Gilbert Li
Corporate Partner, Hong Kong SAR
“I specialise in advising clients on their most complex and innovative cross-border transactions. I bring in-depth market knowledge and experience to assist digital/virtual banks, fintech companies and financial institutions on many of their “first-of-its-kinds” structures and transactions.”
Overview
Professional experience
Education and qualifications
Overview
Gilbert is the Head of our Hong Kong Corporate practice. He is a market-leading international expert in the financial services and fintech sector.
Gilbert is recognised as a “Leading Individual” by Legal 500 and ranked by Chambers & Partners.
He is a member of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong and Fintech Australia.
Work highlights
- Establishment of the HK$2.5 billion new virtual bank joint venture among Jardine Matheson, JD.com and Bank of China - one of the first virtual banks in Hong Kong
- Strategic cooperation between WeBank (the first officially launched digital/online bank in China) and the Bank of East Asia
- Investment by Morgan Stanley in ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance (a leading fintech player and a leading online insurer)
- Proposed investment by a leading international private equity investor in WeBank (the first officially launched digital/online bank in China)
- Proposed restructuring of the investment by one of the world’s highest-valued fintech giants in a leading technology company in Southeast Asia focusing on digital payments and cloud services
- Restructuring of certain key business units (including one of the world’s largest e-wallet services) of a leading tech giant
- US$1.38 billion proposed management buyout and take-private of Razer Inc. (which includes Razer Fintech)
- First-ever follow-on public offer by a company listed concurrently on the New York Stock Exchange, the London Stock Exchange, the Singapore Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (follow-on public offer by Prudential – a leading international insurance giant)
- First-ever listing under the Shanghai-London Stock Connect scheme (listing of Huatai Securities in London)
- First-ever listing on the D-Shares Market of the China Europe International Stock Exchange (listing of Haier Smart Home in Germany)
- Establishment of e-commerce joint venture in Europe by a leading tech giant with a market-leading fintech arm.
- First-ever SPAC (Special-Purpose-Acquisition-Company) listing application on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (listing application of Aquila Acquisition Corporation).
- First-ever joint venture among the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (establishment of China Exchanges Services Company Limited).
Professional experience
Speaking engagements and publication
Gilbert is regularly invited to speak at leading international conferences, including:
- “Asia Business Conference 2020 - Asia in Action” organised by the Harvard Business School and the Harvard Law School (on the topic of “Shifting Dynamics of Asian Financial Centers: The Future of Transactions”).
- “China Conference: Hong Kong 2021” organised by the South China Morning Post.
- “Asia M&A Forum 2019” organised by the International Financial Law Review and the Inter-Pacific Bar Association.
He is also the author of the chapter “Comparison of Hong Kong and UK Corporate Governance Considerations” in “Hong Kong Corporate Governance: a Practical Guide”.
Education and qualifications
Gilbert studied law at the University of Cambridge and studied accountancy at the University of New South Wales. He is also a member of Mensa Australia.
He is fluent in Mandarin, English and Cantonese.