Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has advised China Zheshang Bank Co., Ltd. ('China Zheshang Bank') on its A share rights issue and H share rights issue. Freshfields has been providing legal services to China Zheshang Bank since 2015, including its US$1.7bn IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2016, and its US$464m H share placing in 2018.

The rights issue of China Zheshang Bank, comprising of A share rights issue and H share rights issue, includes A share rights issue of 4,829,739,185 shares at RMB2.02 per share which were listed on The Shanghai Stock Exchange on 6 July 2023, and H share rights issue of 1,366,200,000 shares at HK$2.23 per share which were listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 28 July 2023.

China Zheshang Bank is one of the twelve nationwide joint-stock commercial banks and is headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, the PRC. The gross proceeds raised from the rights issue of China Zheshang Bank were approximately HK$13.8bn (US$1.77bn). China Zheshang Bank intends to use the proceeds to replenish its core tier-one capital.

The Freshfields team advising on the deal was led by partner and head of China ECM Richard Wang and counsel Chris Fu, who were supported by associates Zedong Liu and Zijian Cao. Partner Howie Farn and counsel Quan Zhou provided support on U.S. law.