Li He
Co-head of Asia (excluding Japan). Trusted adviser to China’s leading companies. Frequently recognized as Asia’s top dealmaker and IPO lawyer.
Li is co-head of our practice in Asia (excluding Japan). A leading adviser to companies in Greater China and across Asia, he has deep experience guiding companies through their most critical milestones, from pre-IPO financing through listing and beyond. He is recognized as a top dealmaker and IPO lawyer in Asia.
Over the past two decades, Li advised on more than 50 U.S. IPOs and more than 80 HKEX IPOs, including some of Asia’s most important, complex and groundbreaking deals – approximately 50 of which have won “Best IPO of the Year” awards. He is particularly noted for his understanding of key verticals, from technology to healthcare and pharma to financial institutions. This knowledge can make the difference in resolving the thorniest structural, regulatory and disclosure challenges facing issuers.
Chambers ranks Li in Band 1 for equity capital markets in China and quotes a client saying he is “highly experienced, very responsive, knowledgeable and capable of providing solutions.”
Experience highlights
- Over 50 U.S. IPOs, including Tuya, KE Holdings, Kingsoft Cloud, Youdao, DouYu, Tiger Brokers, Tencent Music, iQIYI, JD.com, iKang Healthcare, Shanda Games and General Motors. Li acted on three of the six largest U.S. IPOs by Chinese companies of all time.
- Over 70 HKEX IPOs, including groundbreaking work for marquee issuers like Meituan Dianping, Ming Yuan Cloud and Pop Mart. Li has advised on cutting-edge deals including biotech listings (e.g. Tigermed, RemeGen, JOINN Labs) and secondary/“homecoming” listings (e.g. Baidu, NetEase, Ke Holdings, BeiGene). Li has led on landmark deals for state-owned companies like Agricultural Bank of China, ICBC, China Construction Bank and Air China. Li has acted on the three largest HKEX IPOs of all time.
- Deep IPO experience across key sectors:
- Technology, media and telecom. Li advises leading companies in every key TMT subsector, including some of the largest and most dynamic of China’s tech companies, from Meituan Dianping, Baidu and iQIYI, to KE Holdings, NetEase and Tencent Music.
- Healthcare and pharma. Li advised on some of the most important China healthcare IPOs ever, including BeiGene, Tigermed, Ping An Healthcare and 3SBio.
- Consumer Products & Retail. Li led the execution of a series noticeable IPOs of China’s popular consumer brands – PopMart, Nayuki, Helens and Youran.
- Financial institutions. Li advised on some of the largest China financial institutions IPOs ever, from major state banks like Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and ICBC, to companies on the cutting edge of financial technology and modernization.
- Major follow-on equity and equity-linked offerings, share placings and block trades for U.S- and HKEX-listed companies.
- Investment-grade and high-yield bond offerings by issuers like Tencent Music, CNOOC, Sinopec, China Cinda Asset Management, China Reinsurance and China Three Gorges.
- Complex mergers and acquisitions, including listed company mergers (including advising DouYu on its merger with HUYA), going-private transactions, venture capital and growth round investments, pre-IPO and IPO-concurrent private placements, PIPEs, and strategic cooperation agreements and joint ventures.
- Ongoing compliance, governance and strategic advice to listed companies and investment banks across the region.
Insights
News
Credentials
Recognition
Chambers Greater China Region – Capital Markets: Equity (International Firms), China, Band 1
Chambers Global – Capital Markets: Equity (International Firms), China, Band 1
IFLR1000 – Capital Markets: Equity, Private Equity, M&A, China, Highly Regarded
Legal 500 Asia Pacific – Capital Markets (Equity), Hong Kong
Asian Legal Business Hong Kong Law Awards – “Dealmaker of the Year,” 2023
Asian Legal Business – “ALB China Top 15 Capital Markets Lawyers,” 2022
Asian Legal Business – “Dealmakers of Asia,” 2021-2023
Asia Legal Awards – “IPO Lawyer of the Year,” 2020 and 2022
China Law & Practice Awards – “International Dealmaker of the Year,” 2019 and 2020
ALB China Law Awards – “Dealmaker of the Year – International,” 2020
Finance Monthly Awards – “Deal Maker of the Year,” 2020
Education
- Editor, Yale Journal of International Law
Professional history
- Partner, 2003-present
Qualifications and admissions
- Hong Kong Law Society - Registered
- State of New York