Guantao Law Firm and Ashurst LLP assist Chengdu Major Industrialization Project Fund in participating in the France-China Cooperation Fund
The article, Eurazeo bullish on China’s PE investment environment, published on China Daily on 12 April 2023, showed the opinions of Christophe Baviere - Eurazeo’s co-chairman and CEO and part of the French presidential delegation to Beijing - on China’s investment environment. It also highlighted Chengdu Industry Investment Group’s engagement in the France-China Cooperation Fund through Chengdu Major Industrialization Project Fund.
Eurazeo, a major European private equity player, said it has been bullish about the economy and investment environment in China, where the firm advises mid-sized European companies accelerate growth and tap into the booming local market. Christophe Baviere said there is still room to grow in common understanding between China and Europe, and “in Europe, France is probably a good gate for Chinese business to start to interact with Europe. Both markets — China and Europe — need to know each other better”.
Medical devices, business services and advanced manufacturing are sectors of focus, which bode well with the future trends of development in China, Christophe Baviere said.
Cooperating with many Chinese institutions, such as China Investment Corporation (CIC), Eurazeo has empowered European companies by building long-term relationships to tap business opportunities in China. In 2020, the France-China Cooperation Fund, was launched with an initial amount of EUR 400 million. The fund, built by Eurazeo, CIC and BNP Paribas, is reaching EUR 1 billion and has attracted additional investment commitments from leading investors such as New China Life, Chengdu Industry Investments Group Co., Ltd. and Taiping Financial Holdings.
Chengdu Major Industrialization Project Fund (Chengdu Major Industrialization Project Phase I Equity Investment Fund Co., Ltd.), which is under Chengdu Industry Investment Group, was founded in 2020 with a target size of CNY 40 billion. It will mainly support and invest in major supportive and strategic projects in Chengdu’s advanced manufacturing industry as well as key projects in the industry chain. The fund was included in the Top 50 Government Guidance Funds 2022, China VC/PE Fund Limited Partners Ranking 2022 by Zero2IPO Research.
Attorney CUI Liguo, managing partner of Guantao Law Firm, said,
“Guantao Law Firm, together with Ashurst LLP, provided one-stop legal service to our client in the France-China Cooperation Fund. This is a testament of our capability in cross-border investments and transactions with our cross-jurisdiction, cross-culture and multilingual legal service.”
Jini Lee, Head of Region Asia of Ashurst, said,
“Since our establishment in 1822, Ashurst’s business network has covered 17 countries over the past two centuries. In China, we have formed closer partnership through Ashurst Guantao Joint Operation Office. Together, we can better work for our clients with integrated, quality, and effective legal service. This has greatly helped us in the service for the France-China Cooperation Fund.
Attorney XU Rongyuan, partner at Guantao Law Firm, was responsible for this project. Attorney Dan Yang, partner at Ashurst, was responsible for the overseas legal team, and attorney QIU Guangli, partner at Guantao Law Firm, was head of the Chengdu team. They worked together to facilitate the service across jurisdictions. Attorneys at our offices provided legal service for Chengdu Major Industrialization Project Fund’s participation in the France-China Cooperation Fund throughout the process. Other members also participated in this project, including ZHU Xiaoya, MAO Yaqian from Beijing Office of Guantao Law Firm, CHEN Chen, WANG Mengting from the Beijing Office of Ashurst, Daniel Oehvall from the Shanghai Office of Ashurst, and Ashurst’s fund legal team in related European jurisdictions.
The legal service provided by Guantao Law Firm and Ashurst included participating in the whole business negotiations and offering legal opinions; conducting due diligence of the overseas fund manager of the France-China Cooperation Fund and providing due diligence report; drafting, reviewing, and modifying related agreements and documents including the translation work; providing legal opinions; and assisting in the process of government approval.
Guantao Law Firm has over 10 years of strategic cooperation with Ashurst LLP. Approved by the Ministry of Justice of the People’s Republic of China, Ashurst Guantao (SHFTZ) Joint Operation Office was founded in February 2018.
