Asialaw Profiles
The Guide to the legal markets of the Asia-Pacific

Haiwen & Partners is known for its strong capital markets practice, which serves domestic and international clients on major equity deals. One client praises Haiwen’s service by saying: “Haiwen & Partners acted as our Company’s China counsel on different equity deals, in which our company was appointed as sponsor and/or underwriter. Through the work, it has shown its comprehensive understanding and professional expertise of China securities law and practices.”

In 2010, Haiwen & Partners advised Agricultural Bank of China on its simultaneous listings in Hong Kong and Shanghai. As of the offering date, the US$22.1 billion IPO was the largest ever recorded. Haiwen acted as adviser to underwriters CICC, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Macquarie, and ABC international, with partners He Fei, Liu Su and Wang Jianyong leading its team. Meanwhile, partners He Fei, Jiang Weibo and Wang Jianyong represented the underwriters in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s US$6.8 billion A+H share listing.

Ma Chen heads Haiwen’s banking and finance practice, and Jiping Zhang is also well known in the market.

Haiwen & Partners routinely advises on major domestic, inbound and outbound transactions for companies and private equity houses. The firm is known for being able to handle complex M&A transactions across a wide range of sectors.

This past year, a Haiwen team led by partner Jiang Weibo represented China Mobile on its 20% stake acquisition of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. China Mobile is the world’s largest mobile carrier by subscription, and the deal is being heralded as a possible bellwether for future alliances between the telecom and financial services sectors. China Mobile’s acquisition involved complex regulatory and compliance issues that required creative solutions.

Haiwen also recently represented Shenzhen Development Bank (SDB) when Ping An Insurance and subsidiary Ping An Life Insurance of China sought a 29.9% acquisition of SDB. The acquisition was a two-step process that included a share swap from Newbridge Agia AIV III and Ping An Life’s subscription of the non-public SDB shares. The Rmb6.9 million (US$1.1 million) deal was viewed as a new type of strategic alliance between Chinese insurance companies and commercial banks.