With the legal advice provided by Li & Partners and DLA Piper, Guotai Junan International, the Hong Kong arm of mainland securities firm Guotai Junan Securities, has launched its US$226m IPO in Hong Kong.

Esther Leung, lead partner of the DLA Piper team that advised the joint sponsors and underwriters in this transaction, said the IPO is indicative of market trends. This deal was jointly led by three of the biggest investment institutions in Hong Kong. It is a sign that a lot of banks and investors would like to get involved in this type of deals,said Leung. There is also certainly a lot of interest from PRC securities firms coming to Hong Kong by way of IPOs, acquisitions or developing a practice here. I expect that there will be more acquisitions of HK securities firms by PRC companies as well as IPOs.

DLA Piper's previous relationship with Guotai Junan has helped it secure this mandate. Late last year, the firm acted for Guotai Junan International, the solo sponsor, on the first IPO of a German company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Schramm Holding AG.

In the IPO of Guotai Junan International, the Hong Kong and Shenzhen offices of Li & Partners have advised the issuer on Hong Kong and PRC law respectively.The firm is the first Hong Kong law firm established by a PRC lawyer. Robin Li, founding partner of Li & Partners, is also admitted to practice law in Hong Kong, US and UK. The firm has a strong track record of assisting PRC and Hong Kong corporations to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and raise funds in capital markets.ALB