Milton Cheng leads the Firm’s Asia-Pacific Mergers & Acquisitions Group, is the co-head of the Corporate Group in the China/Hong Kong office and leads the REITs Practice in that office. He is also a member of the Management Committee of the PRC/Hong Kong/Vietnam offices. He has consistently been recognized as a leading lawyer in his field by Chambers Asia, The Asia Pacific Legal 500 and IFLR1000. He is the Firm’s representative on the Council of Governors of the Asian Public Real Estate Association, and is also a member of the Committee on Real Estate Investment Trusts of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. The Asia Pacific Legal 500 has acknowledged him as “The pioneer of Hong Kong REITs”.

Practice Focus

Mr. Cheng has considerable experience in mergers and acquisitions, real estate investment trusts, financial services regulation, corporate finance and corporate restructurings. He regularly advises clients — including REIT and other asset managers, financial institutions, multinationals and Hong Kong-listed groups — on a wide range of acquisition, REIT, restructuring, regulatory and corporate finance matters.

Representative Legal Matters

• Acted for Fortune REIT as lead counsel on its Hong Kong/Singapore dual listing, the first REIT to be dual-listed on these two Exchanges.
• Acted for Guangzhou Investment Company Limited on the establishment and IPO of GZI REIT, the first listed REIT with PRC mainland properties.
• Acted for Champion REIT as lead counsel on the USD1.65 billion acquisition of the Langham Place Mall & Office Tower, and on its acquisition financing.
• Acted for Yuexiu Group on the investment by Yuexiu Real Estate Investment Trust in Guangzhou International Finance Center.
• Acted for DB Trustees (Hong Kong) Limited in relation to its role on the RMB10.48 billion Hui Xian REIT, the first RMB denominated REIT in Hong Kong.
• Acted on the IPOs and/or follow-on acquisitions by various REITs, including Fortune REIT, Yuexiu REIT, The Link REIT, Champion REIT, Regal REIT and Prosperity REIT.
• Acted as lead counsel for Macquarie Bank on its acquisition from ING Bank of the ING group’s Asian equities businesses, covering more than 10 jurisdictions including Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.
• Represented a well-known US multinational corporation on its agreement with the Hong Kong Government for the construction, development, management and operation of Hong Kong’s first international theme park.

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Law Society of England & Wales
• Law Society of Hong Kong

Admission

Hong Kong (1993)
England & Wales~United Kingdom (1992)

Education

King's College London  (LL.B.) (1989)