Overview

Experience

Zhirong has extensive experience in providing legal services for cross-border commercial disputes, including litigation, arbitration and regulatory investigations. Zhirong has successfully handled a great deal of commercial disputes on behalf of clients at all levels of Chinese courts and major international arbitration institutions, relating to, for example: investment, trading, and financials.

 

Zhirong also has extensive experience in M&A and other corporate transactions and has dealt with a number of cross-border M&A transactions with market influence.

 

Zhirong’s major clients include international commercial banks, investment banks, PE funds, accounting firms, multinational corporations, and Chinese state-owned entities.

Zhirong’s dispute resolution experience includes:

  • advising Lehman on its bankruptcy and dispute with the Chinese asset manager HuaAn Funds in relation to the offshore securities investment operated by the first QDII fund manager in China

  • advising a British bank on initiating legal proceedings for revoking a shareholders’ resolution (in relation to an amendment of the articles of association) of a joint venture futures company in which the bank owns equity interest

  • acting for a foreign investor in a CIETAC arbitration against the Chinese partner in connection with the Chinese partner’s failure to make capital contribution to the joint venture company, successfully awarded the termination of the joint venture contract and approx. USD300 million damages

  • acting as a legal counsel to a well-known German auto parts supplier, to file a lawsuit in the PRC court to terminate the sales agreement for violation of the agreement by the counter-party (a processing factory)

  • advising a client on revocation of a series of share transfer transactions in a litigation case in the BVI court, in terms of certain jurisdictional disputes from a PRC perspective

  • advising a renowned international bank relating to its put option in a trust company against the major shareholder and supporting the client in achieving a large sum  deposit to secure its divestment

  • a triple billion EURs acquisition of 87.5% of the Grohe Group by LIXIL and Development Bank of Japan, completing an investigation into Joyou for LIXIL

Zhirong’s M&A experience includes advising:  

  • Wuhan Iron and Steel’s approximately RMB14.4 billion private placement and its subsequent outbound acquisition of mineral resources projects

  • Carlyle on its RMB3.3 billion acquisition of a stake in China Pacific Life (the largest PRC domestic equity transaction of the year)

  • a Citigroup-led consortium’s approximately US$3 billion acquisition of a 85.6% stake in GuangDong Development Bank

  • Wuhan Iron and Steel on the structure and implementation of a US$6 billion steel mill project in Rio de Janeiro

  • UBS AG’s acquisition as a strategic investor of a 4.99% stake in China Cinda Asset Management (the first PRC financial institution engaged in management and disposal of non-performing assets)

  • Prologis on its RMB228 million acquisition of a Shenzhen commercial real estate project

  • DIFA on its RMB720 million acquisition of Shanghai Huashi (a commercial real estate project)

Professional experience

2017 to date       Zhao Sheng Law Firm, Partner

2006 - 2017       Linklaters, Associate and Counsel

1997 - 2006       Shanghai International Economic and Trade Law Office, Shanghai (Partner from 2001)

Education

1992 - 1996       East China University of Politics and Law, LL.B

Languages

Mandarin, English