Leading international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has advised China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities Limited and GF Capital (Hong Kong) Limited as joint sponsors of Xiamen Yan Palace Bird’s Nest Industry Co., Ltd. (1497.HK)’s listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Yan Palace is a leading brand in China’s edible bird’s nest (EBN) product market. The company is the largest EBN product company in the traceable EBN market in China with a market share of 14% in terms of retail value in 2022. As of May 2023, Yan Palace had 91 self-operated stores and 214 offline distributors covering 614 distributor-operated stores in China.
Yan Palace’s offering was a huge success and its Hong Kong public offer was oversubscribed by 87 times, making it one of the highest over-subscribed IPO in Hong Kong this year.
“We congratulate Yan Palace on its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange,” said Hong Kong partner Jason Sung. “We are delighted to have worked with the company and the joint sponsors on this IPO and wish them continued success.”
“This is the second IPO on which our team has advised in the past two weeks, following the listing of Dekon Group on the HKEX on 6 December,” added Jason.
Herbert Smith Freehills leads the legal market in advising sponsors and underwriters on Hong Kong IPOs. In the past two years, the firm has advised on 17 successful listings in Hong Kong, ranking second among 67 international and local law firms in Hong Kong, according to RyanBen Capital.
“We are dedicated to helping Chinese companies to access international investors through capital markets,” said Hong Kong partner* Jin Kong. “We look forward to continuing working with issuers and sponsors to capitalise opportunities in 2024.”
Partners Jason Sung and Jin Kong jointly led a cross-office team advising the joint sponsors, assisted by senior associates Jaime Fong, Chanan Ng and Brian Ge, associates Cyrus Wong, Sean Gao (Registered Foreign Lawyer), Samuel Au and Bryan Zhu, legal manager Hilary Chong, trainees Charles Chan and Jimmy Chu, as well as paralegals Kate Lam, Jessica Lu, Emily Wan, Dorothy Wong, Ethan Zeng, Philip Yeung and Mona Wang.
Legal manager Marine Jin led Herbert Smith Freehills Kewei Joint Operation’s Alternative Legal Services business to provide high-efficiency solutions for verification and other document-intensive processes during the listing, assisted by legal analyst Baofang Zhang.
*According to regulatory requirements, Jin Kong’s official title is Senior Registered Foreign Lawyer in Hong Kong.
