Magic Circle duo Clifford Chance and Linklaters are advising on a major IPO, as Chinese financial investment management company Huatai Securities (HTSC) lists on the London Stock Exchange.

HTSC covers a range of businesses,including brokerage, wealth management and investment banking.

Following the listing on the Shanghai section of the LSE, it announced HTSC had raised $1.54 billion through the sale of global depository receipts via the float, in a first-of-its-kind deal.

It is the first company to list under the new Shanghai London Stock Connect Programme, which is a brand new initiative to allow large, Chinese-listed companies to list global depositary receipts representing shares on the LSE and to access a wider investor group.

Clifford Chance advised HTSC with a cross-border team spanning its London, Hong Kong and China offices.

In London, the Magic Circle team was led by equity capital markets partner Iain Hunter as well as partner Maggie Zhao, co-head of the London-based China desk.

In Hong Kong, the team was led by equity capital markets partner Amy Lo, while the China team was led by China co-managing partner Tim Wang and U.S. securities partner Jean Thio.

Chinese firm Fangda Partners also advised HTSC regarding Chinese law.

Linklaters advised bookrunners Credit Suisse, HSBC, Huatai Financial, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley in regards to U.K. and Hong Kong law. The Magic Circle firm fielded a team led by London-based capital markets partner Pam Shores and corporate partner Tom Thorne, as well as corporate partner John Xu in Shanghai.

Thorne told Legal Week: "The programme also allows large, London-listed companies to list depositary receipts on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and it will be interesting to see how the eastbound route develops over time."

King & Wood Mallesons also advised the bookrunners on Chinese law, according to the IPO documents.