Hong Kong/China is a Sizzling Market for M&A Associates

We have represented and/or advised EVERY SINGLE young US-trained M&A partner in Hong Kong / China at top tier US firms who has been promoted or hired as entry level or junior equity partner in the last 18 months.  If you know one of these people, go ahead and ask him/her whether he/she talked to us previously or used us in his/her move.   Eleven years into our experience working in Asia, this amazes even us. Kinney’s Asia team, lead by Robert Kinney, is starting to collect achievements like this.

Breaking down the data, it turns out that we have represented most of these persons on multiple occasions, including the placement of some of them into their current roles. Especially relevant to our readers in the US markets, we advised and represented every one of these young M&A partners when they moved from their US market to Hong Kong / China (some by transfer, most by lateral move).  Our experience with this swath of successful lawyers should be enough to make us your first call if you’re thinking of a move (or of hiring someone).

While global cap markets and the China economy may be down, M&A deal flow is red hot in Hong Kong and mainland China at top-tier US firms.

There have been ups and downs in the market for M&A associates in China over the years.  But we have not previously seen such a hot hiring market for US-trained M&A associates with 3 to 8 years’ experience. Almost all of the top M&A practices, including most of the top 10 US firms, have multiple US M&A associate openings in Hong Kong, Beijing and/or Shanghai. Most of these openings require Mandarin, but there are a few exceptions where English-only capability is ok. If we talk we’ll tell you which could work for you.  Also, at some of the top 10 firms, it is not a requirement that a candidate have M&A experience for the roles up to 3rd or 4th year level.

There are undoubtedly many recruiters calling M&A associates in New York and other major US markets re the M&A hiring needs in Hong Kong / China.  There will be more after some of our competitors read this post.  If you are even close to qualified for one of these roles, keep in mind that there is an alternative to putting your resume in the hands of someone with less experience so that he or she can put it on the street.  Reach out to us at asia@kinneyrecruitng.com. In doing so, you will have at your disposal the collective experience of all of the young M&A partners in Hong Kong / China at top-tier firms.  Put our experience to work for you.


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