Guangzhou is the capital city of the Guangdong province and is the key economic hub in the South China region. The major industries that are driving the city’s economy include automobiles, electronics, petrochemicals, wholesale and retail trade, and real estate. It’s location allows it to be a connecting hub for China, Hong Kong and Macau, which the government of China is further pushing for its economic importance with key initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area plan. The Greater Bay Area refers to the Chinese government’s scheme to link 11 cities including Hong Kong, Macau, and mainland Chinese cities around the Pearl River Delta into an integrated economic and business hub. With less than one percent of China’s land space, the Greater Bay Area contributes about 11% of China’s economy.Shenzhen, known as China’s Silicon Valley, is home to China’s second biggest tech companies Huawei Technologies and Tencent, Chinese holding conglomerate Ping An Insurance Company of China, delivery services and logistics company SF Express, residential real estate developer Vanke and other household names across a wide range of industries. As one of the first regions opened to foreign investment, Shenzhen has been at the forefront of the past 20 years of economic reforms and market innovation and is an economic, trade and technological centre for south China. The city also houses the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and a large number of red circle, Beijing- and Shanghai-headquartered PRC firms as well as local full-service firms.The Guanzhou table features a mix of national firms with headquarters in Beijing and Shanghai and Guangzhou-based local firms with an impressive regional footprint. The Shenzhen table includes a list of highly regarded local firms only and other mid-market firms that are active in the Shenzhen legal market.
Regional coverage: Guangdong Province: Guangzhou and Shenzhen in China
Dentons
Dentons has a sizeable regional team with over 230 partners across its Guangzhou and Shenzhen offices. The Guangzhou office is regularly instructed on financing, capital markets, corporate and M&A, employment and commercial disputes; it also has notable expertise in emerging fields including the digital economy and urban renewal; its Shenzhen office focuses on advising clients in the real estate and construction, natural resources and urban renewal sectors. Yuefeng Lu and Jian Zhang jointly lead the team from its Guangzhou and Shenzhen offices respectively. Zuoke Chen is recommended for corporate and commercial, real estate and construction and commercial disputes; Liang Zhou handles cross-border financing and debt issuance transactions; Xiangfa Zhang focuses on Hong Kong and US listings; and Bin Jiang specialises in bankruptcy, restructuring and M&A mandates.
Practice head(s):
Other key lawyers:
Zuoke Chen; Jicheng Liu; Bin Jiang; Baoting Yang; Xiangfa Zhang; Liang Zhou
Testimonials
‘In recent years, Dentons Guangzhou Branch has matched customer needs in industry segmentation and specialization, and refined division of labor to provide customers with high-quality legal services‘.
‘Baoting Yang’s team of lawyers has extensive experience in insurance dispute resolution, insurance front-end product clause design, internal control compliance, etc., especially in the fields of construction engineering and liability insurance. The mitigation effect is significant, and the case follow-up, plan writing and daily communication are all excellent.’
Key clients
Seedland Real Estate Group Co., Ltd.
China Southern Airlines Co., Ltd.
GTJA Investment Group Co., Ltd.
China National Agricultural Means of Production Group Corporation
Guangzhou Metro Group Co., Ltd.
First Capital Securities Co., Ltd.
Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd.
S.F. Holding Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Airport (Group) Co., Ltd.
Gree Electric Appliances, Inc. of Zhuhai
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China ( Asia ) Limited
J.P Morgan
Société Générale Bank
HSBC Bank
Standard Chartered Bank
First Abu Dhabi Bank
Fifth Third Bank
Guangdong Provincial Expressway Development Co., Ltd.
Global Top
Honz Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Guangdong Xingfa Aluminium Co., Ltd.
ATIF Holdings Limited
Yatsen Holding Limited
Evergrande Travel Group Co., Ltd.
Blue Moon (China) Co., Ltd.
China Southern Power Grid
Ping An Health Insurance Company of China., Ltd.
China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd 中建三局集团有限公司
San Ke Holding Group Co., Ltd. 三科控股集团有限公司(房地产、建筑、投资)
Shanghai mingpeng Construction Group Co., Ltd 上海明鹏建设集团有限公司
Guangdong Jinli Construction Engineering Co., Ltd 广东锦利建设工程有限公司
Shenzhen Agribusiness Group Co., Ltd. (Industrial real estate and agriculture) 深圳农商集团有限公司(产业地产、农业)
China Construction Fourth Engineering Bureau No.5 Construction Engineering Co., Ltd 中建四局第五建筑工程有限公司
CGN Environmental Protection Industry Co., Ltd 中广核环保产业有限公司
CGN Shanhe Environmental Engineering Co., Ltd 中广核山河环境工程有限公司
Hunan No.4 Engineering Co., Ltd 湖南省第四工程有限公司
Shenzhen jiananxin Engineering Guarantee Co., Ltd 深圳市建安信工程担保有限公司
Shenzhen Zhongshun Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. 深圳中顺置业发展有限公司
Shenzhen Shian Industrial Co., Ltd. 深圳世安实业有限公司
Shenzhen Youcheng Development Co., Ltd 深圳优城发展有限公司
Work highlights
- Advised China Vanke on the transfer of its 50% shares of Guangzhou Wanxi Enterprise Management to seven strategic investors led by China Cinda Asset Management.
- Advised China Construction Bank on three cross-border financing projects.
- Advised Baosheng Science and Technology on pre-IPO restructuring and listing, making it the first Chinese video marketing services provider to be listed in the US market.
Jincheng Tongda & Neal
Jincheng Tongda & Neal enhanced its Greater Bay area offering when it established its Guangzhou and Hong Kong associated offices in 2021. The team continued to expand with the hire of 12 partners from other local firms to join its Guangzhou and Shenzhen offices. The team advises on a broad mix of commercial, financing, M&A and IPO matters. Yinhong Liu and Meihua Liang are key corporate partners from its Shenzhen and Guangzhou offices, respectively. Liu is particularly active in the real estate and financial services sector, and Liang is noted for compliance, securities and capital markets, and private equity and venture capital investments.
Practice head(s):
Key clients
Shenzhen HuaQiang Industry Co.,Ltd深圳华强实业股份有限公司
Chinalin Securities 华林证券股份有限公司
FANTAWILD HOLDINGS INC华强方特文化科技集团股份有限公司
TCL Industrial Holdings Co., Ltd.TCL 科技集团股份有限公司
Tencent 深圳市腾讯计算机系统有限公司
Guangsheng Nonferrous Metals Co.,Ltd 广东广晟有色金属集团有限公司OPPOOPPO 广东移动通信有限公司
China Southern Power Grid 中国南方电网
State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration of Guangzhou Municipal Government 广州市国资委
Yuexiu Fengxing Foods广州越秀风行食品集团有限公司
Charmsun Fund中长胜基金管理有限公司
Poly China太平保利投资管理有限公司
Cedar holdings雪松控股集团有限公司
Tiantu Capital深圳天图资本管理中心
Work highlights
- Assisted Sunac China with the divestment of its property services segment and its independent listing on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and creating a new high financing scale of property management listed companies.
- Advised Guangzhou Yuexiu Fongxing Food Group Co., LTD., a subsidiary of Guangzhou Yuexiu Group Co., LTD., on its major reorganisation plan involving Huishan Dairy and 83 other enterprises.
- Advised Global Top E-Commerce Co., Ltd on the sale of its wholly-owned subsidiary Shenzhen Qianhai Patuoxun Network Technology Co.
Jingtian & Gongcheng
Jingtian & Gongcheng‘s Guangzhou office broadened its corporate and M&A, shipping, international trade and international arbitration offering when it hired four partners from Wang Jing & Co, two partners from Wei Tu Law Firm and four partners from other local firms. Working closely with its Shenzhen office, it handles a steady flow of big-ticket Hong Kong IPOs, M&A and international arbitrations. The team is jointly led by Pengfei Xu and Bangwei Xu and includes Li Li, who joined from JunZeJun Law Offices and focuses on restructuring and insolvency, financing and real estate and construction matters; Jian Hu, Shuzhou Zhao and Bo Yang, who handle international trade, shipping, insurance and contentious matters; and Kehua Zhang who specialises in employment, IP and M&A matters. Xuan Zhou, Pengfei Xu and Sanqiao Xu are key names to note in its Shenzhen office.
Practice head(s):
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘The firm’s expertise in IPO projects can greatly help clients to arrange work plans in a forward-looking manner. They also have in-depth understanding of clients’ special industries and can make very targeted suggestions to help clients prevent legal risks to a great extent. Their professional legal service team covers investment and financing, litigation, policy and regulation research and other fields, and can provide customers with a package of legal solutions.‘
‘Jian Hu has experience of very large and heavy international arbitration disputes – including in London.‘
‘Jian Hu is a really calm lawyer to have on your side who works hard to get the job done.‘
Key clients
CCB International Capital Limited
CLSA Limited
Merrill Lynch (Asia Pacific) Limited
Dompé farmaceutici S.p.A
Peugeot Group
Intel Corporation
Companhia Vale do Rio Doce
Whitworths Limited
Heineken Brouwerijen B.V.
IVE Group (Australia)
Hellmann Worldwide Logistics (China) Ltd.
Singapore Technologies Aerospace Ltd
CITIC Securities
JunHe
Established in 2011, JunHe‘s Guangzhou office is part of its south China regional offering with offices in Shenzhen, Haikou and Hong Kong. The 18-partner team is jointly led by Guangzhou-based Pete Zhang and Shenzhen office managing partner Jianwei Zhang, both focus on M&A, restructuring and financing mandates. Further names to note include corporate partners Ally Huang and Joe Wan who ‘has a high enthusiasm for the emerging industry of smart cars‘; Donnie Wang who specialises in intellectual property and corporate crime leveraging his previous prosecutor role which he dealt with anti-corruption and bribery investigations; and Catherine Miao who splits her time between Shanghai and Guangzhou and has a niche specialism of advising on overseas special situation funds on their non-performing loan acquisitions and restructruings.
Practice head(s):
Other key lawyers:
Testimonials
‘Joe Wan’s team of lawyers are young, motivated, and willing to learn to be on top of the trend. They can fully coordinate with other outstanding lawyers of JunHe nationwide, and concentrate their efforts to provide clients with services that exceed expectations.
Joe Wan’s learning ability, organizational ability, insight into the industry, and ability to define client needs are among the top young lawyers’.
Key clients
Vanke
Pingan
China Resources(CRC)
China Merchants Group
Miniso
Aoyuan Group
YueXiu Group
CVTE
Pearl River Enterprises Group
XPeng Inc
Work highlights
- Assisted MINISO Group Holdings Limited in its listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
- Advised Shenzhen Aoyuan on its takeover of the Kinghand Holding.
- Assists China Huishan Dairy Holdings Company with in its successful bankruptcy and reorganisation.
King & Wood Mallesons
King & Wood Mallesons has offices in Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The sizeable practice which includes over 70 partners and over 300 non-partner level practitioners, handles FDI, large-scale corporate restructuring, real estate, cross-border financing and commercial disputes. The team also has a number of highly regarded bankruptcy and insolvency specialists including Jia Wu and Kunchen Zhao, who regularly handle reorganisation, corporate liquidation and debt restructuring. Guangzhou-based Jianxue Wang specialises in capital markets, corporate finance, and venture investment; Kevin Cheng splits his time between Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and focuses on financial, commercial and real estate and construction disputes and special asset disposals and transactions.
Practice head(s):
Jianxue Wang; Kevin Cheng; Xianlong Zhao; Feng Gao; Haidi Teng; Ling Huang
Other key lawyers:
PW & Partners
PW & Partners advises on a range of corporate and commercial, M&A, employment, intellectual property and competition matters. It counts foreign companies, listed companies and SOEs as its key clients, and is particularly active in assisting foreign-funded companies with their operations in China. James Peng excels in employment and competition matters and Ada Wang focuses on M&A, international arbitration and international trade. Wei Wang and Ozzie Ou are also names to note.
Practice head(s):
Testimonials
‘The advantage is that the lawyer team is highly international and familiar with domestic and foreign legal systems.‘
Key clients
Reckitt Benckiser (China)
Tupperware (China)
SHV (China)
CEEC Guangdong Electric Power Equipments Factory
Clariant Chemicals (China)
SHV Energy (China)
Mars Wrigley Confectionery (China) co., Ltd
Mars Food (China)
Mars Food Australia
Jabil Circuit China
RENOLIT Asia Company Limited
ZHONGSHENG PHARMA (stock code 002317)
Suning.com (stock code 002024.SZ)
BY-HEALTH Co., Ltd. (stock code 300149)
Savills China
AIG China
JATCO China
PharmaCare Australia
Hammer Capital (Hong Kong) Limited
Dongguan Water Group
IKA Works Guangzhou
Chu Kong Shipping Enterprises(Holdings) Company Limited
ZHU JIANG TRANSPORTATION COMPANY LIMITED
Zhuhai Doumen CKS Container Terminal Co., Ltd.
Work highlights
- Advised CEEC Guangdong Electric Power Equipment Factory on relocation involving 164 employees.
- Acted for Dongguan Water Group on its participation of the Dongguan Water Ecological Construction Project from government procurement to PPP agreement, with a project investment of RMB6.3bn.
- Acted for Chu Kong River Trade Terminal on the dissolution of a subsidiary.
Tahota Law Firm
Headquartered in Chengdu, Tahota Law Firm's Shenzhen office handles corporate and M&A, finance, securitisation, IP and commercial disputes. Areas of industry expertise include real estate and construction and insurance, and it counts government agencies, SOEs, educational establishments and financial institutions as its main clients. The team recently advised on a number of major restructurings and listing matters. Yuanbing Huang leads the team, which also includes Jin Jiang who is recommended for real estate acquisition, infrastructure investment and financing and dispute resolution.
Practice head(s):
Key clients
China Oriental Asset Management
Guangdong Energy Group Natural Gas Co. Ltd
Shenzhen Municipal Transportation Bureau
Guangdong Yangjiang Hailingwan Liquefied Natural Gas Co. Ltd
Guangdong Energy Group Pipeline Co. Ltd
Guangdong Electric Power Industry Fuel Co. Ltd
Great Wall Asset Management Co., Ltd. Shenzhen Branch
Work highlights
- Acted for Guangdong Energy Group Natural Gas on its involvement in Huizhou LNG terminal project by establishing a joint venture with ExxonMobil.
- Assisted Shenzhen Municipal Transportation Bureau (Municipal Railroad Office) with the construction of railway PPP project.
Wang Jing & Co
Traditionally known as a leading shipping firm, with notable expertise in the areas of maritime, admiralty and insurance, Wang Jing & Co has expanded its practice to international trade, marine engineering and environmental resources. The practice also has notable experience in handling foreign-related dispute resolution in associated areas. Other areas of work include financing, construction, and general commercial disputes. Xiangyong Chen, Yongdong Han and John Wang are noted for shipping matters, while Shenzhen-based Yong Zhao handles commercial disputes for domestic and foreign companies. The team operates from its Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Xiamen offices regionally, and has offices in other major port cities (Shanghai, Qingdao and Tianjin).
Practice head(s):
Xiangyong Chen; John Wang ; Rongcun Li; Yongdong Han; Yong Zhao
Key clients
North of England Marine Consultants (Shanghai) Ltd Co.
Skuld (Far East) Ltd
SKULD (FAR EAST) LIMITED
GARD (HK) Ltd
Gard (HK) Limited
Thomas Miller (Hong Kong) Limited
Forerunner Shipping
Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.
China Merchants Commerce Financial Leasing Co., Ltd.
Cosco Logistics Guangzhou
COSCO Shipping Bulk Co., Ltd.
Bank of Communications Co., Ltd. Hong Kong Branch
Guangzhou Salvage
Bank of Communications Co., Ltd. Hong Kong Branch
China National Offshore Oil Corporation
Guangdong MSA
Korea P&I Club
Wang Jing & GH Law Firm
Wang Jing & GH Law Firm has a niche industry focus and regularly advises on transactional and contentious matters for major local and regional clients in the shipping, real estate, and gaming sectors. Jing Wang and Wilson Wang are highly recommended for shipping matters, and Sam Huang, Jianhui Li and Yingzi Cai are key names for real estate transactions.
Other key lawyers:
Wilson Wang; Jianhui Li; Yingzi Cai; Xiaoyan Ma; Jie Yang; West Yao
Wei Tu Law Firm
Wei Tu Law Firm is the PRC associated firm of Stephenson Harwood, which is approved by the Guangdong Department of Justice. Advising on PRC law, it regularly handles cross-border M&A, ship financing, employment, and IP matters as well as litigation and arbitration. Managing partner Zoe Zhou excels in cross-border financing, franchising, employment compliance, intellectual property protection, licensing and enforcement. Henry Zhu handles shipping, construction and other commercial disputes.
Practice head(s):
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
Singapore Technologies Aerospace Ltd
Hawksford
Work highlights
- Acted for a Chinese bank on the restructuring of financing involving multiple aircrafts.
- Assisted an aviation company with the extension and amendment of aircraft leasing due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Zhong Lun Law Firm
Zhong Lun Law Firm‘s Guangdong province team is jointly led by Boming Qian, who focuses on contentious matters, and managing partner of the Guangzhou office Baisha Zhang, who is noted for disputes, and antimonopoly and M&A matters. The team regularly handles multibillion-RMB M&A, restructuring, and real estate and construction transactions, and major litigation and arbitration, and teams up with its Beijing and Shanghai team on major complex transactions and disputes. Within the team Aron Hu and Wayne Wang are the key names to note for corporate and M&A transactions; Mingcheng Yan focuses on arbitration and anti-corruption investigations; Fen Quan and Junge Cheng are active in capital markets transactions.
Practice head(s):
Other key lawyers:
Shengfeng Xu; Aron Hu; Qiuying Lu; Nina Liu; Fen Quan; Xueting Hu; Wayne Wang; Mingcheng Yan; Junge Cheng
Key clients
Galanz
Guangzhou Industrial Investment Holding Group Co. Ltd
Air Lease Corporation
Anheuser-Busch InBev
SIMONE ACC. COLLECTION, LTD.
ITOCHU Corporation
Guangzhou Zhonggang Investment Co., Ltd.
LEGGETT & PLATT, INCORPORATED
gmp International GmbH
Eastman Chemical (China) Co., Ltd.
Guangzhou Development Zone Strategic Industry Investment Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership)
Guangzhou Chuangjing Mdical Treatment Technology Co., ltd
Huangpu Investment Holding (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd.
Science City (Guangzhou) Investment Group Co., Ltd.
Guangzhou Zhongxing Renhui International Medical Management Co., Ltd.
Guangzhou Knowledge City Investment Holdings Co., Ltd. NO
Beijing Konruns Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“Konruns”) (603590.SH)
Guangzhou City Construction Investment Ltd.
Synertec Corporation Limited, a multi-disciplined engineering consulting firm in Australia, which is listed on ASX
Bissell Homecare Inc.
Endeavour Consumer Health Limited
Hannover Re-insurance
SouthGobi Resources
State Grid Overseas Investment Co. Ltd.
XRSPACE
QiaoYin City Management Co., Ltd.
Guangzhou Ruoyuchen Technology Co., Ltd.
Liaoning Huishan Dairy Group Company Ltd. and 82 affiliated companies
Shenzhen Feima International Supply Chain Co.,Ltd.
Shenzhen Junma environmental protection Co., Ltd
Feima Investment Holdings Co.,Ltd.
Guizhou Guoyuan Mining Co., Ltd
DEA General Aviation Holding Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen QVOD Technology Co., Ltd
Xinyijia supermarket Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen Xindelai Industrial Co., Ltd
Ju Yuan Chemical Industry Co., Ltd
Pulse Electronics Corporation 普思电子有限公司
American Technology Co., Ltd. 美亚电子科技有限公司
Chow Tai Fook 周大福
Hitevision Co., Ltd. 鸿合科技股份有限公司
China Resources First Washington Power Limited 华润第一华盛顿电力有限公司
COFCO Futures Co., Ltd. 中粮期货有限公司
Huatai Great Wall Capital Management Limited华泰长城资本管理有限公司
Shenzhen CITIC Assets Management Co., Ltd. 中信资本(深圳)资产管理有限公司
Ping An Real Estate Co., Ltd.
China Resources Land Limited
China Vanke Co.,Ltd.
Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd
Elite IndustriaL Holdings Ltd.
China Resources Snow Beer (China) Investment Co. Ltd
China Overseas Grand Oceans Group Limited
Work highlights
- Advised Galanz, a leading manufacturer of domestic appliances in China, on its acquisition of an at least 51.00% equity interest in Whirlpool (China) Co., Ltd.
- Acted for Beijing Konruns on its acquisition of NT Pharma International Company Limited, a HK subsidiary of NT Pharma.
- Advised QiaoYin City Management Co., Ltd on its IPO.