Elaine Lo is the Senior Partner of Jingtian & Gongcheng LLP. She previously served as the Senior Partner and Asia Chair of an international law firm, and on that firm’s Global Management Committee from January 2008 to May 2016. She focuses on foreign direct investment into China, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, structuring joint ventures, technology transfers and corporate restructuring.

Elaine is involved in many industry sectors in China, particularly energy, water, utilities, telecommunications, banking, insurance, wholesaling, retailing, advertising, logistics and distribution. She has extensive experience in acting for government authorities, project sponsors, lenders and equity participants in project finance deals. She advises banks and financial institutions on M&A, asset and project finance.

Elaine is a China Appointed Attesting Officer (appointed by the Ministry of Justice of PRC) and speaks English, Cantonese and Mandarin.

Elaine has been named as a Eminent Practitioner in Corporate/M&A by Chambers Asia Pacific in 2014 and was recommended by various publications as a leading individual in PRC Law. She has also been named as Managing Partner of the Year by Asian Legal Business Awards in 2008, 2009 and 2015.

Elaine actively participates in public service, and she has been appointed by the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to various HKSAR Government advisory and statutory bodies.

Education

University College London (University of London); LLB (Honours)

Working experience

Jingtian & Gongcheng LLP, Partner

Mayer Brown, Partner

Admissions

Hong Kong

England and Wales

Australia

Singapore

High Court of Australia

Managing Partner of the Year 2008, 2009 and 2015 – Asian Legal Business Law Awards

Expert - Expert Guides: Women in Business Law (2015)

Eminent Practitioner: Corporate/M&A: Hong Kong-based - Chambers Asia Pacific (2014)

Women in Business Law (Mergers and Acquisitions) - Expert Guides (2012, 2014)

Acted for HSBC in establishing a life insurance joint venture with National Trust Limited in the PRC. The initial total investment of the joint venture was RMB 1 billion.

Acted for HSBC in providing a loan facility of US$60.25 million/RMB500 million for financing the 32,000 km backbone of China Express No. 1 fibre-optic cable transmission network in Guangdong Province.

Acted for the Guangxi Government on all legal and commercial aspects of selling the Guangxi Laibin A Power Plant TOT project by an international tendering process.

Acted for a member of the Royal Dutch Shell consortium which won the bid to form a joint venture with PetroChina to build, own and operate the 4,200 km West to East Trunk Gas Pipeline for transmitting natural gas from Xinjiang Province to Shanghai.

Acted for the Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas) in bidding for and purchasing a substantial minority stake (30%) in Shenzhen Gas Group Company Ltd (SGC). SGC had a net worth of US$150 million.

Acted for a consortium of investors comprising Kvaerner, Anglian Water and Enron on all the legal and commercial aspects of bidding for Chengdu No. 6 Water Plant B BOT Project in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, which was the first water treatment plant financed on a BOT basis in the PRC.

Acted for Hang Seng Bank Limited in acquiring 15.98% of the enlarged share capital of Industrial Bank of China for a consideration of approximately US$209 million.

Acted for the Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas) in reviewing the joint venture contract and ancillary agreements of Guangdong Dapeng LNG Company Limited of which Towngas took a minority stake in this Guangdong LNG Terminal and Trunkline Project. The initial total investment of the Project is RMB7.3 billion (US$881 million).

Acted for the Children's Investment Master Fund (TCI) in acquiring 26.3% interest in Chinese Future Corporation (CFC). CFC was incorporated for the purpose of owning and operating the US$1 billion Hangzhou Ring Road Expressway.

Acted for the Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas) in its successful bid to form a joint venture with Xian Gas Co. The total investment for the Xian Natural Gas Project was US$261 million.

Acted for the Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas) in acquiring a 50% equity stake in the US$432 million Suzhou Industrial Park Water Supply and Water Treatment Project. This deal was awarded "Infrastructure Deal of the Year 2006" by China Law Awards.

Acted for the Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas) to acquire a 75% equity interest in Wuhu Water Supply Group Company (Wuhu Water Company). The total investment for the Wuhu Water Project was RMB700 million (or approximately US$87 million).

Acted for Modern Terminals Ltd in forming a joint venture with China Merchants Holdings (International) Co. Ltd. for the purpose of rationalising and consolidating their respective interests in three container terminal companies in Shekou, Shenzhen, PRC. The total transaction value was US$1.7 billion.

Acted for a consortium comprising APM Terminals International B.V. and Modern Terminals Limited to bid for the entire portfolio of CSX World Terminals global assets valued at approximately US$1 billion.

Acted for Avnet Inc. on the acquisition of an electronic components distribution business spanning Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia. The acquisition closed on 31st December 2007.

Acted for Avnet Inc. on its acquisition of an electronic components distribution business in the PRC. We helped restructure the ownership interests in the distribution business. We also advised on the establishment of trading companies in Free Trade Zones and representative offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou and other strategic cities of China for supporting the distribution business. The value of the acquisition was US$88 million.