Latham & Watkins LLP is pleased to announce that Ji Liu has joined the firm’s Hong Kong office as a partner in the Corporate Department. Liu’s practice focuses on US domestic and cross-border capital markets transactions, representing issuers and underwriters on IPOs, secondary offerings, Rule 144A/Regulation S offerings and high yield bonds, as well as representing companies on compliance matters under US federal securities laws. Liu also has considerable experience advising on mergers and acquisitions, bank finance and venture capital investments as well as corporate governance matters.

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Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised China Huishan Dairy Holdings Co. Ltd, on its US$1.3 billion listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

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Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised Haitong International Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Haitong Securities Co., Ltd, on its proposed acquisition of the China leasing business held by UT Capital Group Co., Ltd for US$715 million from private equity firm, TPG Capital.

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Paul Hastings LLP, a leading global law firm, announced today that the firm represented Shuanghui International Holdings Limited (“Shuanghui International”), the owner of China’s largest publicly-traded meat processing enterprise, in the successful completion of its US$7.1 billion acquisition of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NYSE: SFD). Smithfield’s shareholders approved the merger on September 24 and the transaction closed on September 26, 2013.

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DLA Piper has advised a syndicate of banks consisting of ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Natixis and Société Générale on a US$195m prepayment facility for Xinjiang Zhaokun Trading Co. Ltd (“Zhaokun”), an aluminium producer in the Kashgar province of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”), to finance the purchase and production of aluminium, and to refinance an existing prepayment facility provided by Zhaokun’s existing offtaker, Gerald Metals S.A.

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Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP served as legal counsel to Houlihan Lokey Capital, Inc., in its role as financial adviser to the special committee of the board of directors of Yongye International, Inc., which has announced its intention to be taken private.

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Davis Polk advised Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Deutsche Bank AG, Singapore Branch, Goldman Sachs International, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Mizuho Securities USA Inc. and Samsung Securities Co., Ltd. as underwriters in connection with a concurrent SEC-registered Schedule B debt offering by KEXIM of $500 million aggregate principal amount of its floating-rate notes due 2016 and $500 million aggregate principal amount of its 2.875% senior notes due 2018.

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Davis Polk advised Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Deutsche Bank AG, Singapore Branch; KDB Asia Limited, Mizuho Securities USA Inc. and Standard Chartered Bank as underwriters in connection with a SEC-registered Schedule B debt offering by The Korea Development Bank of $750 million aggregate principal amount of its 3% notes due 2019.

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Latham & Watkins represented Citi, China Renaissance and UBS, as the initial purchasers, on the US$600 million convertible bond issuance by Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. (“Qihoo 360”), a Chinese Internet and mobile security products and services provider, whose ADSs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The bonds are convertible into the listed ADSs of Qihoo 360, based on an initial conversion rate of 9.0119 ADS per US$1,000 principal amount of bonds. This initial conversion rate represents an approximately 40% conversion premium over the last reported sale price of the ADSs at the time of pricing.

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Shearman & Sterling is representing Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, financial advisor to the board of directors of Sohu.com Inc. (“Sohu,” NASDAQ: SOHU), in the US$448 million acquisition of a 36.5% interest in Sogou Inc. (“Sogou”) by Tencent Holdings Limited (“Tencent,” SEHK: 00700).

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