Latham & Watkins is pleased to announce that Yilong Du has joined the firm’s Hong Kong office as a partner in the Corporate Department. Du has extensive experience advising on equity capital markets transactions in Mainland China, Hong Kong and the US and cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Over the years, Du has advised leading Chinese blue chip companies, many of the most active state-owned enterprises and a number of the largest private companies in China.
Du joins Latham & Watkins from a leading U.S. investment bank in Hong Kong, where he was Executive Director and Senior Counsel. Du led the legal efforts for most of the bank’s investment banking transactions in China, including US-registered and HK-listed IPOs, bond and other equity offerings and cross-border and domestic M&A. Du has particularly deep knowledge of Hong Kong listing rules and SFC regulations and he has significant experience advising on securities regulations and general company representation matters.
Bryant Edwards, Chair of Latham & Watkins’ Asia Practice, said: “Yilong is an exciting addition to our strong and dynamic team. He is highly regarded in the market for his intellect and technical skills, hard work and legal judgment. He has terrific insights on China generally and his expertise on Chinese legal and regulatory issues runs deep. He has an excellent reputation for combining astute commercial instincts and extensive market knowledge to address complex issues.”
“Yilong is a great fit for our strategic growth in Asia, and he will play an important role in the further development of our corporate capability in Hong Kong and Mainland China. He is a strong leader and practice builder whose deep connections throughout the PRC will be an asset for our clients,” added Simon Powell, Office Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins in Hong Kong.
“We have a top-ranked capital markets practice with incredible depth in the team in Asia and globally. Adding a partner with Yilong’s talents and experience further enhances the services we can offer our clients and reinforces Latham’s position at the cutting edge of this practice,” said Cathy Yeung, Chair of the firm’s Greater China Practice.
Latham’s leading capital markets team has advised on several major IPOs this year including representing GF Securities on its landmark listing, advising Fuyao Glass on its high profile debut and advising the underwriters on HKBN’s IPO.
“Latham’s global platform offers more to Chinese companies than any other firm—particularly the firm’s strengths in core industries like energy, technology, healthcare, media and entertainment and the geographical reach in the US, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe,” said Du. “It’s a very exciting time in China and I look forward to being part of the firm’s growth plans in Asia.”
Du received his JD from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and his LLM with Distinction from Beijing University Law School. He received a BS with Distinction from Beijing University School of Math.
Source: www.lw.com
