Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has added a capital markets partner in Hong Kong as global IPO markets look to finish 2023 strong after a slump in the first half of the year.
Ethan Chen joins Norton Rose from U.S. law firm Kirkland & Ellis, where he was a partner since 2021. He has experience advising issuers and underwriters on IPOs, SPAC transactions, other U.S.-registered debt and equity offerings, and primary and secondary listings in HK.
Chen has particular expertise in the technology, consumer retail and real estate sectors. His client have included Noah Holdings, Dingdong (Cayman) Limited, Credit Suisse, Barclays, Jiayon Group, Shanghai Dongzheng Automotive Finance Co, Chengdu Expressway, Evergrande Real Estate Group and Guangzhou R&F Properties, according to his archived bio on Kirkland’s website.
He becomes Norton Rose’s seventh capital markets partner in Hong Kong.
“The addition of Ethan further expands our US and Hong Kong capital markets practice, and he is an excellent fit for our growing offering,” the Hong Kong head of Norton Rose’s U.S. capital markets practice, Harold Tin, said in a statement.
The hire comes amid a half-year IPO slump reported by Chinese and Hong Kong exchanges this year. Refinitiv’s data shows that a total of 28 companies raised $2.2 billion in the first half of the year, Hong Kong’s lowest funding total since 2003.
Chinese exchanges accepted around 330 new applications in the first half of 2023, down from more than 500 in the same period last year.
