Team size: Three

Key team members: Andrew Ning (head of legal and compliance), Chris Tsao and Liu Yiwei

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

The past year has been challenging; Covid-19 changed the way we work and operate businesses. I led the legal and compliance department in managing such risks and maintained a balance between efficiency and effectiveness in our service.

We were involved in closing 28 private equity investment projects and setting up six investment funds, promptly provided technical and commercially acute advice, and ethically upheld service standards. This ultimately had a transformative impact on the business.

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?

We were involved in setting up a series of funds which deviate from the traditional structure of a private equity investment fund. The new and creative structures of these new funds are designed to offer unique arrangements that satisfy the needs of different investors, in addition to offering maximum protection to the investors.

Can you sum up the team culture in one sentence?

Our team comprises three members, providing legal, compliance and company secretarial services to the company. As head of legal and compliance, I am responsible for the overall management of the company’s legal, compliance and company secretarial affairs. I am assisted by two legal counsel.

Companies are increasingly transferring much of the risk to in-house teams, applying pressure on them to make commercial decisions. We are required to understand the business’s objectives, strategy and pressure points, communicate such risks to management and business professionals, and assist them in making informed business decisions.

Responding to increasing legal costs whilst managing varying levels of risk requires a thorough understanding of the risks and the optimal balance between efficiency and effectiveness. We are expected to proactively drive proposals aimed at cost reductions whilst identifying and managing risks.

Apart from legal matters, has the team worked on other company initiatives?

Our company is headquartered in Hong Kong. We mainly carry out our business in the Greater Bay Area, with one of our main subsidiaries being a licensed corporation in Hong Kong. We need to ensure that our operations comply with the laws and regulations of the jurisdictions in which we operate. We have several subsidiaries in Shenzhen and our investment projects mainly involve cross-border transactions in the Greater Bay Area. As such, the cross-border compliance is an integral part of our daily responsibility. We need to ensure that our entities in Mainland China and our cross-border operations comply with laws and regulations of PRC.