China (National)

King & Wood Mallesons is a Hong Kong-based international firm that was formed as a merger between PRC firm King & Wood, Australian firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques, and UK firm SJ Berwin. It has more than 2,000 lawyers and 23 offices worldwide. Apart from Hong Kong, the firm also has mainland offices in Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Haikou, Hangzhou, Jinan, Nanjing, Qingdao, Sanya, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Suzhou.  

Highlights 

The Sino-Australian venture is a dominant player in China’s legal market. It is the only international firm that can practise PRC law and so a go-to counsel for A-Share, H-Share, and panda bond transactions. The firm is also strong in projects, private equity, finance, M&A and structured finance and securitisation – especially in Korean cross-border ABS deals, cross-border auto loan securitisations and retail structured products.  

Key clients  

Key clients of the firm include Wise Road Capital, Lingyi iTECH, Jingdan New Energy Investment, China Merchants Bank, State Power Investment, China International Capital, Baidu, SenseTime Group, China General Nuclear Power, Geely, Macquarie, CNOOC, Sinopec and Zhongman Petroleum. 

Testimonials  

Private equity 

"Excellent. We once collaborated on an equity financing project for a foreign-invested enterprise. This company did not have a shareholders' meeting but only a board of directors. Their advice to the company was highly professional." 

"What distinguishes them is their capacity to craft agile legal responses to complex commercial challenges, underpinned by a team that exemplifies dedication and expertise." 

Financial services regulatory 

"KWM has a team consisting of professional lawyers across various legal areas, enabling them to provide one-stop legal services to solve complicated real-life challenges." 

M&A 

"As a long-term business partner, King & Wood Mallesons always provides professional legal services and timely responses. Their experience in the renewable energy field helps identify legal risks and figure out solutions." 

"Quality of service, depth of knowledge, and very quick response time." 

"Preemptive identification of critical risks, solution-oriented approach to complex problems, execution excellence." 

Banking and finance 

"King & Wood Mallesons is a top-tier team highly regarded for handling financing transactions, from general term loans to acquisition financings. Their lawyers are thoughtful, effective, and efficient on large, complicated deals. They provide strategic legal advice, adeptly amend complex finance documents, and have strong market knowledge and commercial acumen." 

Bank lending 

"Prompt response and good understanding of onshore regulations." 

Xiangjun Gu 

"We once collaborated on an equity financing project for a foreign-invested enterprise which only had a board of directors, not a shareholders' meeting. Following the abolition of the Law on Sino-foreign Equity Joint Ventures in 2020, the company could have faced governance challenges if a shareholders' meeting was not properly established." 

Haibo Mo 

"Fast response and practical problem-solving." 

Ningyuan Wang 

"Wang Ningyuan primarily serves private equity and IPO clients. With rich project experience, he offers efficient and professional legal services." 

Beilei (Sally) Hou 

"Lawyer Hou leads an impressive team and delivers excellent work." 

"Beilei Hou recently advised our company on multiple high-profile renewable energy M&A transactions in China, successfully assisting in acquiring strategic assets. Her work included comprehensive due diligence, regulatory-aligned deal structuring, risk mitigation for foreign investors, and document negotiation." 

Jiaxing (Jason) Xu 

"Listens and communicates well; offers innovative solutions." 

Yinghao Lv 

"Yinghao is an excellent lawyer, dedicated to meeting challenging client demands." 

Zhe Zeng 

"The dedication and professionalism of Zhe Zeng and his team left a deep impression. They conscientiously fulfilled their duties, overcame significant challenges like high-altitude conditions, and resolutely implemented tasks assigned by the liquidation group, making positive contributions to the enterprise rescue and successfully protecting the rights of creditors and employees." 

Keith (Jianxian) Huang 

"Very responsive and provides effective solutions."