Charles Russell Speechlys bolsters Corporate offering with the appointment of two Partners in Hong Kong

Charles Russell Speechlys is pleased to announce the appointment of Francis Li and Wendy Fong as Partners in the Corporate team in Hong Kong. Effective Monday 1 September, Francis and Wendy join the Firm accompanied by a selected team.

Francis and Wendy arrive from Squire Patton Boggs, Hong Kong, where they established a distinguished practice in corporate finance, equity capital markets, cross-border transactions and advisory work for a wide range of conglomerates in different jurisdictions. Francis has served as Partner since 2006 and Wendy since 2018, collectively contributing over four decades of combined experience to the Firm.

Francis and Wendy collaborate as a team with expertise in corporate finance transactions, encompassing equity capital markets, private investments, private equity and venture capital projects, as well as various forms of public and private mergers and acquisitions across Hong Kong and the broader Asian region.

Francis possesses significant experience offering counsel on corporate matters to companies in Hong Kong, China, Singapore and other Asian countries, and previously served as a regional investment banker, where he primarily advised on equity capital market transactions. Wendy provides counsel to a variety of different clients ranging from multinational companies, investment banks and private equity funds.

Silvia On, Partner and Head of the Hong Kong office, comments: 

Francis and Wendy are heavyweights in their respective fields and bring across valuable expertise to the Hong Kong office on complex transactional and corporate matters. Both have a number of interesting clients in high-growth industries – such as energy, chemicals, healthcare and manufacturing – that align particularly well with our capabilities, and we are all very much looking forward to working with them.

Simon Green, Partner and Head of Asia, comments: 

We are very excited that Francis and Wendy are joining the Firm. Their arrival marks a step forward in our strategic ambition to grow our international Private Capital offering in Asia and comes at a time when we are continuing to build out our cross-border transactional capabilities.

David Collins, Partner who is responsible for the Firm’s Business Advisory & Transaction Services Division, which includes the Corporate, Commercial, Banking and Finance, Corporate Tax and Incentives, Financial Services and Funds, Employment and Immigration teams, comments: 

Today’s hires underline our broader ambitions for international growth across the Business Advisory and Transaction Services division. We have made a number of impactful senior hires into the group over the past two years in a number of key jurisdictions, and this represents the next step in ensuring we are well-equipped to advise clients on transactional matters in all the world’s key wealth centres.

Francis Li comments: 

I am excited to be joining Charles Russell Speechlys, which has been growing quickly in recent years and has a strong reputation in Hong Kong. I look forward to the opportunities that being part of the Firm will create for me and my clients, as well as meeting my new colleagues in due course in and outside of Asia.

Wendy Fong comments:

I am pleased to be joining Charles Russell Speechlys during a time of significant growth and investment into its Asia practices. I am particularly looking forward to working with colleagues across international offices to deliver cross-border support to clients navigating complex transactional and governance matters.

The team’s arrival closely follows the appointment of Gaven Cheong, who joined the Hong Kong Funds team in February this year.