Linklaters and King & Wood Mallesons have advised Bank of China on its $6.5 billion offering of additional tier 1 preference shares, while Clifford Chance and Jingtian & Gongcheng represented the lead managers and the fiscal agents.

Bank of China last week launched a landmark wave of fundraising by selling 6.5 billion worth of contingent capital, in an effort to bolster their balance sheet and meet the new global bank capital rules known as Basel III.

According to Reuters, it was the first time a Chinese bank has issued such instruments resembling bonds that can convert into common equity if the bank’s core capital drops below certain trigger ratios.

It is also the world’s largest ever contingent capital deal, beating a $5.6 billion deal by HSBC in September.

The Clifford Chance team was led by partners Fang Liu and Matthew Fairclough and consultant Angela Chan, with assistance from partner Connie Heng. All the lawyers are based in the firm’s Hong Kong office.

The lead managers were BOCI, BNP Paribas, China Merchants Securities, CITIC Securities, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, HSBC, Morgan Stanley and Standard Chartered Bank. The fiscal agent was The Bank of New York Mellon, London branch.

Jingtian & Gongcheng and King & Wood Mallesons served as PRC counsel to the lead managers and to the Bank of China, respectively.