Hong Kong SAR, China

Hong Kong SAR, China

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25th Floor, Dorset House
Taikoo Place, 979 King's Road
Quarry Bay
Hong Kong SAR

Our Hong Kong SAR office forms an integral part in supporting our clients’ inbound and outbound investment strategies across key sectors such as real estate, infrastructure, energy & natural resources (with a focus on renewable & sustainable energy), financial services, sports & entertainment and food & agribusiness.

The team is focused on providing international, regional and local legal services. A significant proportion of the team is fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese. The majority of lawyers are Hong Kong SAR qualified, with many also qualified in other jurisdictions such as England and Wales, New York and PRC. The team has extensive knowledge of the cultural and legal systems that affect business and investments in Asia and getting “deals done” and matters settled.

Supported by over 700+ top real estate lawyers globally, our award-winning team offers Asian investors considering high-value acquisitions or developments leading insights in asset classes such as data centers, logistics, mixed-use developments, hospitality & leisure and office & retail, whether into local markets or internationally across the US, UK, Europe and Middle East.

Whether you are an international organization looking to expand your global footprint throughout Asia or a local business buying, selling, investing or developing a major capital asset in Greater China, we provide strong services across the entire life cycle incorporating advice on corporate, commercial, finance and disputes.

Introducing our key practice areas

We combine the breadth of our Asian practice and resources with a keen understanding of the global transactional environment. We provide corporate and legal services for Asian matters in areas including joint ventures, mergers & acquisitions and complex cross-border transactions. Complementing our corporate legal services, our firm offers comprehensive advice on employment, competition, data privacy & security and general corporate matters and commercial contracts. Our clients include local and international companies doing business in Greater China, as well as Asian companies doing business throughout the US, UK, Europe and Middle East.

On the finance side, we represent all types of entities including lenders and borrowers, funds and a variety of other non-bank financial institutions in finance, refinance and special situations. Our team possesses a formidable depth of sector-specific experience, enabling us to provide strategically sound and commercially meaningful advice on the most complex transactions.

Our team includes a broad mix of litigators experienced in handling disputes across a wide variety of industry sectors, able to offer clear and concise advice on a full range of issues. Our team has advised plaintiffs and defendants in numerous cases in Hong Kong, and has detailed experience of all aspects of court procedure, having acted on some of the largest and most complex matters throughout Hong Kong.

We also regularly advise our clients on all aspects of the arbitration process, from the drafting and negotiation of an arbitration agreement to the ultimate enforcement of an award locally or internationally. Our experience covers both domestic and international arbitration as well as other forms of alternative dispute resolution. We pride ourselves on our ability to use our knowledge and experience to help our clients achieve a successful resolution of disputes.

We also regularly act for clients in matters related to competition and anti-trust, data protection and privacy law as well as employment law.

Our award-winning real estate team has experience in dealing with all aspects of development from conception through funding, construction, leasing and occupation. Our track record in complex and challenging international markets enables us to assist our clients in making a success of their development opportunities.

We are committed to staying broad and deep across the real estate sector globally and therefore adopt a sector strategy, which means we have teams focused on all other core areas including real estate funds, finance, private equity and disputes.

Our multidisciplinary team brings together highly experienced locally based practitioners with deep understanding in Asian urban development, social and economic infrastructure, and public procurement.

We advise sponsors, lenders, developers and procuring authorities on all aspects of energy developments and investment with a particular focus on offshore and onshore wind, solar and energy from waste projects. We support clients through every step of their project pipeline, from consenting and competition issues, through to financing, structuring and eventual delivery and exit.

Andrew MacGeoch

Partner and Head of Asia Real Estate & Infrastructure Group and Global Co-Head of Hospitality & Leisure Group, Singapore / Hong Kong SAR

+65 6571 6625

Andrew MacGeoch

Partner and Head of Asia Real Estate & Infrastructure Group and Global Co-Head of Hospitality & Leisure Group, Singapore / Hong Kong SAR

+65 6571 6625

Meet The Team

Andrew MacGeoch

Partner and Head of Asia Real Estate & Infrastructure Group and Global Co-Head of Hospitality & Leisure Group, Singapore / Hong Kong SAR

+65 6571 6625

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The Policy Address 2023 was delivered by the Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive, John Lee (“CE”) on 25 October 2023. In addition to some expected initiatives to further promote the principle of “One Country, Two Systems” and further enhancements of National Security, the CE has introduced 73 new initiatives in what was probably one of the longest ever policy address speeches.  Alongside the key initiatives to increase land and housing supply, the CE is also promoting various real estate, infrastructure and development projects to combat the slow-moving economy and a lacklustre property market. We set out a list of key takeaways which are relevant to our firm’s practice in the real estate and infrastructure space. There are also other key areas which others may focus on such as the long awaited need to reform the GEM listing approach.  A new listing route for R&D focussed companies will be created with new Listing Rules being promised for Q1 2024. An important boost for the financial services sector.
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A common route for property owners to effect divestiture of their real estate assets to de-risk their investments and to improve liquidity is to sell down part of the asset and form a joint venture with the buyer. Alternatively (or as a hybrid), an owner may sell the whole or part of its properties – but on the basis that it receives a lease back immediately on completion so that it can continue to use the property (or properties). In this third article in our “Improving Liquidity for Asian Real Estate Investors” series, we explore sale and leaseback arrangements and how these arrangements can help de-risk investments and provide liquidity for real estate investors in Asia. In case you missed them, you may be interested in Part 1 and Part 2 in the series which examined the key issues that Asian real estate investors should consider if they are contemplating a partial sale and entering into a joint venture with a new capital or operating partner. 
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