Akin is winding down operations in Beijing, with the office set to close in 2024, but will retain its Asia presence with the Singapore and Hong Kong branches.
“Akin is staying open in Hong Kong and remains committed to serving clients, including those in China and doing business in China, through strong collaboration with our global practices and offices,” said the firm.
The Beijing office currently has four lawyers, including two partners. Partner in charge and the chief representative of the Beijing office, Allen Shyu, will retire after the closure and another partner Jiang Jingli will relocate to another office.
Shyu joined Akin in 2019 after one year as a partner at Stephenson Harwood. Previously, he held the position of managing partner at Troutman Sanders, which closed its Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai offices in 2018.
With nearly 20 years of experience in capital markets transactions and cross-border M&A, Shyu has been involved in numerous deals for mid-sized and large Chinese companies. Notably, he advised the China Railway Construction Corporation’s HKD18.25 billion (USD2.34 billion) IPO and China Coal Energy Company’s HKD13.1 billion IPO in Hong Kong.
Jiang, who was promoted as a partner earlier last year, focuses on regulatory and corporate advice for Asia-based clients in connection with US laws and policy.
Akin established the Beijing office in 2007, and its main practice areas included capital markets, cross-border M&A, China corporate and foreign investment, private equity investment, international trade, anti-corruption and anti-commercial bribery and antitrust.
The firm closed its Taiwan office in 2008 with the departure of partner Yitai Hu.
