King & Wood Mallesons has expanded its presence in China with an office in Haikou, the capital of the southern island province of Hainan.

The office focuses on finance, capital markets, foreign investment, real estate and infrastructure, dispute resolution in the biomedical and tourism industries, as well as free-trade ports and zones. Wang Jianping, a securities partner and member of the firm's China management committee, will relocate from Beijing to lead the Haikou office.

The Haikou office is the Sino-Australian firm's 13th in China, including Hong Kong, and second in Hainan after Sanya, which opened in 2014. The sole partner based in Sanya full-time is Wang Yao, who specialises in disputes in the real estate, construction and projects sectors, according to the firm's website.

Last year, the Chinese government designated Hainan the country's latest (12th) and largest (35,400 sq km) free-trade zone. Last month, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said 30 policies will be introduced in the Hainan pilot FTZ, including allowing foreign law firms to form joint ventures with Chinese counterparts.

King & Wood Mallesons opened the Haikou office "in support of a wide array of policies to build the [Hainan] province into a… pilot national ecological zone, an international tourism consumption centre and a major national strategic logistics zone", Guangzhou managing partner and China management committee member Wang Lixin said in a statement.

Haikou is also a pivotal city for the Belt and Road Initiative – the major economic project backed by the Chinese government to build infrastructure across Asia, Europe and Africa – and will attract major companies in China and abroad, King & Wood Mallesons said. Sue Kench, the firm's Hong Kong-based global managing partner, told Law.com Asia affiliate The Asian Lawyer last year that the Belt and Road Initiative is a top priority for the firm.

|

Related stories:

China's Grand Plans Fuel King & Wood Mallesons' Global Growth