Herbert Smith Freehills has hired William Ku as a debt capital markets partner at its Hong Kong office from King & Wood Mallesons.

Ku, who was previously an associate at KWM, “brings an understanding of, and relationships within, the Chinese securities markets – essential now that renminbi issues and China issuers are central to so many financial markets,” said HSF partner and Asia head of finance Adrian Cheng.

Ku is expected to work closely with fellow HSF debt capital markets partners based in the Asia-Pacific region, including Philip Lee in Singapore and Kevin Roy in Hong Kong.