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Hong Kong Desk

in Germany

Hong Kong is one of the key commercial, financial and service centres in Asia. Although the former Commonwealth colony is now part of the People's Republic of China, it still enjoys extensive rights of autonomy as a special administrative region. Despite the Asian and financial crisis, Hong Kong has posted significant economic growth over the past two decades, including impressive volumes of inbound and outbound investment in particular.

CMS Hong Kong provides support for German, European and international companies using Hong Kong as the gateway to China, and for Chinese firms operating in Europe, Russia, the Middle East and the rest of the world. A particular focus of advice is on international arbitration, in which CMS and its Hong Kong team have many years of specialist expertise.

Hong Kong as an arbitration hub

As a leading law firm for international arbitration, CMS brings together its Asian arbitration expertise in Hong Kong, now one of the most important venues in the world for dispute resolution and a central hub for disputes with an Asian and in particular a China dimension. The arbitration experience of the CMS lawyers in Hong Kong extends throughout the region, including Singapore, South Korea, Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, Mongolia, Taiwan, Russia, Dubai, Iran and Japan in addition to Hong Kong and China. A particular advantage for parties from Asia is that most of our lawyers originally trained in civil law. As a result, their advice is backed by their knowledge of a legal system that is very similar to that of most Asian countries. This enables us to reach a faster and better understanding between the parties as to what can be expected and what kind of outcome is feasible in the arbitration proceedings.

In addition to representing clients, our international arbitration experts act as arbitrators within the region and sit on international arbitration panels. Prior to opening its own office, CMS had already made a name for itself in the region as the long-standing sole German member of Arbitration Chambers Hong Kong.

CMS Hong Kong: lawyers for your business activities in Asia, Europe, Russia and Iran

A substantial part of CMS's legal work involves supporting firms from China and Hong Kong that operate in Europe, Russia and the Middle East, and advising companies from these regions in Hong Kong and China. In close partnership with our offices in Shanghai and Beijing as well as throughout Europe, Russia and the Middle East, you will be advised in Hong Kong by experts on corporate/M&A matters with long experience of the respective region and of transactions, and who are fully committed to the success of your foreign investments. We work with you to design cross-border transaction structures that make a long-term contribution to your international growth strategy.

At CMS Hong Kong you have access to lawyers with a wealth of experience in dealing with Chinese foreign investment. We offer innovative cross-border advice on acquiring German or European companies, or entering into alliances, especially in the technology sector and manufacturing, including in the famed Industry 4.0 sector. You benefit from specialist industry expertise combined with in-depth knowledge in key areas of law, including corporate/M&A, banking & finance, employment, IP/IT and dispute resolution.

Our team in Hong Kong includes not only German and Chinese staff, but also Russian lawyers. Every lawyer at CMS Hong Kong is thoroughly familiar with the specific local conditions. Apart from Mandarin and English, we can communicate fluently with clients in German, French, Russian and Norwegian. Last but not least: in addition to close links with the CMS offices in Shanghai and Beijing we offer access to the extensive CMS network and full range of advice available through more than 60 offices worldwide.

Hong Kong as the gateway to China

After Mainland China, Hong Kong is the second-largest destination for foreign direct investment. It offers advantages not only as a platform for interaction between Europe and South-East Asia, but also through its attractive tax system.

For these reasons, the services provided by CMS Hong Kong for German, European, Russian and other international firms and private equity investors include active exploration of the immense business potential in Hong Kong on behalf of our clients, and supporting any strategic plans they may have for expansion into China and South-East Asia.

Our CMS lawyers in Hong Kong can help you identify routes into the surrounding region, including the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and Guangdong Province. They also work closely with the CMS offices in Shanghai and Beijing, which together form CMS's established China Desk. In addition to English and German, our team members naturally speak fluent Mandarin and are thoroughly familiar with the local culture and business practices in China. Our support in China thus goes beyond providing advice on all legal and tax issues relating to company formation, registration or the structuring of joint ventures. By also advising on the economic and social context, we enable you to develop a sustainable model for your business into and out of China.

Your business – our services provided through the Hong Kong office

CMS Hong Kong offers support for companies in the following areas in particular:

  • Advice and representation in arbitration proceedings
  • Advice on all out-of-court dispute resolution procedures
  • Acting as arbitrator
  • Analysis of the market environment and support for market entry in Germany, Europe, Russia, Iran and worldwide, and conversely in Hong Kong, China and South-East Asia
  • Support for negotiations between Chinese, European and international partners
  • Corporate acquisitions and sales, joint ventures, equity stakes
  • Company formation and registration
  • Finance
  • Intellectual property
  • Work permits, migration law, employee postings, visa matters in Europe

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions about how we can provide legal support for your business into and out of Hong Kong – we look forward to hearing from you.

Experts

Portrait ofNicolas Wiegand
Dr. Nicolas Wiegand
Managing Partner
Portrait ofTom Christopher Pröstler
Dr. Tom Christopher Pröstler, LL.M. (Sydney)
Partner

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