Ruonan Duan advises clients doing business in Asia on corporate and finance transactions.

Ms. Duan helps both borrowers and lenders, including Chinese and international private equity firms, private debt providers, corporates, banks, and funds on a wide range of banking and finance transactions, including:

  • Leveraged finance
  • Property finance
  • Acquisition finance
  • Syndicated corporate finance
  • Restructuring and workouts

She has particular experience with the infrastructure, consumer, healthcare, real estate, and technology sectors and with executing deals in jurisdictions across Asia, including China, Korea, India, and the Philippines. Ms. Duan draws on her Mandarin fluency and five years practicing in the Shanghai office of a magic circle law firm to provide clients insight on regional market practice.

Ms. Duan is a member of the Young Leaders Committee of the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association. As an active member of the Hong Kong community, she provides pro bono support, including as a volunteer at Equal Justice in Hong Kong.

Ms. Duan’s experience includes advising:

Private Equity Finance

  • The Carlyle Group on:
    • Dividend recap financings for its portfolio companies
    • The financing for the acquisition of A Twosome Place, a South Korea-based coffee shop chain
    • The financing for the acquisition of shares in Kakao Mobility, a business unit of Kakao, a South Korean internet portal and chat app operator
  • CVC on the acquisition financing for:
    • Sajjan India, a manufacturer of chemicals
    • A medical group based in the Philippines pursuant to a mandatory tender offer process
  • Global Infrastructure Partners on a term loan facility in connection with its acquisition of Tower Vision India Private Limited, a business that establishes and maintains passive telecom infrastructure in India
  • MBK Partners on a term loan facility in connection with its acquisition of four theme parks located in China from Haichang Ocean Park Holdings, a China-based marine theme park operator
  • Bain Capital on the refinancing of a loan facility to Rise Education, a leading English language training institution in China owned and controlled by Bain Capital
  • Baring Private Equity Asia on:
    • Refinancing of a US$660 million facility for HCP Global Limited, a Hong Kong-based global packaging business
    • Its leverage financing led by DBS Bank, ING Bank, Goldman Sachs, and Nomura in connection with the acquisition of the Indian healthcare IT company, CitiusTech
  • A consortium led by Chinese private equity firm Hopu Investments on its financing for the acquisition of a minority stake in FWD, a leading insurance business arm of the private investment group, Pacific Century Group
  • Term financing to the Chinese private equity firm Hopu Investments in connection with the privatization of a Singapore-listed conglomerate
  • A consortium of private equity funds and individual investors on the acquisition and financing of a prominent retail and office tower located in Shanghai*
  • China Vanke Co. Ltd, a Chinese residential property developer in relation to its acquisition and financing of Shanghai Central Plaza from private equity firm, Carlyle Group*

Corporate Borrowers

  • Shandong Ruyi, a textile manufacturer and global fashion brands owner, on its senior facility led by J.P. Morgan and Barclays for the acquisition of Lycra
  • Tianqi Lithium Corporation on its term loan facilities in connection with the acquisition of certain shares in Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A., a chemical company producing lithium and other industrial chemicals
  • Dianchi International Holdings Limited, an operator of an environmental equipment manufacturing business, on its term loan facilities
  • Hebei CNC Risun Coking Limited on its sustainability linked corporate facility agreements
  • A syndicate of banks led by Bank of America, N.A. on a US$6.5 billion club loan to a leading Chinese technology company

Private Credit

  • Nomura on a proposed term loan facility for a PRC REIT company indirectly owned by Sino-Ocean with underlying real estate asset in Shanghai
  • Orion Capital Asia (OCA), a Singapore-based premier private credit investment manager focusing on direct lending, in connection with a financing for a Hong Kong-listed company that offers financial services, including receivable accounts financing, factoring financing, asset management, and credit assessment
  • Ping An Credit in relation to its proposed participation in a direct lending transaction involving Hong Kong real estate assets

Restructuring

  • Pearl Holding III Limited, a sponsor-backed manufacturer and distributor of precision plastic injection molds, in its restructuring of senior secured facilities and notes through a Cayman scheme of arrangement
  • Baring Private Equity Asia Limited and CITIC Capital Partners Limited in connection with the restructuring and spin-off of Wall Street English, a China-based provider of English language training service, including a debt restructuring of the acquisition facility
  • Bain Capital in connection with a debt restructuring of the credit facilities for Rise Education Cayman Ltd., an English language training institution in China following regulatory changes to the education sector
  • GNC Holdings, Inc on its refinancing facility as part of the Chapter 11 (US Bankruptcy Code) process

Multilateral and Other Organizations

  • AIIB on its COVID-19 Crisis Recovery Facility to TBC Bank
  • New Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, and other multilateral development organizations on their project financings, including waste-to-energy projects*
  • Chinese domestic banks on their lending to foreign states in relation to the construction of infrastructure, including highways and hydropower*
  • Corporates and financiers, both in-coming and out-going, on energy projects involving cross-border lending and securities, including advising a syndicate led by China Development Bank on the project financing of the 1,200 MW Vinh Tan 1 BOT power project in Vietnam (awarded 2013 Deal of the Year, China Business Law Journal 2014)*

*Matter handled prior to joining Latham

Bar Qualification

  • Hong Kong (Registered Foreign Lawyer)
  • New Zealand (Solicitor-Barrister)

Education

  • LL.B. (Hons), University of Auckland, 2011

Languages Spoken

  • English
  • Chinese (Mandarin)