issuance and listings, financing for private companies, funds, mergers and acquisitions of listed companies, securities and derivatives and wealth management. In 2010, the firm assisted the insurance arm of American International Group (AIA) in relation to its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, advising it on PRC law; the IPO raised HK$140bn. Stanley Cha led the deal in co-ordination with the firm’s strong Beijing-based practice.

At Duan & Duan Law Firm, managing partner Charles Duan is noted for capital markets advice to both national and international clients. The firm’s remit covers securities issuance and listings, acquisitions and restructuring of listed companies, funding and project financing of listed and non-listed companies, banking and credits, financial leasing, funds and its operation, securitisations and financial derivatives.

Global Law Office’s services include international and domestic IPO and listing, offering and listing of fixed-income products, enterprise bonds, corporate bonds and convertible bonds, as well as securities investments funds. It recently acted for China Shengda Packaging Group on its IPO at NASDAQ, and is representing Xianghe Dairy Products on its Hong Kong IPO. It is acting for Zhejiang Fulida Co. and 10 other companies in relation to a share IPO in PRC. Yu Zhang and George Wang are recommended.

Grandall Law Firm is experienced in company listing and stock issuance, and has recently seen an increase in IPOs. Its advice extends to overseas listings, and it frequently advises in relation to convertible bonds and shares. It also represents issuers in litigation and advises on corporate governance, and often advises on compliance with US securities law. Ni Junji and Charles Guan Jianjun are recommended.

Jade & Fountain PRC Lawyers’ successes include advising Shanda Entertainment as PRC counsel on its IPO on the NASDAQ stock exchange, which was valued at $1.04bn. It also acted for HTC on its private equity investment in NetQin, and its follow-up IPO on NASDAQ.

Jin Mao Law Firm has forged strong relationships with regulatory authorities including CSRC and the Ministry of Commerce, and thus has assisted a number of overseas and domestic companies with listings in US, Hong Kong and Singapore Stock Exchanges. It has proven adept in corporate reorganisation and restructuring, as well as issuing shares, convertible bonds, certificates of deposits, alongside due diligence work and providing legal opinion.