Davis Polk Hong Kong Partner Bonnie Chan Returns to Stock Exchange
Bonnie Chan will leave Davis Polk after almost a decade with the Wall Street firm to rejoin the Hong Kong stock exchange as its listings head.
October 14, 2019 at 03:16 AM
4 minute read
Bonnie Chan
Davis Polk & Wardwell's top Hong Kong initial public offering partner, Bonnie Chan, is leaving the firm to rejoin the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Chan will join Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. on January 2 as head of the listing department, overseeing its listing function, including strategic planning, policy development, market consultations and relationship with regulators and other stakeholders. She will report directly to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's chief executive, Charles Li, and be part of its 17-member management committee.
Chan will succeed David Graham, who will retire at the end of this year after seven years with the bourse. Previously, Graham served as general counsel at Nomura, UBS and Morgan Stanley. Before moving in-house, he practised at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London and Hong Kong for about two decades, including as partner from 1991 to 2001.
Chan leaves Davis Polk after almost a decade with the firm. She joined the firm in 2010 to help launch the firm's Hong Kong law practice. Previously, she was a senior vice-president at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, where she led the IPO transactions department of the listing division. Before that, she served as an in-house counsel at Morgan Stanley.
In June, Chan, together with partner Li He, advised financial leasing services provider Haitong UniTrust International Leasing Co. Ltd. on a $298 million Hong Kong listing. Last year, she led Davis Polk to a record number of nine Hong Kong IPOs, including as underwriters' counsel on Meituan Dianping's $4.2 billion listing and Nasdaq-listed BeiGene Ltd.'s $903 million dual-primary listing.
Chan told The Asian Lawyer late last year that her aim in 2018 was to advise on an IPO with weighted voting rights (WVR) structures and another for an early-stage biotech company. She did just that, as Meituan Dianping's IPO used WVR, and BeiGene is an early-stage Chinese cancer drugmaker. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom advised the issuers on both deals.
Both types of listings were part of a major listing rule change by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last year to attract more Chinese companies to the Hong Kong bourse and compete with the New York Stock Exchange as the world's top stock exchange by proceeds raised.
"I would like to warmly welcome Bonnie back to the senior team at HKEX," chief executive Li said in a statement. "She brings a wealth of legal, regulatory and market experience to HKEX and I am looking forward to working with her as we continue to strengthen and advance Hong Kong's equity listing franchise."
Chan said she is confident she built up a Hong Kong corporate practice that will remain a strong player in the market for Davis Polk. "I look forward to watching Davis Polk continue to succeed in the future," she added.
Davis Polk's Hong Kong-based Asia chair, Martin Rogers, who was appointed to the role earlier this month, said the Hong Kong IPO practice still has Yang Chu, who made partner this year. Hong Kong partner Li He, who specialises in U.S. securities law, also works on Hong Kong listings. The firm will not be making any partner hires to cover the loss of Chan as it will selectively work on high-quality IPOs, he said. "We will, of course, miss her," added Rogers, but noted that Chan is not joining a competitor.
In June, former M&A partner Paul Chow, who advised on the BeiGene deal with Chan, left to move in-house as group general counsel of Hong Kong's flagship carrier, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. And in 2017, former capital markets partner Antony Dapiran left the firm and joined Skadden as Of Counsel.
Earlier this month, Davis Polk made its first leadership change in Hong Kong. In addition to Rogers' appointment, the firm also named corporate partners Miranda So and Li He as office heads. Both positions were previously held by capital markets partner William Barron, who has been based in Hong Kong since 1993, when the firm opened an office in the city. Barron will retire from the partnership at the end of this year.
Related stories:
Davis Polk's Big Bet in Hong Kong
As Hong Kong Becomes the Top IPO Market of 2018, Skadden and Davis Polk Reap Rewards
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