China Law & Practice Recognizes Latham’s Banking & Finance Practice, Beijing Partner Hui Xu, and Corporate Work

China Law & Practice has named Latham & Watkins the Banking & Finance International Firm of the Year and Beijing Partner Hui Xu as Regulatory & Compliance Lawyer of the Year at the publication’s 2021 awards. Latham also earned recognition for advising on China Biologic’s US$4.7 billion take-private transaction, which was named M&A Deal of the Year, and Kuaishou Technology’s US$5.4 billion Hong Kong IPO, which was named TMT Deal of the Year.

In selecting Latham as the Banking & Finance International Firm of the Year and Hui Xu as Regulatory & Compliance Lawyer of the Year, the judging committee considered legal expertise and innovation, client satisfaction, industry knowledge and experience, and teamwork and efficiency.

Among the highlighted Deals of the Year:

• Latham advised CITIC Capital as a member of the buyer consortium of China Biologic Products, one of China’s largest medial and biomedicine companies. The privatization allows the China Biologic to extend its domestic footprint in research and development. The take-private deal delisted China Biologic from the Nasdaq as it became a wholly owned subsidiary of CBPO Holdings Limited.
• Latham advised Kuaishou on Hong Kong and US law aspects of the company’s listing on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. One of China’s largest video sharing mobile applications, Kuaishou raised US$5.4 billion in proceeds — marking one of the largest offerings in the technology sector.

Both deals were separately recognized as 2021 Deals of the Year by China Business Law Journal.

According to China Law & Practice, the annual awards program “celebrates the Chinese legal market’s most accomplished deals, its leading practitioners and its best law firms.” Latham is one of only a few global firms in Asia with the ability to provide substantive United States, English, and Hong Kong law advice. With more than 90 lawyers based in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, Latham provides clients an intimate understanding of the local marketplace while also serving their global needs.

China Law & Practice is a publication of ALM Media Properties, which also publishes The American Lawyer. China Law & Practice Awards, as China’s renowned awards for the legal elite, honors the best work in and out of the nation. Across the coverage of practice areas and disciplines, China Law & Practice identifies the biggest and most important commercial legal matters and outstanding individual practitioners in China. The awards are highly recognized in the legal industry and intensively competitive among law firms.