Allen & Overy, MinterEllison bolster China presence

A&O adds to its corporate practice while MinterEllison appoints M&A and foreign investment specialists

Allen & Overy and MinterEllison have both announced new partners for their China offices.
 
A&O has appointed Wayne Lee as a partner in its Shanghai office. Lee who comes from Shearman & Sterling has extensive experience advising private equity and investment funds, including pension and sovereign wealth funds as well as in advising Chinese private companies and state-owned enterprises on cross-border M&A and investment transactions. 
 
His appointment follows those of Lina Lee and Jonathan Hsui in Hong Kong focusing on equity capital markets and M&A, as well as China debt capital markets partner Alex Tao and regulatory partner Charlotte Robins.
 
Meanwhile, MinterEllison has appointed two new partners with an established record of working together to its mainland China offices: Bi Chen in Beijing and Chris Carr in Shanghai.
 
Chen, an Australian citizen currently working at the firm’s Sydney offices, has expertise in China M&A and foreign direct investment, particularly with outbound direct investments from China to countries including Australia. Her experience, especially acting for Chinese State Owned Enterprises, is across a broad range of sectors, including natural resources, energy, infrastructure, agriculture, telecommunications and technology.
 
Born in China and fluent in Mandarin, she has a Master of Commerce from the University of New South Wales and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Sydney. Chen will start her stint in China from the firm’s Hong Kong and Sydney offices.
 
Meanwhile, Carr is a specialist in China M&A with significant experience advising multinational and Chinese clients on their cross border transactions and investment strategies. He has advised on many high profile onshore and offshore M&A transactions and joint ventures in a range of sectors, with deals conducted in both Chinese and English.
 
He joins from King & Wood Mallesons in Sydney and was previously with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Beijing. Carr holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and a Bachelor of Arts (Chinese) from the University of Melbourne, and attended Peking University where he gained a Diploma in Chinese Language.
 

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