Allen & Gledhill (A&G) has officially opened a representative office in Shanghai, becoming the Singaporean company’s first overseas expansion outside Southeast Asia.
Yong Kai Chang, a partner at the firm, specializes in corporate M&A and capital markets with nearly 20 years of experience in mainland China and Hong Kong, and is the head of the firm’s Shanghai office.
“We are confident that our new Shanghai representative office will help Chinese companies navigate the difficult and evolving business and legal landscape across ASEAN, and will also serve as a bridge between ASEAN countries and clients around the world. We are expanding our business in China,” Yong said.
Allen & Gledhill’s Shanghai team is comprised of 10 bilingual lawyers who can advise on a wide range of practice areas, including corporate and commercial, M&A, international arbitration, personal wealth and corporate compliance, the firm said. Asian Business Law Journal.
The Shanghai office was officially opened by Mr Edwin Tong, Singapore’s Minister of Culture, Communities and Youth and Second Minister of Justice, accompanied by Lo Yen Ling, Minister of State for the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Culture, Communities and Youth. . said Allen & Gledhill.
The opening ceremony was also attended by Liu Weiping of the Shanghai Municipal Legal Affairs Bureau and Huang Aiwu, party group secretary and director of the Shanghai Pudong New Area Judicial Bureau.
“By establishing a strong presence in Shanghai, we will be even better positioned to serve both local and international customers by facilitating seamless cross-border trade within the region and beyond.” said the company.
Huang Xuhua, senior advisor and M&A attorney, is one of many Allen & Gledhill attorneys specializing in China. Mr. Huang is authorized to practice in mainland China, Hong Kong and New York, and joined the Singapore office from King & Wood Mallesons in 2018 as head of the China practice group.
Last June, China’s Ministry of Justice announced that Allen & Gledhill was among five foreign law firms approved to open representative offices. UK-based Holman Fenwick Willan and US firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius have been granted permission to set up shop in Shenzhen, while Malaysian lawyer Ricky Tan & Co. and Cypriot firm Areti Charidemo & Associates have received permission to set up shop in Shenzhen. They obtained permission to establish representative offices in Haikou and Chongqing, respectively.
Allen & Gledhill currently has a presence in six Asian countries, including Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia and Vietnam.