Appreciated by creditors and debtors for its 'strong legal and market knowledge', Clifford Chance is 'one of the go-to teams for complex transactions and has experience across all the major finance sectors'. 'Outstanding' team head Anthony Wang is well-versed at advising on leveraged finance matters and recently acted for PAG on a $933m loan facility to facilitate its $2.8bn minority investment in the commercial property management business of Dalian Wanda Group ahead of its Hong Kong IPO. Matthew Truman is also a key contact for Asia Pacific-based leveraged finance matters and 'has an excellent sponsor-side following'. Other recommended practitioners include Dauwood Malik, who is noted for his 'strong intellect' and aptitude at handling real estate financing;  Vicky Ma, who 'is particularly strong at acquisition and project finance and margin lending'; and Edith Leung, who is 'building strong relationships with leading sponsors and is strong on leveraged finance'. 

Traditionally best known for its bank-side expertise but also increasingly active for funds, as borrowers and lenders, (particularly since Daniel Abercromby‘s arrival in November 2020 from Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP), White & Case provides an increasingly balanced offering to clients across a wide range of financing activity in Greater China and the wider APAC region. Led by the ‘creative and commercial’ Eugene Man, the ‘solutions-oriented’ team has a strong reputation at handling acquisition finance mandates in the region, not only for its core roster of commercial/investment banks but also for alternative credit providers, which are playing an increasingly prominent role in the provision of liquidity. The ‘excellent’ Baldwin Cheng  also handles a significant amount of leveraged finance deals and along with Man is also noted for his ‘superb ability on China-focused real estate matters’. The ‘very commercial’ Stephen Howard has ‘great technical skills’ and has developed a strong reputation among lenders on leveraged finance deals, including bank/bond financings and direct lending matters.

Benefitting from deep expertise in the renewables and oil and gas sectors, and also able to tap into the expertise of finance lawyers spread across the firm’s vast international network, DLA Piper‘s Hong Kong office is best known for its ability to advise stakeholders, including commercial banks and ECAs, on multi-jurisdictional projects and trade finance matters. The arrival in May 2022 of Crystal Chen from Linklaters further enhances this strength and also bolsters the team’s ability to advise large Chinese banks and Chinese SOEs on their outbound transactions. Matthias Schemuth heads the team and as well as advising on conventional loan finance matters, has recently handled numerous ‘green’ facilities on behalf of banking clients.

Kirkland & Ellis is a very popular choice among major global private equity firms, including KKR and Blackstone, as well as regional players such as Baring Private Equity Asia, on big-ticket leveraged finance mandates throughout APAC. The firm is adept at advising borrowers on mandates utilising finance products throughout the capital structure and is also well-placed to incorporate the most cutting-edge technologies, by dint of its market leading London and New York offerings, in particular. As well as her core borrower sponsor-focused practice, which includes work in the real estate sector, Jacqueline Zheng has also recently worked on a number of financings for minority investments and special situations transactions for credit funds. Manas Chandrashekar co-heads the team alongside Zheng and is noted for his strength advising sponsors on deals throughout India and South East Asia. 

Latham & Watkins LLP advises a borrower-focused client base, including a number of high-profile private equity sponsors (TPG and Carlyle Group among them), on debt financings throughout the capital structure. The ‘fantastic’ Andrew Bishop  is pivotal to much of this work, including in the context of bank/bond structures and margin loans and other back leverage facilities. Mandarin and Cantonese speaking partner Howard Lam  is also an integral member of the team, particularly on China-related financings. Singapore-based Timothy Hia  heads up the overarching Asia finance department.

Led by asset finance expert Richard Stock , the team at Mayer Brown – which includes a sizeable presence both on the Mainland and in Hong Kong – provides advice to a bank-focused client base across a range of inbound and outbound China-related transactions. As well as aviation-related matters, the team is also well versed at handling new money and refinancing mandates within the real estate and energy sectors, including in the context of syndicated and bilateral loans. Other key contacts include Doos Choi, who is well versed at handling leveraged/acquisition finance, fund finance and margin loans, and Francis Chen , whose creditor-side financing expertise includes work on highly structured mandates, ABL facilities, in addition to sustainability-linked financings.

Norton Rose Fulbright advises an increasingly balanced roster of lenders and borrowers across an eclectic range of financing work within the real estate, transport and general corporate sector. Victor Sim is one of the principal contacts for acquisition finance work and has strong ties with both traditional banks as well as private credit funds. The vastly experienced Peter Haslam  is also a key member of the team as a result of his versatile offering that includes general corporate lending, ECA financing and project financing. Both Sim and Haslam have also been very active in relation to ESG-related financings.

The team at Eversheds Sutherland provides ‘timely and practical advice’ to a range of corporates, investors and banks, where it is ‘comfortable even with the most complex corporate lending structures’. The scope of the work is broad to include real estate and acquisition finance, although the team is perhaps best known for its trade finance expertise. Team head Michael Yau  takes the lead on much of the trade finance work and is also noted for his ‘profound knowledge of the laws and regulation’ in the finance sector (he has advised local and international banks on IBOR transition matters).

Although it is still in its formative stages, the arrival at the beginning of 2021 of both Davide Mencacci and John Bona from Linklaters has rapidly enhanced Milbank‘s market visibility and they have effectively leveraged the firm’s broader finance capabilities across US and Europe to good effect on behalf of a lender-focused client base. Despite at this moment lacking entrenched lender panel relationships (due to the relative newness of the move), both Menacci and Bona have acquired a considerable amount of work on LBO mandates where they have been instructed as designated lender counsel. The team’s conversance across the spectrum of finance products, including bank/bond, bridge to bond, unitranche, as well as processes involving the US Term Loan B (TLB) market, is also strong selling point and offers a degree of flexibility that is highly valued in the market. As well as work with a Greater China nexus, the Hong Kong team is also a hub for financing work related to transactions throughout Southeast Asia, as well as in India.

Headed by Ronny Chow, the ‘client-friendly’ three-partner team at Deacons provides a solid service to borrowers and lenders engaged in a wide spectrum of transactional work, including on domestic and cross-border syndicated/bilateral loans, acquisition finance and real estate finance matters. Erica Wong  is ‘technically very strong’ and has brought more firepower to the firm’s ability to service clients on corporate finance transactions since she joined from Ogier in June 2021. As well as his transactional expertise, consultant Simon Deane has an excellent grounding in relation to financial services regulatory matters, including as it relates to fintech and traditional banking.

Led by managing partner Owen Chan, Hogan Lovells advises banks, funds and corporates on inbound and outbound cross-border financings, where it can also effectively leverage resources across the firm’s wide international network, should the need arise. The team is particularly accomplished at handling acquisition finance and real estate finance matters.

Ropes & Gray LLP's primary focus lies in servicing the financing needs of its private equity-focused client base. Hong Kong and New York-qualified partner Jackie Kahng takes the lead on much of the work and has a strong pedigree for handling leveraged finance work. Daniel Anderson is the other principal contact within the group, although the majority of his work relates to restructuring and special situations mandates.

Conversant with the structuring of debt products throughout the capital structure, Sidley Austin serves a borrower-focused client base that includes a raft of Chinese headquartered property development companies. The scope of the work is broad and includes advice on pre-IPO financings, margin loans, syndicated loans and fund financings, with cross-border transactions a particular strength. Olivia Ngan ‘possesses excellent knowledge and experience in banking finance matters’ and heads up the Hong Kong-based team that also includes Alan Wong, who as well as borrower work, also handles some fund-related direct lending mandates.

Stephenson Harwood provides an effective service to lenders and borrowers across a diverse array of financing mandates, with niche expertise in trade and commodity, and asset finance. Key members of the team include Mark Reed , whose broad practice includes new money and restructuring transactions; King Tak Fung , for transactional, contentious and regulatory trade finance matters; and finance head Katherine Liu , who has a focus on financial services regulatory matters.

Leveraging the firm’s strong M&A capability, as well as handling financing transactions independent of the firm’s role on the corporate front, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP‘s three-strong Hong Kong team is best known for its leveraged finance advice to regional and international private equity firms, including TPG Capital and MBK Partners. Counsel Kevin Yao takes the lead on much of the work, where he frequently collaborates with other international offices including London and New York.