Mallesons snares RMB bond duo from Simmons in Hong Kong
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Australia’s Mallesons Stephen Jaques has grown its Asian debt capital markets practice with the addition of two Simmons & Simmons lawyers who specialise in renminbi (RMB) products.
Hong Kong
Partner Sau-Wing Mak and consultant Kevin Tong will join Mallesons’ Hong Kong office as partners in October.
Mak has built up a strong reputation in the RMB business and in the retail structured products and derivatives fields. She has been involved in the RMB bond market since it was established in 2007.
Tong also has extensive experience in equity derivative and financial products, retail bonds and capital markets.
They have both worked on several ground-breaking RMB deals in Hong Kong, including the McDonalds RMB bond, Bank of East Asia (China) RMB retail bond and the recent Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China’s sovereign RMB bond issue.
The total value of RMB bond issuances have surged from RMB35.7bn (£3.6bn) in 2010 to RMB85.2bn in the first seven months of 2011, according to statistics from Bloomberg. It is expected to reach RMB200bn by the end of this year. It presents a lucrative area for growth in the Hong Kong legal service market.
Mallesons chief executive partner elect Stuart Fuller noted that this is a further reflection of the firm’s commitment to Asia. The appointment of Mak and Tong come after the appointment of two partners and four counsel in Hong Kong earlier this year.
