William Tong

/My focus

I have been involved in all aspects of practice in the firm with a focus on corporate finance and commercial matters. I have been engaged in Main Board and GEM Board initial public offerings on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and have experience representing the sponsors, underwriters and issuers in Hong Kong. I also assist in other commercial transactions in Hong Kong and the United States, and advise on commercial documents such as sale and purchase agreements, shareholders’ agreements and loan agreements. Further, I have experience working on corporate restructuring, corporate governance, regulatory compliance and employment-related matters.

/Representative experience

• Delegation of the Law Society of Hong Kong to UIA 60th Congress (2006) in Budapest, Hungary

• Delegation of the Law Society of Hong Kong to a seminar jointly organized by the Law Society with the National Council of Legal Advisers and Polish Chamber of Commerce (2006) in Warsaw, Poland

/Looking ahead

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange has proposed to permit listings of companies from emerging and innovative sectors that do not meet any of its financial eligibility tests and is preparing to allow dual-class share listings in Hong Kong, while it has raised the listing requirements for both GEM and Main Board. Further, the SFC has started to look into how the new and developing fundraising activities, i.e. initial coin offerings, can and should be regulated. Capital-raising in Hong Kong is therefore an important and interesting area to watch out for in the coming years.

/Insights

• “Board Composition and Firm Performance: Empirical Evidence on Listed Companies in Hong Kong – Part Two” published in International Corporate Rescue Journal (Vol. 13 – Issue 6) in the United Kingdom (December 2016)
• “Board Composition and Firm Performance: Empirical Evidence on Listed Companies in Hong Kong – Part One” published in International Corporate Rescue Journal (Vol. 13 – Issue 5) in the United Kingdom (October 2016)
• Writer at Sing Tao Daily’s legal column “Sing Tao Legal Mailbox”