Anthony Qiao

Practice Areas

Chinese Mainland Capital Markets, Hong Kong & Overseas Capital Markets, Financial Products & Trusts

Professional Memberships

Legal Counsel, Shanghai Municipal People’s Government

Deputy Director, Construction & Real Estate Committee of All China Lawyers Association

Vice Chairman and Standing Director (the 8th Session), Shanghai Bar Association

Deputy, the 3rd Session of the National People’s Congress of Pudong New Area

Chairman, Professional Legal Service Association of Shanghai Pudong New Area

Standing Committee Member (the 5th Session), Pudong New Area Youth Federation

Committee Member (the 5th Session) and Arbitrator, Shanghai Arbitration Commission

Arbitrator, Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (Shanghai International Arbitration Center)

Committee Member, Shanghai Municipal Administrative Reconsideration Committee

Distinguished Dean, Lawyers School of East China University of Politics and Law

Director and Committee Member, Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA)

Independent Director, Shanghai Jinqiao Export Processing Zone Development Co., Ltd.

Independent Director, Zhejiang Materials Development Co., Ltd.

Publications

“Research on Offshore Finance Business”, China Law & Practice, 2002

“Future Prospect on the Reform of State-owned Enterprises”, China Law & Practice, 2002

“Laws of Chinese Enterprises’ Overseas Investment”, Shanghai Lawyer, 1999

“Legal Issues on Foreign-related M&As by State-owned Enterprises”, Legal Daily, 1998

Work Highlights

One of the most well-known projects that Mr. Qiao has engaged in is the Sino-US Shanghai Disneyland Theme Park Project. He has led a team of outstanding professionals as the sole PRC legal counsel and provided legal services for the project for more than six years. His hard work greatly facilitated the successful signing of a cooperation agreement by both parties in November 2010. Mr. Qiao was retained as the PRC legal counsel for various domestic and overseas leading real estate groups, such as Sun Hong Kai Properties, Kerry Properties, Longfor Properties, and Agile Property, and assisted these clients in many projects with international influence, including, among others, the Shanghai International Finance Centre (IFC) Project, Shanghai International apm Project, and Hainan Clearwater Bay Project jointly invested in and developed by Morgan Stanley Investment Funds and Agile Property. Moreover, over the years, he has represented Carlyle, ING, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Grosvenor, Blackstone, and many other international investment banks and investment funds in their onshore private equity financing, M&A (especially large-scale real estate merger transactions), strategic investment, and pre-IPO financing business activities, including Carlyle’s first onshore acquisition project, Shanghai Zhongfang Forest Villa, Black Stone’s first domestic real estate merger and investment project, and Grosvenor’s first acquisition project in the PRC. Mr. Qiao was also retained as the PRC legal adviser for many international investment banks and companies (e.g., Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley Asia, Citi, and Deutsche Bank) and engaged in the corporate reorganization, onshore/offshore reorganization, and IPO projects of many famous enterprises, such as Longfor Properties, China Yongle, Tencent Holdings, Jinke Property Group, Oriental Pearl, Recruit, and Good-Ark Electronics. In October 2016, Mr. Qiao acted as legal counsel for the real estate fund (the investor) of a real estate fund management company in the acquisition of Century Link Project and provided full-range PRC legal services for this project. The transaction amount of this acquisition deal has set a new record for real estate acquisition projects in the Asia-Pacific region that year. Mr. Qiao also provided full-range legal services to ZTO Express Co., Ltd. (“ZTO”) for its listing on the New York Stock Exchange by issuing ADSs of ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc., ZTO’s Cayman affiliate.

Mr. Qiao is enthusiastic about social work. As Head of Zhong Lun’s Social Responsibility and Corporate Culture Committee and Chairman of Zhong Lun Charity Foundation’s Council, he leads all committees and committee members to actively engage in all kinds of legal aid activities to help those in need and contribute to building a better society. He also played a proactive role in getting Zhong Lun admitted to the Society of Entrepreneurs & Ecology, the very first institution dedicated to environmental protection and public welfare in China. Committed to social responsibility, this institution brings in entrepreneurs to enhance ecosystem protection. Mr. Qiao has also been working as a volunteer legal consultant for World Food Programme (WFP), devoting himself to poverty alleviation in China. Mr. Qiao serves as the Distinguished Dean and the Distinguished Professor of the Lawyers School of East China University of Political Science and Law. He is a regular speaker for the Outstanding Legal Talent Scheme of the Lawyers School to share legal knowledge and practical experience with undergraduates. His lectures were well received among the students. In March 2011, Mr. Qiao personally donated CNY one-million to establish a scholarship fund named Wenjun Education and Study Scholarship Fund at his alma mater East China University of Political Science and Law (“ECUPL”), and, as a founding sponsor, assisted ECUPL in setting up an ECUPL Education and Development Fund. With all these efforts, he leads all alumni to pay attention to and contribute to the development of ECUPL. What Mr. Qiao has done is reminiscent of the old adages, “Peaches and plums do not have to talk, yet the world beats a path to them”; “The greatest benevolence is like water, and the highest virtue tolerates all”.

Languages Spoken

Chinese, English

Experience

Zhong Lun Law Firm

Shanghai Pu Dong Law Firm

Shanghai Foreign Economy Law Firm

Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Shanghai Municipal Government

Shanghai Light Industry Bureau

Education

Awards