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Clifford Chance advises Huatai Securities on its historic London GDR listing under the new Shanghai-London Stock Connect scheme

20 June 2019

Clifford Chance advises Huatai Securities on its historic London GDR listing under the new Shanghai-London Stock Connect scheme

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has acted as English, US and Hong Kong legal counsel to Huatai Securities, a leading technology-enabled securities group in China, on its historic offering and listing of global depositary receipts (GDRs) representing its Shanghai-listed A shares on the London Stock Exchange.

Huatai Securities has existing equity listings in Shanghai and Hong Kong, and is the first Chinese company to sell GDRs representing its shares in London. The transaction is the first to be conducted under the new Shanghai-London Stock Connect scheme, which will directly link the Chinese and European capital markets by providing fungibility between London and Shanghai listed securities.

The offering will raise proceeds for the Company of at least US$1.538 billion and up to US$1.692 billion if the deal is upsized pursuant to the exercise of an over-allotment option. In addition to being the largest GDR offering in the UK since 2013, the transaction is also the largest international offering by a Chinese financial institution since Postal Savings Bank of China's US$8 billion IPO in 2016.

Clifford Chance's top-ranked equity capital markets teams in London and China have been working closely with clients and stakeholders on various aspects related to the scheme and the firm is very much at the forefront of advising on this ground-breaking project.

Partner Amy Lo said, "We are proud to advise Huatai Securities on this landmark listing, which paves the way for global investors and companies to access the UK's and China's capital markets. I am particularly proud of how seamlessly our teams worked across borders to bring this momentous transaction to fruition."

The Clifford Chance team was led by partners Amy Lo in Hong Kong, Jean Thio in Shanghai and Iain Hunter in London, along with specialist advice from China-Co-Managing Partner Tim Wang in Shanghai and Co-Head of China Desk Maggie Zhao in London. The partners were supported by counsel Corey Zhang, associates Emma Bao and Tao Yang in Hong Kong, and senior associate James Spencer and associate James Koessler in London.

Clifford Chance has previously advised Huatai Securities on its US$4.5 billion Hong Kong listing in 2015, as well as a number of debt capital markets offerings.

高伟绅为华泰证券发行首单于伦交所上市的全球存托凭证提供法律服务

国际领先律师事务所高伟绅为华泰证券股份有限公司(“华泰证券”)按“沪伦通”交易机制在伦敦证券交易所(“伦交所”)的首单全球存托凭证(GDR)发行上市项目提供法律服务。高伟绅在本项目中担任华泰证券的英国法、美国法和香港法法律顾问。华泰证券是一家由科技驱动的中国领先综合证券集团,此前已在上海和香港两地上市,同时也是首家在伦交所发售全球存托凭证的中国公司。

华泰证券本次发行的全球存托凭证以其在上海证券交易所发行的A股股票为基础证券。本交易是新近启动的“沪伦通”机制下的首单中国公司发行上市项目。项目完成后,华泰证券将成为首家在上海、香港和伦敦证券交易所同时上市的中国企业。

在超额配售权行使之前,华泰证券本次募集资金总额为15.38亿美元。如果超额配售权悉数行使,本次募集资金总额将为16.92亿美元。本项目是自2013年以来伦交所规模最大的全球存托凭证发行上市交易,同时也是继2016年中国邮政储蓄银行76亿美元的香港上市项目之后规模最大的中国金融机构国际发行上市项目。

高伟绅英国和中国办公室的顶级股权资本市场团队与华泰证券以及项目其他参与方密切合作,就“沪伦通”机制提供了全方位的咨询,并为这一开创性的上市项目提供了最前沿的法律服务。通过伦交所和上交所上市股票的双向转换,“沪伦通”将直接为中国和欧洲资本市场的互联互通搭建桥梁。

本项目牵头合伙人罗秀娴律师表示:“我们为能参与华泰证券这一里程碑性质的上市项目而倍感荣幸。该交易为全球投资者和公司登陆伦敦和中国的资本市场铺平了道路。来自高伟绅多个办事处的跨境律师团队紧密合作,成功完成了这项重大上市交易。我对此尤感自豪。”

本项目由高伟绅香港办事处合伙人罗秀娴律师、上海办事处合伙人张珮真律师和伦敦办事处合伙人Iain Hunter律师领导,高伟绅中国区联席管理合伙人王彦峰律师和伦敦办事处中国业务部联席主管合伙人赵闽娇律师提供专业支持。本项目律师团队还包括香港办事处张可畏、包宸和杨弢以及伦敦办事处James Spencer 和James Koessler。

此前,高伟绅曾在2015年华泰证券45亿美元的香港上市项目以及若干债券发行交易,为华泰证券提供法律服务。