Leading international law firm Clifford Chance advised the joint sponsors and 23 underwriters including Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C., Morgan Stanley Asia Limited and CLSA Capital Markets Limited, on Xiaomi Corporation's US$4.7 billion (HK$37 billion) initial public offering on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (HKEX). Xiaomi is the first company to be listed in Hong Kong with weighted voting rights structure following the introduction of a new regime by the HKSE allowing such voting structure in April this year.

Ashurst advised Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft (Commerzbank), Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) and a Landesbank on the extension and increase of the existing co-funded securitisation programme for receivables of the German Wepa Group, one of Europe's largest suppliers of sanitary paper.

Law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP has advised Hawksford on its acquisition of the People & Projects Ltd (P&P) in Singapore, Hong Kong and the PRC.

P&P is a full service corporate services business with a strong track record in supporting international corporates to expand their operations, including manufacturing and sales, into and across Asia.

On 2 July 2018, Agricultural Bank of China Limited (“ABC”) completed its non-public offering of 25,188,916,873 A-shares, raising a total of RMB 100 billion. The core group of seven investors included Central Huijin Investment Ltd., the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China, China National Tobacco Corporation and its subsidiaries and New China Life Insurance Company Ltd. This is the largest refinancing transaction ever seen on A-share market.

Mayer Brown JSM played a pivotal role in formulating the funding and closing arrangements for a US$325 million seven-year secured reducing revolving credit facility to PB Vessels Holding Limited, the borrowing entity of the Hong Kong listed Pacific Basin Shipping Limited. The firm acted on behalf of a syndicate of eight international banks, led by an experienced European ship finance bank, and was entrusted by all outgoing mortgagees to arrange the discharge of the existing security documents.

Reed Smith has advised client Deutsche Bank on the strategic disposal of a portfolio of $1 billion of shipping loans spread across a diversified pool of maritime sectors and sponsors.

The multi-disciplinary, cross-border team was led by London-based asset finance partner Richard Hakes, who was assisted by fellow partners Simon Hugo in London, Volker Kammel and Simon Grieser in Frankfurt, and Tilman Siebert and Thomas Gierath in Munich.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer ('Freshfields') has advised GuoLine Overseas Limited (‘GuoLine’), a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Hong Leong Company (Malaysia) Berhad (‘Hong Leong’), on its proposed privatisation of Hong Kong-listed Guoco Group Limited (‘Guoco’). The offer price is approximately HK$12.5bn (US$1.6bn).

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Piraeus Bank, S.A., (Piraeus), one of Greece's leading 'big four' banks, on the sale and transfer of a portfolio of non-performing, denounced unsecured retail consumer and credit cards exposures equivalent to €2.238 billion total legal claims or €385 million on-balance sheet gross book value to APS Investments S.a.r.l, a leading CEE/SEE distressed debt investment advisor and manager.