King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) maintains its position as one of the dominant players in China’s legal market. The firm has been highly praised by its clients and peers in transactional law across China.
In Mainland China and the Hong Kong SAR, KWM are located in 14 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Haikou, Sanya, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing, Qingdao, Jinan, Chengdu, Chongqing, and Hong Kong. the firm covers the most important regions of China, such as East China, Pearl River Delta, Central Plains and Western China.
The Beijing transactional team is particularly sought after by major domestic and international financial institutions, government-linked companies and other multinational enterprises in China. Its team provides high-quality services across the full spectrum of practice areas.
During the research period, the firm assisted in the $2.6 billion joint venture between LyondellBasell and Liaoning Bora Enterprise Group. The project was socially significant and shortlisted by the Chinese government as a key project to promote the development of Northeastern China.
In another important mandate, the team advised on Liaoning Huishan Dairy Group’s restructuring. Huishan Dairy is currently China’s largest enterprise group producing dairy products in the entire industry chain that has entered the reorganisation process. The case is the largest among 83 successful reorganisation cases in China’s substantial mergers and reorganisations in 2020. The case lasted for three years and finally succeeded last year.
Moreover, the Beijing team led on large deals such as Haier Electronics Group’s $7.7 billion take-private, Tewoo Group’s restructuring, PipeChina’s $38 billion acquisition of PetroChina pipeline business and assets, and Liaoning Huishan Dairy Group’s restructuring.
The firm’s transactional work in Shanghai is also robust. It acted in Sina Corporation’s $2.6 billion take-private financing, Blackstone’s $1.1 billion acquisition financing of R&F Properties’ Logistics Parks stake, and Shanshan’s $1.1 billion acquisition of LG Chem LCD’s polarizer business. The deals involved complicated structures and contracts. Many of them were cross-border businesses subject to supervision by multiple parties.
In Shandong, KWM advised Haier COSMOPlat in its series A financing and INKON Life Technology’s in its non-public A-share issue. While in Sichuan, it provided services to establish Sichuan Bank. And in Tianjin, it represented Colorful Guizhou Airlines’ lease of four A320neo aircraft from GECAS. This case deal is meaningful for both GECAS and CGA, since it was the first time CGA imported Airbus aircraft, and the first time GECAS delivered an aircraft at Airbus’ factory in Tianjin.
Last year, the firm brought in capital markets partners Feng Chuan, Zhou Hao, and Ding Zheng from Grandall Law Firm.
Deal highlights
· LyondellBasell/Liaoning Bora Enterprise Group $2.6 billion joint venture
· Haier Electronics Group $7.7 billion take-private
· PipeChina $38 billion acquisition of PetroChina pipeline business and assets
· Tewoo Group restructuring
· Liaoning Huishan Dairy Group restructuring
· Shanshan $1.1 billion acquisition of LG Chem LCD polarizer business
· Sina Corporation $2.6 billion take-private financing
· Hudian Fuxin $1 billion take-private
· INKON Life Technology non-public A-share issue
· Haier COSMOPlat’s series A financing
Client feedback
“They have good understanding of the business of their clients and are able to provide service and legal advice in a deal-oriented way. They also know the loan market very well with good management of deal flow.”— Banking and finance
“Very professional and proactive.” — Capital markets
“KWM's promptness in providing its legal services is the best I've ever experienced over about 15 years in my inhouse lawyering experience. KWM especially has always responded promptly through WeChat and whenever we needed KWM's support, KWM was ready to support. ” — M&A
“They worked with great tenacity and endured hardships in terms of organising resources to carry out workstreams exactly and completely, meeting demanding questions and timeline, dealing with complex issues.” — M&A
“The team is not only very professional in finance-related laws in Mainland China, but they also have rich experience and knowledge of cross-border loans and APLMA loans in other jurisdictions, which can help us solve various professional and practical problems.” — Project finance
Nie Weidong Richard
“Knowledge of law and rich experience knowledge of industry.”
Lv Yinghao
“Professionalism. Quick response. Attentive to details.”
Zhong Lun Law Firm continues to enjoy the coveted position as one of the strongest and most in-demand transactional law firms in China.
Focusses / specialisms
Zhong Lun’s strongest forte is in banking and finance, capital markets, M&A, investment funds, restructuring and insolvency, and private equity.
Research period review: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
During the research period, the team was active in banking and finance and M&A matters. Some key highlights include CCCC’s $813 million project finance regarding a reclamation project in Philippines; and International Finance Corporation’s $700 million term loan facilities to two electronics producers in Vietnam.
The firm is well known for its restructuring and insolvency work, with 20 seasoned partners and nearly 100 associates based in different offices. The team is advising Sanpower Group’s restructuring work, which is the first successful case of out-of-court debt restructuring (restructuring by agreement) of a large-scale private enterprise group in China, and the first case of out-of-court debt restructuring in China after the implementation of
“Work Procedures of Financial Institutional Creditors' Committees”.
Deal highlights
CCCC’s $813 million project finance.
International Finance Corporation’s $700 million term loan facilities.
Sanpower Group’s restructuring.
Pre-reorganization and reorganization of Zhejiang Unifull Industrial Fibre.
Atour’s Nasdaq IPO
Shenyang Fortune Precision Equipment’s STAR Market IPO.
Tianqi Lithium’s Hong Kong IPO.
China Greatwall’s non-public offering of shares.
Client feedback: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
Capital markets
“[They have] professionalism in the structured finance and securitization area, especially in shareholders’ and owners’ rights.”
“Zhong Lun Law Firm has abundant experience in the pharmaceutical industry and is familiar with the industry in which our company is engaged; the project team is highly capable of dealing with complicated matters, has strong business awareness and is good at providing the company with solutions that meet both regulatory requirements and the interests and needs of the company, and the project personnel are adequately experienced.”
“They did their due diligence well, and gave adequate legal opinions, and provided efficient advice on legal issues.”
"In terms of service attitude, the firm fulfils its duties, responds to customer needs and demands in a timely manner, and provides professional guidance. In terms of professionalism, it provides professional guidance from the perspective of the client, and is able to find a reasonable solution in a large number of cases when the transaction encounters a bottleneck. In terms of independence, the firm can be reasonable and legal from the perspective of an independent third party, adhering to the principles of prudence, fairness and integrity.”
Insolvency
“They are professional and very expert in this area. They always have plan B to solve our problem and in fact protect our legal rights.”
“Zhong Lun Law Firm handles matters very quickly and positively, with careful and meticulous reviews and a very strong sense of risk management.”
M&A
“Assisted us in conducting legal due diligence, participating in transaction negotiations, and preparing relevant transaction documents. Zhong Lun lawyers demonstrated a strong sense of responsibility, good professional ability and comprehensive quality in their work, and proposed useful solutions to the issues involved in the transaction.”
“Very professional M&A advice is given by Zhong Lun from the process of due diligence all the way to M&A. The Zhong Lun team has helped so much in negotiation and contract drafting.”
“Firstly, the background of the project is complex, involving changes in actual use and the newly issued rental housing policy, and there is a relatively complex transaction structure. They are able to quickly grasp new information, understand the essence of transactions, and complete the work with high quality. Secondly, they are able to complete heavy work in a tight time frame, which was highly praised by both parties.”
“They provided much effective legal advice on major legal issues and did a really good job on due diligence and drafting transaction documents.”
Private equity
“Professional, prompt and comprehensive service.”
“They clearly understand the relevant legal issues and business focus and can proactively tackle the relevant issues and manage the transactions well.”
“Professional advice in global service for private equity restructuring and equity financial service.”
“Professional. Prompt. Highly efficient.”
“The Zhong Lun team have outstanding legal skills. They are experienced and good at solving complicated problems for clients.”
Project development
“Excellent professionalism and responsible work.”
“Very professional, efficient and dedicated.”
“Specialists.”
“Very professional in providing services for projects in the infrastructure field and they are familiar with the ecological and environmental protection field, responding to project services in a timely manner and providing effective risk prevention recommendations in the interest of our company.”
“Zhong Lun has a strong team which is experienced, conscientious and responsible in practising private equity. Our investment could not be done so well without their efforts.”
Project finance
“Very good.”
Restructuring
“Actively maintain communication and coordination with stakeholders to ensure that all links can be quickly and effectively promoted, so as to ensure the smooth completion of project work.”
“Fully anticipate various risks and issues that may be foreseen in the project, and actively communicate and respond accordingly to ensure the smooth, rapid and effective progress of the project.”
Lawyer feedback: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
Xiaoli Liu
“Industry knowledge, innovative solutions, jurisdiction knowledge, communication, problem-solving and risk management.”
Yueping Zhou
“Responsible.”
Fangrong Wu
“Highly professional.”
Nan Jiao
“Professional, timely, patient and comprehensive.”
Yi Shi
“Responds promptly and is very precise about risks at different stages.”
Aron Hu
“He's the partner at Zhong Lun, and he inspires the whole team to deliver the work in a very short time.”
Yong Wang
“Very efficient, patient, dedicated and professional.”
Qixiang Zhang
“Qixiang Zhang has strong professional competency as well as business and legal awareness. He is good at solving complicated legal issues and has strong ability to control projects.”
Shaun Gao
“He is very detail-orientated and can manage the transaction very efficiently.”
“Shaun is smart, practical and savvy. He is a true expert in his area of practice, with impressive problem-solving skills.”
Victor Yu
“Provides professional advice on corporate finance and restructuring services.”
Ping Zhang
“They provided helpful feedback and professional advice on the project..”
Jiadong Li
“Highly efficient.”
Fangrong Wu
“Highly professional.”
Yiheng Xu
“Mr Xu is well versed in handling complex situations with a wealth of knowledge and abundant experience in his practice area. He helped our company get through a hard time.”
“He has always shown a very strong performance in due diligence and negotiations, showing commercial sense. He is also very attentive to details which can potentially delay, jeopardise or derail cases. Most importantly, he has wonderful communication skills, which means he can make complex concepts very easy to follow.”
“Always maintains a highly professional practice philosophy and provides practical and feasible professional suggestions from multiple dimensions, such as theoretical research and physical operation.”
“Lawyer Xu Yiheng has rich experience in bankruptcy restructuring and liquidation, and is able to solve difficult, significant and complex problems in projects, earning high praise from the court and creditors.”
Zhiguang Liu
“Participated fully in the IPO and efficiently did his job, good at analysing legal issues and coming up with solutions.”
Wei Du
“Very good at capital market law-related work. Provided very serious and responsible work.”
Jie Ma
“Ma is diligent in formulating defensive and offensive strategies according to our needs and the case‘s situation. He did not miss any opportunity to advance our case. But the most valuable thing is that he is flexible in adjusting strategy according to the needs – thinking outside of the box and trying exhaustive ways. And through his excellent communication skills, he allows us to understand the intent and participate in the formulation of the strategy.”
Rui Zhang
“She has strong work abilities and is able to complete complex tasks under heavy pressure.”
Yunfan He
“Mr He is an expert in his practice area, he gives both legal and commercial advice on our projects, especially in respect of transaction structure.”
Lanping Zhou
“Zhou is very professional and dedicated, and all the advice provided was pertinent and practical.”
Liuyu Zhang
“I am impressed by Zhang. Although he is young, he is experienced at handling ecological and environmental protection PPP projects. And the advice he provided was also very pertinent and practical.”
Xiaoyan Liu
“As the leader of the legal team, she is highly responsible and proficient in her profession. She has rich experience in the cross-border investment legal business and can provide useful advice. The team is responsive to business and can effectively assist us to negotiate with counterparties.”
