Hubert Tse, Boss & Young, Shanghai

Name

Hubert Tse

Position

Partner, Boss & Young (PRC law firm) based in Shanghai

What was your first-ever job?

Tax Analyst at Deloitte in Sydney, Australia

Where did you study?

B.Com, LL.B. at The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia (1992-1996)

Where did you train?

Blake Dawson Waldron in Sydney – now merged with Ashurst

Have you lived or worked outside your home jurisdiction? What did you learn from it?

Sydney and Hong Kong. Sydney is a great place to live/work with great weather, great food and nice beaches - Asia Pacific financial center and financial capital of Australia – good work/lifestyle balance. Hong Kong is a very vibrant and exciting city to live and work in and given its unique location/position and its proximity to China, it’s a great place to work on inbound/outbound China deals.  I’m from Hong Kong originally and have now been living and working in Shanghai for 10 years.

When did you become partner?

2007

What deal/case in your career stands out the most and why?

First global QDII launch by ICBC-Credit Suisse Asset Management Co., Ltd. in 2007/2008. It’s one of the first QDII fund launches after 2007 QDII regulations issued by CSRC.  It was new for everyone involved (including CSRC!) so everyone was learning and working on a very new and groundbreaking financial product – exciting for all parties.

What have been your recent deals?

Advising a leading global hedge fund manager on setting up in Shanghai.

What is the biggest challenge facing your market at the moment?

Competing for and retaining good legal talent (experienced PRC lawyers with top local law firm and solid transaction experience).

What has been the most significant development in your sector in recent years?

Internationalization of the RMB, the launch of the Shanghai international board, reform of the domestic Chinese IPO and stock and Shanghai global financial center 2020 policy issued by State Council in 2009/2010.  All these have a significant impact on the future development and further opening of the Chinese capital markets as well as the development of the domestic alternatives market (PE/HF) in China – given Shanghai is currently the financial capital of China and in my mind Shanghai will become the New York of China in the next 10-15 years.

If you hadn’t been a lawyer, what would you have been?  

Classical pianist. I started playing piano at a very young age and performed and played in piano competitions before lots of school work and tennis got in the way at high school!

Which country do you travel to most frequently and which country do you like the best?

The US, Italy and Austria would be my favourites and Prague is my favourite city.

What is your favourite book?

Currency Wars

What is your favourite restaurant?

Lost Heaven (Yunnan Cuisine) in Shanghai.