City delegation heads to Beijing on AIM quest

A delegation of high-level City lawyers is flying to Beijing in an attempt to convince Chinese regulators to relax recently laid obstacles it is feared will stop Chinese companies listing on AIM.

The Lord Mayor of London is leading the delegation, which includes representatives from firms such as Norton Rose, Rosenblatt Solicitors and Stephenson Harwood, which have seen their corporate practices boom following an influx of foreign companies to AIM.

Chair of the Law Society's China group and Rosenblatt partner Neil Sampson said: "There are two issues being addressed in this trip: the scheduled promotion of financial services in London and meetings with regulators and ministries to talk about this issue of foreign listings."

Under the guidance notes, which were revealed in June, Chinese companies are required to provide a three-year track record of profit for the offshore holding companies set up to acquire and float the shares of the Chinese company. This is set to have a huge impact on AIM, where the majority of Chinese companies looking overseas seek a listing.

"Companies that set up their offshore holding companies prior to the note coming into effect are not affected, and there is a pool of them, but this is diminishing," said Stephenson Harwood corporate partner and delegate Peter Bradley.

The group flies out on 25 October.