Programme
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08:50
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09:00
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09:20
Networking break
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09:30
Regional M&A outlook: Finding opportunity in uncertainty
In 2019, amidst heightened macroeconomic risks and regulatory headwinds, Asian M&A activity recorded USD565.3 billion across 3,735 deals. The global COVID-19 outbreak has also brought unprecedented implications for businesses, and the long-term effects on M&A dealmaking are still to be determined. Dealmakers in the region will therefore feel the pressure to identify and capture growth opportunities through intra-regional deals, invest in technology innovations, and make strategic investments that will strengthen their position in the uncertain global climate. Our panel of leading advisors share their views on the region and discuss how to future-proof businesses against risks in regional M&A in the year ahead.How are global and local economic, trade, and regulatory issues shaping regional M&A?
- How is the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as global and regional economic and regulatory issues shaping regional M&A?
- Which sectors and regions have been less impacted by regional headwinds, and how can corporates and investors take advantage of them?
- What can businesses do to ensure that they are risk-ready?
- What are the future themes and trends in Asian M&A in the next 12 months, and what are some new opportunities on the horizon?
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10:00
Live Q&A
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10:15
Networking break
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10:30
Cross-border focus: Investing in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is quickly becoming the preferred investment destination amongst Asian executives. M&A activity in the region increased in value by nearly one-third in 2019 compared to the previous year, while the rising levels of dealmaking in the region bucked the downward trend seen elsewhere in Asia Pacific. With countries such as China, Korea, and Japan investing in Southeast Asia, regional consolidation continues to fuel M&A activity as corporates and financial investors look to expand into new markets to acquire new technologies and new production capabilities. Our panel of industry experts discuss the current trends and deal flow activity of cross-border transactions in Southeast Asia.
- What are the factors fuelling intra-regional dealmaking?
- What are the top sectors that are attracting investor interest, such as consumer tech and healthcare, particularly in light of the COVID-19 outbreak?
- How can overseas investors build up regional platforms by identifying suitable partners to work with?
- What are the challenges that Chinese companies might face when expanding into new markets in Southeast Asia?
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11:00
Live Q&A
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11:15
Networking break
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11:30
Regulatory trends: A primer for corporates in the region
Globally, the increasing trend of protectionist policies by international governments, as well as rising trade tensions and political uncertainties, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 virus, are likely to be challenges for cross-border transactions and will result in extended deal timetables. However, against this backdrop the Chinese government has recently made accelerated steps to open up to the rest of the world, introducing pro-business regulatory changes such as shortening a negative list to increase market access for foreign investors. Our panellists discuss what these regulatory changes mean for Hong Kong-based companies, as well as multinationals with operations in China.
- Which sectors have seen the most regulatory pushback, and what is the outlook for 2020¬¬/21?
- How will the updated CFIUS regulations impact foreign investments in China?
- How are multinationals looking at China and re-evaluating their strategies in light of regulatory changes?
- As the gateway to China, how will Hong Kong be affected by these regulatory changes?
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12:00
Live Q&A
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12:15
Lunch/Intermission
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13:30
Case study: closing a deal during COVID-19
In this session, a dealmaker will talk through the steps taken to successfully acquire a target during the COVID-19 outbreak, and how they took into account key considerations such as valuation and governance issues. Gain insights into how the acquirer navigated the dealmaking process to mitigate any potential disruptions, including measures relating to increased due diligence, deal terms in acquisition agreements and more. The acquirer will also talk about challenges of executing a deal whilst working remotely, as well as technologies employed that could be used to enhance future processes.
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13:50
Live Q&A
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14:00
Networking break
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14:15
Private equity and strategics – partnering to win the deal
With an estimated USD1.5 trillion in undeployed capital, private equity is expected to continue to be a key driver of M&A activity in Asia. According to an industry report, Asia Pacific executives expect heavy competition between GPs and corporates for assets as a result, with an increase in hostile and competitive bidding in the year ahead, particularly in light of the COVID-19 outbreak as strategic investors find the need to seek opportunities to stabilize their businesses . However, there are various reasons for strategics to partner with private equity firms. From identifying potential synergies to post-closing value creation, both types of buyers have their own advantages to bring to the table. Our panel explore the opportunities and challenges facing these investors.
- How have uncertainties related to COVID-19 affected buyer sentiment in the region?
- What are the different strategies deployed by private equity firms vs strategics in Asia?
- What are the benefits and challenges associated with collaboration between private equity and strategic investors?
- HKEX privatisations in 2020- will this be a growing trend?
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14:45
Live Q&A
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15:00
Networking break
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15:15
Sector focus: Technology and disruption
Technology deals dominated M&A activity in Asia in 2019, accounting for USD111.2 billion in transactions. As the demand for technology continues to grow, Asian executives are increasingly building capabilities through strategic investments and corporate venture capital funds, as well as establishing external funds to invest in a range of new technologies. Our panel of experts and corporate executives discuss dealmaking in this sector and how companies can future-proof their positions by tapping into relevant opportunities.
- What are the challenges associated with investing in new technologies?
- What are some of the technology sub-sectors that are gaining traction in Asia, such as consumer tech and fintech?
- How are corporates doing M&A differently with new technologies, and what tools can they adopt to stay ahead of the curve?
- How is corporate venture capital activity shaping up in the region?
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15:45
Live Q&A
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16:00
End of the conference
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Ed Vinales joined Dealreporter in London in 2007 before moving in 2014 to Hong Kong to head up Dealreporter's Asian division. He was recently appointed Public Markets Editor for Asia Pacific and now also has responsibility for PaRR Asia Pacific, a regulatory focused news and database product.
Mr. Ronnie C. Chan is the Chair of Hang Lung Group Limited and its subsidiary Hang Lung Properties Limited, both publicly listed in Hong Kong, with the latter being a constituent stock of the Hang Seng Index. Founded in Hong Kong in 1960, the Group expanded into mainland China in 1992, developing, owning and managing world-class commercial complexes in key cities like Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenyang,Wuxi, Jinan, Dalian, Kunming,Wuhan, and Hangzhou.
In 1986, Mr. Chan co-founded Morningside in Hong Kong, an investment group engaged in many businesses in the U.S., Western Europe, Southeast Asia, and mainland China. It was among the earliest private equity investors in Hong Kong and mainland China. Since 2000, it has concentrated on venture capital: TMT in China and biotechnology globally. Morningside is strongly committed to social responsibility through the Morningside Foundation.
In Hong Kong and mainland China, Mr. Chan is Chairman of the Executive Committee of The Better Hong Kong Foundation, Convener of the Hong Kong Development Forum, a Vice President of The Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong, and a Governing Board member of the China-United States Exchange Foundation. He founded and chairs the China Heritage Fund which restores cultural relics in China, and is a co-founding Director of The Forbidden City Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation in Beijing. He is Co-Founder and Chairman of the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society, and Founding Chairman Emeritus of the Asia Business Council. He is a former government-appointed Non-Executive Director of the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong, former Chairman of the Hong Kong-United States Business Council, former Chairman of the Executive Committee of the One Country Two Systems Research Institute, and former Vice President and former Advisor of the China Development Research Foundation in Beijing.
Internationally, Mr. Chan is Chair Emeritus of the Asia Society and Chairman of its Hong Kong Center, a founding Trustee of the African-Asian Society and a Director of the Board of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Committee on United States-China Relations, and the Committee of 100. Mr. Chan is a former director of Standard Chartered PLC, Enron, and Motorola. He is a former member of the governing boards of the World Economic Forum, the East-West Center, the Pacific Council on International Policy, Eisenhower Fellowships, and The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation. He is also a former member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta.
Mr. Chan is active in education. He is an Honorary Court Member of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, a Trustee of the University of Southern California, and a Governing Board member of the Indian School of Business. He serves on the President’s Council on International Activities at Yale University. He is an Advisor on Strategic Development to Tsinghua University, a Co-Chairman of the Hang Lung Center for Real Estate at Tsinghua University, and a Vice Chairman of the International Advisory Board of the School of Management at Fudan University. Mr. Chan previously served as a Trustee of China Foreign Affairs University, a Co-Chair of the Advisory Committee of the Center for Real Estate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a member of the Advisory Council of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, the International Advisory Committee of the Pacific Basin Institute at Pomona College, and the International Advisory Committee of the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at Waseda University. He was a Brittingham Visiting Scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Notable philanthropic programs and projects initiated or supported by Mr. Chan include: Morningside Music Bridge; International Congress of Chinese Mathematicians (ICCM) where the Morningside Medals of Mathematics were awarded; Morningside Center of Mathematics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Morningside Cultural China Scholars Program at Zhejiang University; Morningside College at The Chinese University of Hong Kong; endowed professorships at Harvard University, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and The University of Hong Kong; and various scholarships and programs in Hong Kong and mainland China which have supported over 10,000 students. In 2014, the Morningside Foundation gave US$350 million to endow the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, named after Mr. Chan’s late father. In the same year, Mr. Chan and his wife gave US$20 million to endow the Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of Southern California.
Mr. Chan is a frequent speaker at international conferences, and has published numerous articles in Financial Times, International Herald Tribune, Newsweek, Fortune, Asian Wall Street Journal, Far Eastern Economic Review, and Japan Times. Mr. Chan holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree from the California State University, Los Angeles, and an MBA from the University of Southern California, and was conferred honorary doctorate degrees by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Tel Aviv University. Mr. Chan has received many awards for his contributions to society, which include: Builder of Bridges Award (Asia Society); The “Passing the Torch – Outstanding Figures of Chinese Cultural Heritage Protection” Award (China Foundation For Cultural Heritage Conservation); Asa V. Call Alumni Achievement Award (University of Southern California); Alumnus of the Year Award (California State University, Los Angeles); US-Asia International Public Service and Philanthropy Award (US-Asia Institute); Philanthropy Excellence Award (Committee of 100); Chern Prize (ICCM) for exceptional public service in support of mathematics; Grand Bauhinia Medal (HKSAR Government); Lifetime Achievement Award fAor Leadership (Hong Kong Association of New York); Rockefeller Award for Distinguished Philanthropic Service (International House); Dwight D. Eisenhower Global Leadership Award (Business Council for International Understanding); and the inaugural “Friends of Diplomacy” Award (Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC in the HKSAR). Mr. Chan is 70 years of age and resides in Hong Kong with his wife.
Ms. So is a partner in Davis Polk's Corporate Department and the co-head of Davis Polk's Hong Kong office. Her practice spans M&A and private equity matters. She has extensive experience in cross-border transactions and investments in Greater China and across Asia.
Ms. So has acted for global and Asian companies and investment funds in their strategic mergers and acquisitions, foreign direct investments, pre-IPO financings, joint ventures, going-private transactions, PIPEs, restructurings and other securities and general corporate matters. Her practice covers a variety of sectors, including technology, media and telecom, energy/infrastructure, consumer/retail, healthcare/pharmaceutical, and financial institutions. In connection with her M&A/PE practice, Ms. So also advises clients on regulatory matters involving antitrust and competition, CFIUS and foreign investment reviews, and anti-corruption compliance.
Bagrin Angelov is an M&A Executive Director in the Investment Banking division of China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC) based in Beijing, where he is exclusively dedicated to China outbound M&A situations. Mr. Angelov has profound experience in supporting private multinational corporations and state owed enterprises with their cross-border M&A undertakings. To date he has advised on 100+ M&A deals globally (both in emerging and developed markets such as UK, USA, Germany, and Australia), with a combined transaction value of some US$100bn. Prior to CICC Mr. Angelov worked in the Investment Banking divisions of Barclays, ABN AMRO, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and a Middle Eastern SWF.
Frank Jin is an Executive Director within Morgan Stanley’s Mergers & Acquisitions Department based in Hong Kong. He is currently the M&A Operations Officer for Asia Pacific.
Frank has over 13 years of experience practicing M&A. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Frank worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions group at Standard Chartered and the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell focusing on M&A transactions and leveraged finance in New York and Hong Kong. Frank is dual qualified as a New York lawyer and Hong Kong solicitor.
Frank received a B.Sc. from the University of Toronto, in Biology and Commerce, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Frank’s M&A practice focuses on China-related transactions as well as those involving listed companies in Hong Kong and other venues.
Chris has over 20 years of investment banking experience focused on financial sponsors coverage and financial institutions and he is currently the Managing Director and Head of Asia Pacific Global Asset Managers; Head of the Corporate and Investment Bank for Hong Kong. Chris received his B.A. from Michigan State University and his MBA from the University of Chicago.
Chris has worked with Citi for over 17 years, primarily in Hong Kong where he currently works, but has also spent time in New York and Chicago.
Miranda Zhao joined Natixis in 2019 as Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, Asia Pacific, Corporate & Investment Banking. Miranda is responsible for leading the development of M&A activities for the Asia Pacific platform, working closely with the bank’s in-house teams as well as its network of boutiques in the region and globally.
Miranda has extensive investment banking experience across Asia Pacific and Europe, with a strong focus on cross-border mergers and acquisitions.
Her most recent role prior to joining Natixis was as Head of Mergers & Acquisitions at China Everbright Capital Limited. Prior to that, she works for various global investment banks, including Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and The Royal Bank of Scotland/CIMB.
For over 18 years, Ferish Patel has advised clients across the full-spectrum of corporate matters --- including private financings of all stages, IPOs, bank financings, leveraged buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and corporate governance matters. This breadth of transactional experience has allowed Ferish to provide strategic guidance to founders, high-growth companies and investment funds on matters in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the US. In so doing, he has assisted clients in raising over US$100 billion in public and private financings, involving equity and debt capital. In Asia, Ferish has led some of the most complex transactions for venture capital- and private equity-backed companies, including for Cred, FinAccel, Flipkart, Meesho, PhonePe, ZestMoney and Zilingo.
Ferish has practiced in New York, India, Hong Kong and Singapore, and has been based in Asia for ten years. Prior to joining Cooley, Ferish founded and led the Singapore office of Gunderson, and he previously practiced with Simpson Thacher in New York and Davis Polk in Hong Kong. Ferish is fluent in Hindi and Gujarati.
Prior to his current role at Fullerton Health, Jeff served as the Chief Strategy Officer of WeDoctor, overseeing group strategy, capital markets, strategic investment and cooperation and international business expansion. Prior to that, he was the Head of Technology Investment Banking for Asia Pacific at HSBC, where he was in charge and led all the TMT transactions across the region. Before joining HSBC, Jeff was a Senior Director with Credit Suisse Hong Kong’s TMT investment banking team. His coverage focused on capital raising for internet companies and high-profile traditional technology M&A transactions across Asia Pacific.
Jeff graduated from the University of Southern California in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
Ernest Fung joined Tokopedia in August 2019 as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Finance. He is responsible for Tokopedia’s strategic initiatives, partnerships and corporate development. Prior to joining Tokopedia, Ernest was Senior Director and Head of International Corporate Development at JD.com from 2014 to 2019, where he led multiple investments across e-commerce, fintech, logistics and retail infrastructure. Prior to JD.com, Ernest was a Director of TMT investment banking at Citigroup for over a decade.
Ms Ee-Ching Tay is the head of Southeast Asia M&A of J.P. Morgan based out of Singapore. In her current position, she advises clients on the full range of transactions including cross-border acquisitions, public takeovers, divestitures and joint ventures. She joined J.P. Morgan in 2011 after spending over seven years with UBS Investment Bank in New York. Before UBS, she was with Warburg Pincus and Standard Chartered Bank in Investment Banking in Singapore.
Ms Tay has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, having advised on over 50 M&A and capital market transactions totalling approximately US$90bn.
Ms Tay holds a MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from University of Oxford and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Stanley Yang is Executive Vice President of First Pacific and oversees the group’s corporate development and investment activities including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and other portfolio company initiatives. Prior to joining First Pacific in 2013, Mr. Yang worked at Deutsche Bank where he led investment banking coverage for the diversified industrials sector in Asia. He also previously served as a director in Deutsche Bank’s mergers and acquisitions department, where he advised clients on transactions in Asia and the United States. Mr. Yang began his career in New York where he gained transaction experience in principal investments and investment banking. He received a BSc degree in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Wendy Wysong is the managing partner of Steptoe's Hong Kong office. In her practice she focuses on regulatory compliance and white-collar defense of international laws, including the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Export Administration Regulations (EAR), US sanctions laws and regulations administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and US anti-boycott laws, as well as government fraud and public corruption. She frequently advises companies investing in high-risk sectors and countries on sanctions, anti-bribery and corruption, and export control related pre-acquisition due diligence and post-acquisition compliance program implementation.
Wendy represents clients throughout the United States and Asia in the logistics, defense, aerospace, healthcare, telecommunications, gaming, consumer goods, and energy sectors.
Ranked as a Band 1 practitioner by Chambers in its Asia Pacific and Global guides, clients report that Wendy is "at the top of her game technically" and "brilliant at bringing to bear a global picture of how regulators react." One insider noted that "she is the most experienced white-collar export lawyer that I know." Additionally, Global Investigations Review named her as one of the 100 remarkable women operating in the field of investigations around the world.
Her notable experience includes leading an international team that represented a Chinese telecommunications company charged with violating US export controls and sanctions, and securing the first ever "Temporary General License" enabling the company to stay in business during the multi-agency investigation.
As a former Assistant US Attorney in Washington and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement in the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS), Wendy offers clients a unique combination of experience and insight as both a prosecutor and regulator before courts and agencies.
Speaker bio coming soon
Raymond is the General Counsel, International, of China Travel Service (Holdings) Hong Kong Limited with oversight of the legal, regulatory and enterprise risk management aspects of the Group’s international operations, principal investments and strategic initiatives around the world.
He has received various industry awards over the years, and was recently recognized as one of the most influential corporate counsels in The Legal 500’s GC Powerlist for China and Hong Kong in 2017.
Prior to joining CTS, he spent more than 18 years in various senior management, corporate development and legal and compliance roles with leading diversified conglomerates, a bulge bracket investment bank, and in private practice with Wall Street and Magic Circle law firms where he focused on capital markets transactions, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, technology and telecommunications, strategic initiatives and principal investments across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Raymond is a graduate of Columbia Law School, New York and The Wharton School’s Advanced Management Program for Senior Executives.
Hong Qiu is Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Lazard Greater China. Ms. Qiu has over 20 years of experience in investment banking and private equity investment in Asia.
Ms. Qiu has advised on numerous cross-border M&A transactions involving Chinese companies, particularly in the power, energy and infrastructure sector. She is well-versed in China’s outbound M&A regulatory landscape, having close relationships with central and provincial SOEs and financing banks. She also represents international companies in their acquisition, strategic cooperation and divestment vis-à-vis Chinese parties.
Prior to joining Lazard, Ms. Qiu was a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley. Prior to that she worked at Citi as a Director. She also served as Senior Investment Officer at EMP Global managing the AIG Asian Infrastructure Fund.
Ms. Qiu is a CFA Charter holder, a member of Thunderbird Finance Advisory Committee. Ms. Qiu received a Master of Business Administration degree with Honors from Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management.
ZHOU Jiaxing is the Joint Company Secretary of China International Capital Corporation (“CICC”). He is also a Managing Director and Head of Legal Department of China International Capital Corporation (Hong Kong) Limited (“CICC HK”). He sits in CICC’s Capital Commitment Committee, Risk Management Committee, New Products Review Committee and New Entity Establishment Committee.
Mr. Zhou received his LLM from the University of Southampton in July 2000. He is a qualified solicitor in People’s Republic of China, England and Wales and Hong Kong. Before joining CICC, Mr. Zhou has worked in a large international law firm.
Except being a director of Hong Kong Corporate Counsel Association, Mr. Zhou is also a member of the panel of arbitrators of South China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, a mediator of Shenzhen Securities and Futures Dispute Resolution Centre and the representative of CICC in Chinese Securities Association of Hong Kong. Mr. Zhou has been shortlisted by Asian Legal Business as a finalist in three consecutives years for the Hong Kong In-House Lawyer of the Year Award.
In 2016 and 2020, the Legal Department of CICC HK leading by Mr. Zhou was awarded the Investment Banking In-house Team of the Year by Asian Legal Business. Mr. Zhou also received the 2018 Hong Kong In-House Lawyer of the Year award by Asian Legal Business.
In February 2017, Joe was re-elected as a board director of Asian Securities Industry & Financial Market Associations (ASIFMA) for a term of two years. He is also elected as the Co-Chair of ASIFMA China Capital Market Committee, and a member of ASIFMA-IOSCO Advisory Group formed earlier this year at the request of the Secretary General of IOSCO as a regional standing group of senior market participants from Asia.
28 years origination and execution experience of a wide range of M&A and corporate finance transactions globally, across a broad range of industries. Significant experience with complex, multi-product transactions across the client spectrum including large/mid cap corporates, sponsors, sovereigns and family offices including UHNW.
Mr. Shah’s most recent Asian deals include advising Nippon Paints on its $12.2bn buyout of Wuthelum and Iberdrola on its $1bn public offer for Infigen.
Mr. Shah worked at Morgan Grenfell and Citigroup in London as a UK M&A banker, before running Deutsche’s M&A business in the Middle East and North Africa. He moved to Hong Kong in 2014 to co-head Nomura’s M&A business in Asia ex Japan
Steven He joined Vermilion in April 2011 and specializes in the manufacturing and industry sectors. Prior to joining Vermilion, Steven was a Senior Analyst in the Equity Investment department of Sino-life Asset Management in China. In this role he was responsible for equity research covering a broad range of industries including machinery, automotive, telecommunication, medical devices, alternative energies and technology. His previous positions in China’s financial services industry include serving as Managing Director, Fosun Ruizhe Asset Management Ltd in Shenzhen, and as Deputy General Manager, Overseas Business Division, Fund Energy Investment Holding Ltd.
Before commencing a career in Financial Services, Steven was an experienced engineer and manager in Canada. He worked as an engineering manager at Mott Manufacturing, leading an engineering team focused on product development and manufacturing engineering. Prior to joining Mott, Steven was a senior product design engineer at General Motors, Canada, responsible for GD&T applications in vehicle design. Steven also worked as a production manager for Thermo King China, a Westinghouse Company based in Shenzhen, before emigrating to Canada in 2000.
Steven holds an MBA from INSEAD, France; an M.Eng from McMaster University, Canada; and a B.Eng from Shanghai Jiaotong University, China. Steven is based in Shenzhen and speaks fluent English.
Charles Ching is a partner in the Corporate Department and the Managing Partner of Weil’s China offices. He regularly represents international and China-based private equity sponsors and corporate clients in mergers and acquisitions, minority investments, PIPEs and other investment transactions, particularly those with a China focus. He has also acted on some of the most prominent cross-border M&A transactions involving China in recent years.
Ranked as a leading lawyer by Chambers, The Legal 500 and IFLR1000, Charles is also named in The Best Lawyers™ in China 2020 and further earned the distinction of 2020 Private Equity and Venture Capital “Lawyer of the Year” in Shanghai. In addition, he is included in China Business Law Journal’s annual “A-List” for 2019 and 2018 as one of the leading lawyers in foreign firms in China.
Charles received his JD from Yale Law School and BA from Columbia University. He is a native Mandarin and English speaker and is qualified as an attorney in New York and a solicitor in Hong Kong.
Eric Chen is a Managing Director and founding member of FountainVest Partners. Mr. Chen is currently the Head of Financial & Business Services at Fountainvest.
Prior to Fountainvest, Mr. Chen worked at Investment Banking Division of Lehman Brothers in Hong Kong and held various corporate and investment banking roles with Citigroup in Singapore. Mr. Chen commenced his career as an engineer with Micron Technology in Singapore.
Mr. Chen has an EMBA from CEIBS, and received B.Eng degree with first class honors from National University of Singapore.
Mr. Max Chen is a Partner and a founding member of Primavera Capital.
At Primavera, Mr. Chen led the firm’s investments in a variety of opportunities in the consumer and technology sectors, including investments in Alibaba Group, Cainiao Smart Logistics, Alibaba Local Services Group, Palantir, Lufax, iResearch, Vitaco Health and Linksure Global.
Prior to Primavera, Mr. Chen worked at the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs in both Hong Kong and New York.
Mr. Chen received his JD and MBA degrees from Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School respectively and also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in Applied Mathematics from Harvard College.
Donald Lacey is Chief Investment Officer at Ping An Global Voyager, a growth stage fintech and healthtech venture fund formed by Ping An Group. Mr. Lacey joined Ping An from Citigroup, where he worked as a managing director in a variety of corporate and investment banking roles across Asia Pacific. While at Citigroup, he led the bank’s advisory efforts on numerous high profile cross-border M&A and capital raising transactions for Asian insurance, banking and technology firms. Mr. Lacey commenced his career as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs in New York. He has an SB from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a JD from Harvard Law School.
Eric Xin is the Senior Managing Director and Managing Partner of CITIC Capital China Private Equity. Previously, Mr. Xin was a management consultant with McKinsey & Co. in Shanghai and Washington, D.C. Mr. Xin has an MBA from Harvard Business School, with Honors, and a BA from Peking University.
Cyan joined KPMG Hong Kong in July 2011, and prior to joining she had worked in McKinsey & Company Corporate Finance, PricewaterhouseCoopers Corporate Finance and Nomura International
She has over 15 years of experience in M&A advisory including fund raising, divestment, joint venture and acquisitions with a focus in consumer sector. She is the consumer sector leader for Greater China M&A team.
In recent, she has advised on disposal for Winnitex, a textile sector (approx. US$180m); Tam Chai Yunna Noodle (US$128m); 5 subsidiaries of Singamas Container Holdings Limited (approx. US$540m)
Licensed Representative, SFC (Advising on Corporate Finance)
HKICPA
Bachelor of B.B.A. in Professional Accountancy
Brian is a Consultant with the Clifford Chance Hong Kong Corporate practice. Brian advises on M&A and strategic commercial transactions, with a particular focus on technology. Brian has a keen interest in fintech and emerging technologies and has advised on a wide range of technology-driven transactions, from early stage venture capital funding, to separations in large M&A deals and blockchain-based innovation projects for financial institutions and corporates.
Brian originally qualified as a lawyer in Ireland and is currently admitted in England & Wales and New York. Brian practices in Hong Kong as a Registered Foreign Lawyer.
Jessica is the Chief Strategy Officer at WeLab – a leading fintech company in Asia with one of the first virtual banks established in Hong Kong – operating as WeLab Bank. WeLab provides financial services by creating seamless digital experiences to over 46 million individual customers and over 600 enterprise customers, across Hong Kong, Mainland China and Indonesia.
WeLab also provides B2B enterprise solutions to traditional financial institutions which utilise WeLab’s technology to offer fintech-enabled services to their customers. WeLab operates WeLend and WeLab Bank in Hong Kong, WeLab Digital (我来数科), Taoxinji (淘新机) and Tianmian Lab (天冕大数据实验室) in Mainland China and AWDA in Indonesia through a joint venture with PT Astra International.
Jessica drives the group’s overall strategy which includes spearheading the rollout of the WeLab Bank. Prior to joining WeLab, Jessica spent over 12 years at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong, Singapore and London specialising in Investment Banking as well as Private Wealth Management.
Jessica is a Board Member of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong (FTAHK), an independent association of members who are representing Hong Kong’s fintech community globally.
Chris joined Telstra Ventures in 2015 to lead its investments in China. Chris brings more than 20 years of experience in direct investment and business development with on-the-ground investment practices in China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, India, Southeast Asia and the United States. Most recently, Chris worked at Intel Capital Silicon Valley office and Beijing office, overseeing the investments in mobile internet, communications and enterprise software & services in China and Asia. Prior to that, he co-founded a venture fund based in Silicon Valley. Chris has a significant investment track record in Asia and the US including numerous successful exits in acquisitions and IPOs. Earlier in the career, he managed the business development activities in high-tech sector for Hewlett-Packard Asia Pacific.
Chris holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, and a MS in Control Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Esther Wong is managing director in SenseTime, also a founding partner of SenseTime’s AI fund with AUM of RMB 5bn. SenseTime investment focuses on investing companies in AI ecosystem and finding long term strategic partners.
Esther previously ran Equity Capital Market in Bocom International, China's fifth largest bank, where she was in charge of overseas IPOs and equity placements. Esther began her career 20 years ago as an analyst on Wall Street with ABN Amro; her last role in New York was Head of Sales and Trading for Cazenove Asia (acquired by JPMorgan) whereby she was the first Chinese and first woman to be appointed that position. She moved to Hong Kong in 2006 to support launching of CICC’s US office, and in the process, rated as one of Greater China's Top Institutional Sales by Asia Money Magazine 5 years on a row.
Esther graduated with Associate Degree in Hospitality Administration in Glion Institutes, Switzerland; followed by BA(s) in Economics and Political Science in SUNY Stony Brook.
Xiaolin is a Director in JD’s Strategic Investment team, and is responsible for developing and implementing the group strategy of JD via investments and M&A.
Prior to JD, Xiaolin co-founded and held the title of Head of Business Development at YouJieYouHuan, a China fintech start up company
Xiaolin started her career as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch in 2009, and was an associate in Deutsche Bank’s Technology, Media, and Telecommunications team between 2011-2014. She was born and raised in China and received a full scholarship to study in Singapore and the US, graduating with a First-Honor Bachelor Degree (Major in Quantitative Finance) from the National University of Singapore.