Baker McKenzie acted as international counsel to CITIC Group ("CITIC") in connection with its investment into China Huarong Asset Management ("China Huarong") pursuant to a RMB 42 billion capital increase exercise undertaken by China Huarong. Besides CITIC, China Huarong has also received investments from other investors including China Insurance Investment, China Cinda, China Life Insurance and ICBC Investment.
China Huarong is one of the four major state-owned financial asset management companies in China. Its main scope of business covers distressed asset management, financial services, and asset management and investment, with distressed asset management as its core business. CITIC will become one of the key shareholders of China Huarong as a result of this investment.
Baker McKenzie fielded a multidisciplinary and multijurisdictional team for this deal. The team was led by M&A Partner Bee Chun Boo with support from Banking & Finance Partner Simon Leung (Hong Kong) and Cui Duan (Beijing); Capital Markets Partners Christina Lee (Hong Kong) and Wang Hang (Beijing); Financial Services Regulatory Partner Karen Man (Hong Kong) and US Compliance and Regulatory Partner Sylwia Lis (Washington, DC). Other key team members include M&A Associates Frank Tong and Cheng Zhengyang (Beijing); Capital Markets Special Counsel Betty Wong (Hong Kong); Financial Services Associate Eunice Fung; Capital Markets Associate Daisy Chen (Shanghai); and Banking & Finance Associates Li Bingyuan and Ryan Li (Beijing).
Commenting on the deal, Bee Chun said, "We are delighted to have had the opportunity to act for CITIC on this strategically significant transaction, and successfully bring this transaction to fruition for our client before the year-end. This large-scale transaction involved complex legal issues in multiple jurisdictions. Its successful closing reflects our Firm's ability to draw on the extensive experience and strengths of our transactional and advisory teams, and coordinate and advise on highly complex multi-jurisdictional transactions. We look forward to continuing to support our client with their future legal needs and business growth."