Dacheng Law Offices
Dentons China was formerly known as Dacheng Law Offices but is now structured as a Swiss verein since international firms cannot practice PRC law. The firm has 48 offices across China, including in Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Shenzhen.
Focusses / specialisms
The firm is strongest in private equity and investment funds and has a highly active restructuring and capital markets structured finance and securitization practice. Its capital markets practice has had a mixture of Hong Kong IPO and bond work, including corporate and convertible issuances. The firm is also recognised for its M&A, project development and banking work.
Key clients
Key clients of the firm include PayPal, China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, HSBC, BNP Paribas, Ningbo Communications Investment, Zhejiang Linyang Real Estate Development, and Zhongdu Holding Collection Association.
Research period review: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
On the capital markets side, the firm advised Bank of Communications Financial Leasing on its Rmb2.4 billion ($0.33 billion) Free Trade Zone ESG offshore bond. The funds raised will be used for the company's green and social responsibility-related projects. The Dentons China team also assisted video technology solutions provider Baijiayun’s IPO on Nasdaq and became the first Chinese audio and video SaaS stock in the US.
Dentons China is also a go-to firm for many domestic and international banks. Among publishable transactions, the firm is assisting the Red Lion Indonesia East Canada Phase I Rmb2.15 billion syndicate project of the Zhejiang branch of the Export-Import Bank of China. This transaction involves multiple jurisdictions and requires reviews of the borrower and guarantor's situation and provides legal opinions.
Deal highlights: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
Baijiayun’s IPO on Nasdaq.
Meihua International Medical’s IPO on Nasdaq.
Deewin Tianxia’s Hong Kong listing.
Client feedback: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
Project finance
“Global network so no issues with multiple law firms. They provided good advice.”
East & Concord Partners
East & Concord Partners is a full-service law firm in China covering over 20 practice areas. The firm is headquartered in Beijing, with offices in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Wuhan and Hangzhou.
Focusses / specialisms
East & Concord specialises in banking and finance and capital markets. In the research period, the firm showed its deep understanding of fast-growing industries such as healthcare, sports and data protection. The firm has been involved in several M&A projects in the pharmaceutical and health industry.
Key clients
The firm’s key clients include China CITIC Bank, CITIC Group, Huaxia Bank, Guomin Pension & Insurance, Beijing Capital Eco-Environment Protection Group, Fullgoal Fund Management, China International Capital, CICC Fund Management and China Orient Asset Management.
Research period review: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
In 2022, the firm advised China CITIC Bank on launching equity refinancing projects by placing shares to original shareholders in China and Hong Kong.
In one highlighted case, the firm established Huaxia Wealth, which is the first commercial bank wealth management subsidiary registered in Beijing by a national joint-stock commercial bank.
In another notable case, the firm assisted SPD Silicon Valley Bank to acquire an asset from a confidential company. The target has businesses in various industries such as hardware, software, internet, mobile, consumer technology, life sciences, biotechnology and clean-tech, and private hospitals. Advising on financing structures for various acquisitions on these sectors shows that the team has comprehensive legal knowledge.
Deal highlights: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
Huaxia Wealth establishment.
Beijing Enterprises Group’s Rmb15 billion bond issue.
Suzhou Branch of China Development Bank city reconstruction project.
Yinji Entertainment and Media insolvency.
Grandall Law Firm
Grandall Law Firm is a full-service law firm headquartered in Shanghai. It has offices in 28 Chinese cities including Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Chengdu and Ningbo, and has a further five offices globally.
Focusses / specialisms
Traditionally Grandall is known for its capital markets practice, where it has been dominant in the A-share market and has more recently made a push to strengthen its overseas listing practice.
Key clients
Key clients include China Merchants Bank, China Minsheng Bank, China Huarong, Air China Cargo, Beijing Yansha Group and Zhongsheng Beikong Biotechnology Company.
Research period review: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
In 2022, Grandall Law Firm represented 45 companies in their A-share IPOs and represented 41 companies in non-public offerings. In overseas capital markets, Grandall team advised Rainmed Medical’s listing in Hong Kong and represented HuZhou Gas’ IPO in Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
In Beijing, Grandall was the legal counsel for Tencent Music’s NYSE IPO. This was one of the largest IPOs of Chinese companies in the US in recent years.
In Shandong, the firm represented Shandong Luqiao Group in its share issuance, which was the first market-based debt-to-equity swap project in Shandong province. The project was helpful in improving Shandong Road and Bridge’s governance and capital structure.
In Sichuan, the firm provided legal services to Jiaozi Financial Holding Group’s epidemic prevention and control bond issuance, which was the first "epidemic prevention and control bond" issued by a state-owned enterprise in Chengdu.
In Jiangsu, the firm represented State Grid Jiangsu Integrated Energy Service’s mixed ownership reform project. The establishment of the mixed ownership reform company was not only to deepen the reform of state-owned enterprises, but also to promote the mixed reform in key areas and key links. The case was also an exploration path for mutual benefit and win-win, multi-party profitability, and strong alliances in the comprehensive energy service business.
In Tianjin, the highlighted case is Tianjin Zhonghuan Group’s mixed ownership reform project, which was a characteristic and pioneering project in the promotion of mixed reform of state-owned enterprises in Tianjin.
Deal highlights: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
Rainmed Medical’s listing in Hong Kong.
Huzhou Gas’s IPO in Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Daojiale’s Rmb500 million pre-A round financing.
Glory Star New Media Group’s Nasdaq IPO.
Shandong Luqiao Group’s share issue.
State Grid Jiangsu Integrated Energy Service’s mixed ownership reform project.
Tencent Music’s NYSE IPO.
Jiaozi Financial Holding Group’s epidemic prevention and control bond issue.
DeHeng Law Offices
Headquartered in Beijing, DeHeng Law Offices is a full-service PRC law firm that has 50 offices in and outside China.
Focusses / specialisms
The firm is regarded for its work in M&A, capital markets and banking.
Key clients
Key clients include China CITIC Bank International, Export-Import Bank of China, BOCOM International Universal Investment, HSBC, China Gold and Qingdao Sifang Rolling Stock Research Institute.
Research period review: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
In 2022, DeHeng excelled at M&A transactions. The DeHeng team advised China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) on its purchase of Sinopec Group Asset Management, Sinopec Yizheng Chemical Fibre and Sinopec Group Beijing Yanshan Petrochemical. The transaction consideration is approximately Rmb7 billion, involving a wide range of specific asset types and including the transfer of asset-related claims and liabilities.
The team also advised Guangzhou Great Power Energy & Technology on the purchase of around 24% of shares of the company’s holding company, Shida Battery, through the issuance of shares to the shareholders of Shida Battery. Prior to the purchase, the client owned around 70% of shares in Shida Battery.
On project development side, the firm assisted several ongoing projects such as Tianjin Binhai Rail Transit Line Z2, Tianjin Metro Line 1 PPP project, Linxiang to Qingshuihe Expressway PPP project and Zhuzhou comprehensive water environment management PPP project.
DeHeng also showed its capability in domestic and overseas capital markets. In domestic capital markets, the firm assisted China Railway Harbin Group of Technology Corporation, Suzhou Kechuan Electronic Technology, Tianjin Meiteng Technology, Xuzhou ZM-Besta Heavy Steel Structure, Shenzhen Highpower Technology, Shanghai Ziyan Foods, Highbroad Advanced Material (Hefei) and GRINM Semiconductor Materials. For overseas capital markets, the firm served as the Chinese legal adviser to the listed underwriter of Jianzhi Education on its listing on Nasdaq.
Deal highlights: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation’s restructuring.
Guangzhou Great Power Energy & Technology’s purchase of Shida Battery.
China Minsheng Investment Group’s restructuring.
Jianzhi Education’s listing on Nasdaq.
China Railway Harbin Group of Technology Corporation’s IPO.
Suzhou Kechuan Electronic Technology’s IPO.
Client feedback: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
Investment funds
“They are professional, competitive, efficient and friendly.”
Insolvency
“Strong professional quality and strong communication and coordination skills.”
Project development
“Their service team is responsive and efficient, and can provide legal and compliant soil storage solutions and risk mitigation measures according to our company's needs, which has greatly helped us.”
“They are particularly familiar with legal services related to construction project bidding and contract management, as well as legal services related to government relations in PPP projects, which have greatly helped us.”
“They have rich experience in large-scale comprehensive projects such as PPP projects and franchise projects, and their team depth can meet our needs.”
“Lawyer Deheng has excelled in PPP projects, engineering bidding and procurement, contract negotiation, engineering management and legal affairs with government parties.”
Private equity
“Professional, meticulous and response speed.”
Lawyer feedback: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
Yunfeng Wang
“She is professional, competitive, efficient and friendly.”
Chunlei Zhang
“Good communication and problem-solving skills, especially in coordination with government and courts.”
Hongyuan Li
“Lawyer Li has a good service attitude and provides feedback very quickly. He is also very familiar with construction engineering and has investment and financing knowledge, especially PPP projects, franchise projects, bidding business, etc. He has smooth communication with us and has won high praise from everyone.”
“He not only excels in the legal profession, but also is particularly familiar with the bidding and construction management business of construction projects. He is also a bidding expert and contract management expert, and has a good service attitude. His feedback is particularly prompt, which has greatly helped our team.”
“Lawyer Li is not only a lawyer with excellent legal skills, but also a bidding agent for government adoption and engineering bidding. He has rich practical experience and has a good attitude and quick feedback in cooperation with us, which has greatly helped us.”
“Lawyer Li is hard-working, has a friendly attitude, and provides quick feedback. He has rich professional knowledge in PPP projects, construction project management, and bidding procurement, as well as rich experience in designing complex project transaction structures.”
Ruchuan Tang
“Professionalism.”
Tahota Law Firm
Headquartered in Sichuan, Tahota Law Firm is a full-service law firm that enjoys a leading position in western China’s legal market. The firm has branches in cities such as Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Nanjing and Tianjin.
Focusses / specialisms
Core practices areas of Tahota include securities, investment and mergers and acquisitions, private equity, bankruptcy liquidation, foreign-related investment and financing, and debt restructuring.
Key clients
Key clients include Yunnan Hongta Bank, Aluminum Corporation of China, Sichuan Cable Broadcasting Network,
Tiansheng Securities, Development Bank of Singapore, Zhongtai International Securities and ICBC International.
Research period review: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
In 2022, the firm represented Yankuang Energy Group in its issuance of no more than Rmb30 billion bonds. The team also assisted Liangshan Development Group in issuing $204 million overseas US dollar bonds.
On the M&A side, the firm represented Sichuan Development Holding with its subsidiary Sichuan Development Mining Group in its acquisition of Chengdu Santai Holding Group, a leading enterprise in the listed phosphorus chemical industry.
In 2021, the firm represented Nanjing Lishui Industrial Investment Holding Group in its issuance of Rmb500 million short-term financing bonds.
Last year, the firm hired six senior partners to strengthen its capital markets work.
Deal highlights: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
Yankuang Energy Group’s Rmb30 billion bonds issuance.
Liangshan Development Group’s $204 million overseas US dollar bonds.
Chengdu Express’s acquisition of Chengdu Energy Development.
Santai Holdings’ non-public issuance of shares.
Zhong Lun Law Firm
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.”
