- Practice: Capital Markets, Asset Management, Private Equity and Venture Capital, Fund Formation, Investments and M&A
- Languages: Mandarin, English, German, Cantonese
- Tel: （86-10）5809-1510
- Email: wang.yong@jingtian.com
- Practice: Asset Management, Private Equity and Venture Capital, Fund Formation, Capital Markets, Investments and M&A
- Languages: Mandarin, English, German, Cantonese
- Tel: （86-10）5809-1510
- Email: wang.yong@jingtian.com
A seasoned international PE/VC and investment funds attorney, James has been active in this field for more than 20 years and is among the few most senior Chinese investment funds attorneys in China. James has represented hundreds of international and PRC PE/VC funds, hedge funds, financial institutions (insurance companies, trust companies, broker/dealers, futures companies and other asset managers) in the design and implementation of various offshore and onshore fund and asset management products and is also active in PE/VC transactions, mergers and acquisitions and capital markets fields. A former Partner (Investment Funds) in the New York headquarters and Shanghai office of one of the largest law firms in the U.S, James is qualified to practice in the United States of America (New York)，and worked at three leading international law firms (Clifford Chance, Kirkland & Ellis and Greenberg Traurig) in the U.S. (New York and Chicago) and China offices for almost ten years. James has been consistently recognized by practically all leading global legal directories such as Chambers, IFLR 1000, Who’s Who Legal, The Asian Lawyer, AsiaLaw Leading Lawyers, Asialaw Profiles, Legal500, CBLJ, Global Expert Guides for Banking, Finance and Transactional Law, China Law & Practice and Legalband as leading authority on Investment Funds or Venture Capital (Tier 1). He was also named as market leader for investment funds in China by the London-based Legal Media Group’s Global Expert Guides for Banking, Finance and Transactional Law each year for 2015-2021. In September 2019 and March 2020, Jingtian & Gongcheng won the Investment Funds Team of the Year Award from China Law & Practice and the Asia Firm of the Year Award from The Asian Lawyer (both under leading media group ALM), respectively.
In the Investment Funds/Asset Management field, James represented many international and domestic fund clients and asset managers in raising over 2,000 private RMB, USD and hybrid funds and asset management schemes involving capital in excess of RMB 400 billion or US$60 billion equivalent, covering fund types such as PE/VC funds, hedge funds, real estate funds, M&A funds, film/entertainment/sports funds, infrastructure funds, funds of funds and GP stake funds and legal forms such as corporate funds, contractual funds, trust funds, asset management scheme funds, FIVCIEs and hybrid funds combining the above. James’ clients include some of the largest asset management companies in the world, leading global and domestic hedge fund, leading global and domestic PE/VC firms, first tier angel investment funds. James is particularly known for his ability to work in the most cutting-edge, innovative and pilot type funds as well as cross-border funds. In the past decade, the QFLP Pilot Program initially launched in Shanghai in 2010, quickly spread to nearly 30 provinces/cities. James participated, as advisor to or member of the QFLP Review Panel of the local financial services office, in the drafting and revision the QFLP regulations or the application review process. He was involved in over 50 QFLP funds in Shanghai as well as the first RMB QFLP pilot fund in Shanghai. His team collectively was responsible for over 70 QFLP funds across the country such as Shanghai, Tianjin, Beijing, Zhuhai, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Xiamen and Hainan Free Trade Port, including the first batch of QFLP funds in Hainan Free Trade Port. James also participated, as advisor to the local financial services office, in the drafting and revision of most QDLP regulations. He worked on the first QDIE fund on the market in Shenzhen and acted for clients in forming pilot funds with special approval by the People’s Bank of China to use RMB for direct outbound equity, debt or project investments. James also frequently represents global asset managers in the formation and operation of QFII funds and international and domestic PE and hedge fund sponsors in setting up QDII funds, private fund managers in their New Third Board listings, as well as representing leading international and PRC asset managers such as Partners Group and Gopher Asset and large centrally controlled state-owned enterprises in some of the first GP stake transactions in China involving PE and hedge fund managers.
In addition to his GP representation, James also represents a large number of LPs of various types (including insurance companies, public companies, state-owned enterprises, guidance funds, funds of funds, asset/wealth management firms) in investing in various funds in and outside of China. James is also intimately familiar with internal economic and governance arrangements at the GP/management company level, having been deeply involved in the design and implementation of such arrangements for many leading international as well as domestic fund clients.
James represents many PE/VC firms, asset managers and companies in investment and financing transactions, New Third Board listing and A share listing, domestic and cross-border M&A, foreign direct investment (FDI), privatization of overseas listed Chinese companies, “red-chip” return transactions, establishment of VIE structures and overseas IPOs and has been involved in about a hundred such transactions in recent years, including many high-profile transactions.
James serves as a member of the expert review committee for both the QFLP Pilot Program and QDLP Pilot Program in Shanghai, major government guidance funds such as Xia’men Municipal Industrial Guidance Fund, Jiangsu Province Grand Canal Culture & Tourism Industrial Guidance Fund and Shenzhen Municipal Stability Fund and Insurance Asset Management Association of China (IAMAC) as well as IAMAC’s first Expert Panel for Equity Investment Plans and Private Fund Products and China Banking & Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC)’s Expert Panel for Registration of Asset-backed Schemes and is frequently consulted by China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), Asset Management Association of China (AMAC) and IAMAC on private fund or insurance asset management regulation issues. James’ experience also includes providing training sessions on investing in offshore funds to business and legal teams at China’s sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corporation (CIC). A frequent speaker on China and international private equity, asset management and cross-border investment conferences and is widely published in major finance publications such as Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, China Business News and 21st Century Business Herald, James has been quoted frequently in main stream finance and legal media such as Financial Times, Asia Venture Capital Journal (AVCJ), Caijing Magazine, Asia Legal Business (ALB), China Business Law Journal (CBLJ), China Law & Practice (CL&P), FoF Weekly, Economic Information Daily, China Economic Times, Private Equity Insider, Top Capital and Venture China. Every year since 2013, James was commissioned by leading London-based legal publisher Law Business Research (LBR) to author the China Fundraising Chapter of its annual Global Private Equity Review.
