Huang Xuhua heads Allen & Gledhill’s China practice
Allen & Gledhill is pleased to announce that Mr Huang Xuhua joins Allen & Gledhill as Head of the China Practice Group, with effect from 1 January 2018, in a move to further enhance and strengthen the firm’s China practice.
With more than 27 years of experience in corporate and commercial practice, Xuhua has been based in Beijing, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore in the course of his legal career. Xuhua joins Allen & Gledhill from one of the world’s largest law firms, where he was a partner for 14 years, with the last two years in its Singapore office. Specialising in mergers and acquisitions, cross-border investments and private equity transactions, Xuhua has represented Chinese and international clients in numerous investment transactions involving China, both inbound and outbound, across various sectors, including financial services, real estate, TMT, manufacturing, infrastructure, logistics, power and energy.
Xuhua holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from China Renmin University in Beijing, and a Master of Laws from Columbia University in New York. He has been admitted to practice law in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), New York and Hong Kong. He is a native Mandarin speaker, and fluent in English and Cantonese. As a leading PRC practitioner in the area of M&A and PE investments, Chambers has described Xuhua as “praised for his expertise in private equity transactions as well as foreign direct investment and joint ventures.”
Allen & Gledhill’s China practice also saw the hiring of Sophia Feng as International Counsel in August 2017. Prior to joining Allen & Gledhill, Sophia was the Head of China Relations at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and the First Chief Representative of SIAC’s Shanghai office. Sophia has practised at a Beijing law firm and has also served as Chinese legal counsel to well-known multinational companies to resolve their China-related commercial disputes. Sophia is a native Mandarin speaker and is fluent in English.
Through the region, the China practice of Allen & Gledhill, together with its associate firm in Malaysia, Rahmat Lim & Partners, and its Myanmar office, has been active in numerous China-related matters across a variety of practice areas, including mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and arbitration. Notable transactions include the S$16 billion acquisition of Global Logistics Properties by Chinese consortium Nesta Investment Holdings (Asia’s largest private equity buyout), a number of Chinese listings on the Singapore Exchange, such as the initial public offerings of EC World REIT (the first Chinese specialised logistics and e-commerce logistics REIT), BHG REIT (the first pure-play China retail REIT backed by a China-based group), and Dasin Retail Trust (the first pure-play China retail business trust), and acquisitions for the CapitaLand Group of shopping malls Rock Square in Guangzhou and Galleria in Chengdu. In Malaysia, Rahmat Lim & Partners acted as issuer’s counsel in the establishment of an Islamic medium term notes programme of MYR1.5 billion in nominal value, which was the first of its kind issued in Malaysia by a Chinese corporation and a Hong Kong-listed mainland property company. In Myanmar, Allen & Gledhill regularly acts for Chinese investors, most recently, in a syndicated loan arranged and led by the largest Chinese commercial bank to finance a Myanmar telecommunications company, and in a joint venture between a Myanmar consortium and a Chinese state-owned company in relation to the first highway project in Myanmar involving foreign capital.
Christina Ong, Co-Chairman and Senior Partner, said “The addition of Xuhua to Allen & Gledhill firmly bolsters our China practice. His considerable experience with China-related transactions, deep expertise in applicable investment law, and familiarity with the needs of both international and Chinese clientele will be a significant benefit for our clients.”
