W88优德中国官方网站 Assisted China Merchants Port Holdings in its Private Offering of A-shares and Strategic Investment in Ningbo Port

On September 23, 2022, China Merchants Port Holdings Co., Ltd. (“CMP”, with stock code 001872.SZ) disclosed their “Offering Circular of China Merchants Port Holdings Co., Ltd. on the Private Offering of A-shares” and privately issued 576,709,537 A-shares to Zhejiang Provincial Seaport Investment & Operation Group Co., Ltd. (“Seaport Group”), raising RMB 10.7 billion. On September 27, 2022, Ningbo Zhoushan Port Co., Ltd. (“Ningbo Port”, with stock code 601018.SH) disclosed their “Offering Circular of Ningbo Zhoushan Port Co., Ltd. on the Private Offering of A-shares” and issued 3,646,971,029 A-shares to CMG privately. Ningbo Port raised a total of RMB 14.1 billion with this offering, which marks the completion of the strategic cooperation between CMP and Ningbo Port.

CMP is one of the world’s leading port investors, developers and operators, and an important member of the China Merchants Group. One of its aims is the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area strategy of China. CMP holds a leading position in the world port and shipping industry in terms of domestic and global port layout, container throughput, market share, overseas port development and operation, and has comprehensive port development expertise and brand resources. Ningbo Port is a renowned world-class port with both centralized and decentralized functions and is an important ocean container mainline port in mainland China. It is also the largest iron ore transshipment base and crude oil transfer base in China, and an important liquid and chemical storage and transportation base. Ningbo Port is an important coal and grain storage and transportation base in East China, and one of the national main hub ports. This strategic cooperation is a positive response to various national strategies in China such as the Belt and Road Initiative, the Yangtze River Delta Integration and the Yangtze River Economic Belt Construction. With this cooperation Ningbo Port, as the main platform for the operation of public terminals in Zhejiang Province, and CMP, as a leading global port developer, investor and operator, complemented each other’s strengths, deepened the strategic restructuring of port resources, fulfilled operational synergies, enhanced the effectiveness of port collaborations, and facilitated the construction of port ecosystems.

In this offering, teams from different W88优德中国官方网站 branches worked together to provide the client with one-stop and comprehensive legal services. This included assisting with the design of the transaction plan, the negotiation of the transaction agreements and strategic cooperation agreements, the drafting of the disclosure schedule, the due diligence on CMP in all respects, the drafting of documents for the private offering, and the anti-monopoly filing in relation to the project. Our teams maintained excellent communication and cooperation with Ningbo Port and the other intermediaries throughout. With W88优德中国官方网站’s assistance, the project was completed successfully and W88优德中国官方网站’s team was highly recognized and praised by the client and the other parties involved in the project.

The team responsible for advising on the transaction/private offering was led by partner ZHANG, Jianwei, and partner Joe Wan was responsible for the internal review. The team responsible for advising on anti-monopoly issues was led by partner GONG, Mingfang and the team from W88优德中国官方网站’s Hong Kong office was led by partner YE, Yurong.