The Legal 500

These firms specialise in debt and equity capital markets across several jurisdictions. Those handling purely US-facing work can be found in the Capital markets - US law section.

Herbert Smith ‘has a strong reputation in capital markets’. Standout partners include Andrew Tortoishell, a member of the Hong Kong Takeovers and Mergers Panel, and ‘strong and intelligent partner’ John Moore, who sits on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) Listing Committee. Ashley Alder has ‘good relationships with the HKSE and SFC’, while Tommy Tong and Matt Emsley are ‘technically good’ and ‘very hands-on’. Jeremy Xiao, former managing partner in Beijing, returned as part-time consultant, providing a welcome boost to the senior talent. The practice’s strong stable of underwriter clients includes Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and UBS.

The ‘standout practice’ at Linklaters is ‘an excellent one-stop shop’ for Hong Kong, UK and US law and is equally adept in debt and equity capital markets (DCM and ECM respectively). Andrew Malcolm and Jeremy Webb have ‘the number one convertible bond practice’, while Celia Lam is ‘much better than anyone else at IPOs’. The transfer of David Ludwick and Jon Gray help offset the loss of Patrick Sheil to the London office and William Liu to Shanghai. The practice is ‘the best in terms of consistent delivery of service and strength of bench’ and clients compliment ‘the breadth of their practice - they work on anything from medium term note (MTN) programme updates to complex convertible bonds’. Nigel Pridmore advised Morgan Stanley and UBS as underwriters to Soho China’s HK$2.8bn convertible bond, and the Bank of New York Mellon as trustee to the bondholders.

The loss of a number of partners from Allen & Overy’s ECM team to Latham & Watkins LLP diminished its capability in Hong Kong IPOs, but it still retains strength in DCM and wider equity work. Clients praise its ‘innovative methods and patience in explaining our rights issue’, adding ‘lawyers are available 24/7’ and ‘advice is typically dependable’. Clients highlight Andrew Harrow as ‘smart and experienced’, James Grandolfo as ‘hardworking and savvy’ and David Johnson. Walter Son, ‘a safe pair of hands for debt work’, had an active year in Korea, issuing a government-guaranteed $1bn fixed rate global bond offering for Hana Bank, and handling MTN programmes for Hong Kong Electric and Macquarie Bank.

Although best known for ECM, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has made strides in debt and is on track to rival top-tier firms in its overall capability, and is ‘responsive and able to identify potential legal hurdles in advance’. The practice attracted various IPO instructions once the markets began to recover, and advised Soho China on issuing HK$2.8bn 3.75% convertible bonds. Robert Ashworth and ‘leader in Hong Kong IPOs’ Teresa Ko handle the equity side, while Bruce Cooper and Clive Rough cover debt work.

Sidley Austin’s practice ranges across high yield and investment grade debt to domestic and US IPOs. Matthew Sheridan, Constance Choy and Jason Kuo represented Nine Dragons Paper in its tender offer for 7.857% senior notes, valued at $166m. Timothy Li acted for LDK Solar in a follow-on offering of 4.8m depositary shares, raising over $200m. Jason Elder is integral to the formidable US law practice.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP has an ‘effective and commercially reasonable’ practice, with highly regarded individuals such as Dominic Tsun, Nick Norris and Jonathan Stone all doing ‘excellent work’. The practice handles US and Hong Kong work equally, advising Merrill Lynch in two tender offers by Galaxy Entertainment to purchase $350m high yield bonds, which had to be US-compliant. Julie Gao joined from Latham & Watkins LLP.

Baker & McKenzie is stronger in equity, having seen its debt work dry up even more than others. The team is ‘reliable and professional’, and ‘always gives precise and appropriate advice with a positive attitude’. Milton Cheng advised Pacific Andes International on a HK$566.4m rights issue. Key figures include Elsa Chan and CY Leung.

Clifford Chance has a good reputation for its wide-ranging debt work, but has made efforts to boost its equity practice recently, advising global sponsor UBS on the listing of Silver Base Group for $133m. The practice heads are Alex Lloyd and the ‘outstanding’ Connie Heng, whom clients say is ‘our first choice lawyer’. The practice focused on liability management last year, restructuring Ferrochina’s notes and warrants, valued at $125m.

DLA Piper has a mix of US-qualified lawyers, such as Gene Buttrill and Stephen Peepels, and Hong Kong specialists, including Liu Wei, Esther Leung and Jeffrey Mak. The practice advised China Merchants Bank on the HKSE listing of its recent acquisition, Wing Lung Bank.

Fried, Frank, Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP in association with Huen Wong & Co is ‘a one-stop-shop - their strong US practice is accompanied by a very dedicated Hong Kong/China legal team’. The lawyers are ‘proactive’ and ‘demonstrate a great depth of understanding of local practices’. Key partners are the ‘very helpful’ Joseph Lee, Victoria Lloyd, who ‘consistently delivers excellent results’, and Joshua Wechsler, who has ‘cutting edge, up-to-date US legal knowledge’. Clients include Rio Tinto and Golden Harvest Entertainment on equity and Merrill Lynch, ING and BNP Paribas on debt.

Latham & Watkins LLP has beefed up its practice by hiring seven ECM partners from Allen & Overy, expanding from pure US work to include UK and Hong Kong expertise. Clients praise the team’s ‘good overall service’. The practice acted as issuer’s counsel in the IPO of China Zhongwang Holdings on the HKSE and on its international offering, with a total value of HK$9.8bn. Notable partners include David Zhang, Michael Liu and John Otoshi.

Lovells’ practice, led by the ‘well-regarded’ Jamie Barr, is ‘highly professional and delivers solutions ahead of schedule and above expectations’. The firm advised underwriters UBS, Macquarie and JPMorgan on the HK$6bn IPO of BBMG. Terence Lau is also recommended.

The ECM team at Mallesons Stephen Jaques features Dieter Yih and Larry Kwok, who are ‘consistently excellent’ and ‘not afraid of giving strong advice’. Clients also identify that ‘the team has very strong industry knowledge for resources/mining’, handling IPOs for Lumena Resources, Real Gold and CVM Minerals in the past year. Richard Mazzochi and Minny Siu ‘provide good, clear advice’ in DCM and are ‘always available to discuss issues’.

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker offers ‘great US coverage’ and is evenly split between representing underwriters and issuers, especially where the company is PRC-based. Raymond Li led the team acting for BBMG in its HK$6bn global offering.

Simmons & Simmons’ position has seemed uncertain, following some key departures over recent years and relocation this year of two partners from Hong Kong to London. Nonetheless, the practice remains popular with clients, who say ‘they are technically sound, with 
in-depth industry knowledge’ and ‘fast response times’. DCM partner Paul Browne is ‘very commercial’, while Kevin Tong and new hire Sau Wing Mak are also recommended. Citgroup, Deutsche Bank and 
DBS are representative clients, and the practice has a niche in issuing retail investment products, having advised on several RMB retail bonds issues.

Slaughter and May’s lead partner Benita Yu has a formidable reputation in ECM, advising American Express on the sale of H Shares in ICBC. However, the firm continues to make strides in debt work, handling the $1bn MTN programme update for Fubon Bank. Richard Thornhill, Laurence Rudge and Neil Hyman are also recommended.

Deacons handles a significant volume of mid-market deals, advising Harbour Centre Development on its HK$942m rights issue, and acting as local counsel to Bank of America on the sale of $2.8bn of H Shares in China Construction Bank. Clients say the practice is ‘superb’ and ‘customer-focused’, with lead partner Ronny Chow described as ‘a very experienced capital markets lawyer - he knows the right questions to ask’.

Jones Day has capability across India, Singapore and China. David Neuville led the team advising the lead managers, including Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and State Bank of India, in a Rs50.48bn rights offering of shares in Hindalco Industries. Jeffrey Maddox and the ‘professional and efficient’ Virginia Tam are highly recommended.

Mayer Brown JSM provides ‘prompt and commercially effective advice’, and ‘understand our business’. The practice advised Shui On Construction on its privatisation takeover of China Central Properties, valued at $408m. The key contacts are Patrick Wong, Mark Uhrynuk, who recently relocated from London, and Jeckle Chiu, who is ‘proactive and technically very adept’.Morrison & Foerster recently hired Stephen Birkett, former senior director of corporate finance at the SFC, to join Hong Kong stalwarts Venantius Tan and Tien-yo Chao. The firm acted for CITIC Securities, UBS and JPMorgan in the $1.2bn IPO of China Zhongwang.

Norton Rose Hong Kong boasts one of the largest ECM teams in town, led by David Stannard, a member of the Listing Committee. Jon Perry transferred from London to join Freeman Chan and Julian Chung. The practice handled a $17.8bn rights issue across multiple jurisdictions for HSBC, and advised Renhe Commercial Holdings on a global share offering which raised HK$3bn.

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe offers ‘quick response times’ and is ‘technically good’, representing a Chinese sportswear manufacturer in its HK$1.8bn IPO with a Rule 144A placement in June 2009. Edwin Luk, Mark Lee and David Cho are highly recommended.

Richards Butler in association with Reed Smith LLP is known for IPO work, acting for China Zhongwang Holdings on its $1.3bn listing and for CITIC Pacific in its $1.5bn convertible bonds issue to CITIC Group. Graham Winter is a key contact.

Chiu & Partners is popular with mid-level underwriters for its combination of ECM expertise and local knowledge, advising on IPOs and providing local counsel for larger offerings.

Iu, Lai & Li covers mid-cap IPOs, rights issues, warrants and convertible bonds. Clients point to Derek Lai as the standout partner.

Minter Ellison’s equity-focused practice is led by Hong Kong stalwart Fred Kinmonth along with Elisabeth Ellis. The practice worked on several attempted IPOs by local issuers last year, and on compliance with listings rules.

O’Melveny & Myers LLP’s reputation in ECM work is based on lead partner Colin Law, whom clients say is ‘knowledgeable, extremely commercial and proactive in suggesting solutions when there are potential hurdles’.The practice as a whole offers ‘fast response times’ and ‘a very high level of service’.

Stephenson Harwood & Lo has its niche in taking Asian companies to list on international exchanges, with a foothold in the London Stock Exchange and AIM listings. Clients praise partner Voon Keat Lai and Hilda Chiu as providing ‘excellent customer care at all times’, and say the practice is ‘prompt and professional’. John Gale leads the department.

Troutman Sanders LLP represents a mix of issuers and underwriters, handling both Hong Kong and US related work. Practice head Olivia Lee and Shirley Lau are the key individuals, with clients including CICC, COBI and DBS.

Woo Kwan Lee & Lo prides itself on local presence, acting predominantly for issuers. The firm does a smattering of debt work, advising Hong Kong and China Gas on a $1bn MTN programme. Partners include Angelina Lee, Carmelo Lee and Frank Yuen.