Eight law firms, including A&O Shearman, Haiwen & Partners and King & Wood Mallesons, have advised on the debut of Taiwan-headquartered container shipping company TS Lines on the HKSE mainboard, raising HKD1.049 billion.
TS Lines appointed A&O Shearman as its Hong Kong and US counsel, with Liu Kungwei and Jonathan Hsui as leading partners. Haiwen partners Huo Chao and Qiu Chensheng advised on PRC law.
Baker McKenzie and its Philippine member firm Quisumbing Torres advised TS Lines on Taiwan and Philippines competition law, respectively. Kim & Chang advised the issuer on South Korean law, while Hogan Lovells advised on international sanctions law.
Herbert Smith Freehills advised joint sponsors JP Morgan Securities and China Merchants Securities on Hong Kong and US law. The UK-based firm’s team was led by Beijing managing partner Stanley Xie, and partners Matt Emsley and Kong Jin. King & Wood Mallesons partner Wang Ningyuan advised the underwriters on PRC law.
The container shipping company has 21 branches across the world. It recorded a strong financial year in 2021 and 2022, with revenue reaching USD1.8 billion and USD2.4 billion, respectively. In the following year, revenue dropped to USD875 million due to a decrease in freight rates and shipping volume.
