CS Finance Merges with COSCO Finance

March 06, 2018

Hong Kong - Paul Hastings, a leading global law firm, announced today that the firm advised COSCO SHIPPING Development Co., Ltd. (“COSCO SHIPPING Development”) on the merger between CS Finance, a non-wholly owned subsidiary of COSCO SHIPPING Development, and COSCO Finance. Hong Kong and Shanghai-listed COSCO SHIPPING Development provides, among other things, vessel chartering and container leasing services.

CS Finance will absorb and merge with COSCO Finance and upon completion, CS Finance will continue as the surviving entity and will be renamed COSCO SHIPPING Finance, while COSCO Finance will cease to exist as a legal entity and will become a branch of the newly named company. The registered capital of COSCO SHIPPING Finance will become US$422 million. COSCO SHIPPING Development, which originally had a 65% equity interest in CS Finance, will have a 23.38% interest in COSCO SHIPPING Finance.

The merger involved different legal frameworks and concepts in the PRC and Hong Kong, and was subject to several complex legal issues under the Listing Rules. The Paul Hastings team also took the lead in the negotiations with and submissions to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Paul Hastings previously represented COSCO SHIPPING Development in its proposed non-public issuance of A-shares to not more than 10 specific target subscribers, including COSCO SHIPPING Development’s controlling shareholder, China Shipping (Group) Company, raising gross proceeds of up to US$1.7 billion.

The Paul Hastings team was led by partner Raymond Li, partner and Chair of Greater China, and of counsel Bonnie Kong, with support from associates Matt Li and Andy Tam.

At Paul Hastings, our purpose is clear — to help our clients and people navigate new paths to growth. With a strong presence throughout Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the U.S., Paul Hastings is recognized as one of the world’s most innovative global law firms.