IFLR 1000
The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms

"Shirley Lu at Zhong Lun is my favourite lawyer to work with," says a partner with an international firm. The firm is still on panel with many international and local banks, for example as PRC counsel to the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Aside from syndicated loans and acquisition financings, the team is also known for international organisation and foreign government loans as well as asset financing.

The firm has increased its scope in recent years with new offices in London and Riyadh, which can only increase its links to international bodies further.

Deals
Shirley Lu was lead partner on the massive Rmb12.9 billion ($2 billion) Phase I syndicated loan to Shanghai Shendi Group for the Shanghai Disneyland Project by a group of 12 domestic financial institutions.

Lu also headed the team that advised Andaz Shanghai Hotel on its debt restructuring achieved through a Rmb750 million term loan facility from Bank of China.

Thanks to a successful relationship with local and overseas securities regulators as well as a good list of deals, the firm remains a prominent name for capital markets work, having assisted more than a hundred Chinese companies in their IPOs on the stock exchanges of Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and abroad in New York, Singapore, Tokyo and London.

On the debt side, the firm has accumulated expertise on corporate bonds, short-term financing bonds as well as medium-term notes.

Deals
For Surfilter Network Technology, a producer and distributer of auditing and supervision products for internet content, the firm's Chen Limin, Xu Zhigang and Zou Xiaodong advised on the company's Rmb265 million ($41.6 million) IPO on the ChiNext section of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Another equity deal saw the firm advising on the raising of Rmb1.5 billion from the IPO of Xi'an Longi Silicon Materials, a company in the silicon rods and silicon wafers business.

For debt work, partners Zhang Xuebing and Jessica Li acted for Legend Holdings on the issuance of even-year-period public bonds for Rmb29 billion.

Zhong Lun receives positive mentions from other high-ranking firms in China for its M&A work, as well as for its expertise on strategic alliances and restructurings.

The firm's new office in London will, the firm hopes, help it to cement relationships with European investors and corporates.

Deals
Last year partners Anthony Zhao and Jane Fan advised long term client 56.com, a video-sharing site, on its acquisition by Renren in an $80 million cash transaction.

The firm also acted as Chinese legal counsel to Guilin Seamild, a company that produces and distributes oat, as the target in the $35 million investment by US food processing company JM Smucker.

For Camelpaint Chemical Company, the firm put forward a team from its Shenzhen and Hong Kong offices to advise on the merger and subsequent joint venture creation of a new entity with the China and Hong Kong business of Australian decorative paints manufacturer DGL International.

"Zhong Lun is one of the best names," says a private equity authority at another firm. The team has experience across a vast variety of fund types: buyout funds, real estate funds, mezzanine funds, foreign funds, venture capital funds and fund-of-funds. Also, thanks to the international profile of its lawyers, the firm has been involved on several cross-border transactions.

Deals
For L Capital, private equity arm of LVMH, the firm's Anthony Zhao advised on the $200 million investment in Trendy International, a multi-brand fashion group.

Zhao also assisted CLSA Capital Partners on its Rmb250 million investment in spandex producer and distributor Zhejiang Artex Fiber.

In addition Catherine Chen acted as legal counsel to Tishman Speyer Real Estate on one of the first Renminbi real estate private equity funds set up in China. The fund is a sizeable Rmb1.2 billion, with the client being among the largest worldwide real estate developers.