Mayer Brown has boosted its global corporate and securities practice with a four-partner capital markets team hire in Hong Kong.  

The new team is made up of partners Guiping Lu, Philip Hyde, Bonnie Yung and Jason Wang, who join the firm’s corporate and securities practice alongside four lawyers. Lu and Hyde are coming over from K&L Gates, while Yung and Wang join from LC Lawyers, EY’s Hong Kong legal arm.  

The firm said the hires will strengthen its capital markets team in Hong Kong as part of a wider effort to grow a prominent and ‘globally integrated’ capital markets offering in key financial centers, including New York, London and Hong Kong.  

Lu and Hyde focus their practice on debt capital market transactions. At K&L Gates, Lu built up a strong track record representing Chinese investment banks on Regulation S investment-grade bond offerings with different credit enhancement structures and liability management transactions, as well as advising on high-yield bond offerings.  

Hyde brings with him more than two decades of experience handling a range of debt capital markets, structured finance, derivatives and securitisation transactions, with a particular focus on advising trustees on all stages of their transactions.  

Yung and Wang, meanwhile, are both known for their work acting on initial public offerings (IPOs) filed with the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Yung has represented international and mainland Chinese investment banks in Hong Kong as well as issuers from different industry sectors. He has also has acted for clients on transactions under the Hong Kong Listing Rules and Takeover Code.  

Wang’s practice covers IPO deals, large-scale cross-border M&A, private equity investments, post-IPO fundraising and corporate and compliance matters as they relate to Hong Kong listed companies. Throughout his career, he has acted for a number of mainland Chinese enterprises and international and mainland Chinese investment banks in Hong Kong IPOs.  

Jason Elder, member of Mayer Brown’s global management committee, said the team brings “significant bench strength” to its existing debt and equity capital markets offering, adding that the hires correspond to demand from the firm’s international and PRC institutional client base in Hong Kong for deep expertise in the Hong Kong, English and New York law-governed capital markets products.  

Mayer Brown currently has 200 lawyers based in Hong Kong, including 68 partners, according to the firm’s website. The latest hires follow the arrival of oil and gas specialist Joanne Du, who joined the firm’s broader corporate and securities practice in Hong Kong from Baker Botts earlier this month.