New Hong Kong-based global head of Corporate for law firm Ogier

Ogier partner in Hong Kong Nathan Powell has been appointed Global Head of Corporate legal services by the international law firm.

Nathan has a broad corporate finance practice with particular expertise in using BVI, Cayman and Jersey companies for capital markets, IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, private equity structures and joint ventures. He also has a strong focus on bank financing and restructurings.

Nathan, who acted on Foxconn Industrial Internet's RMB 27 billion IPO - China's largest domestic listing since 2015 - said that it was an exciting time to lead Ogier's international Corporate law team spanning BVI, Cayman, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey and Luxembourg.

Nathan said: "Ogier has been named Offshore Law Firm of the Year four times this year in major international legal awards, with the most recent recognition following a series of big-ticket transactions for Ogier in the Asia region, demonstrating the team's prowess in managing the largest and most complex deals, providing insightful and innovative solutions and the highest levels of service and responsiveness.

"Across our global Corporate team we've advised on some of the largest M&A deals this year, including Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical on its £46 billion acquisition of Shire - which created one of the world's largest pharmaceutical firms and was the largest ever foreign takeover by a Japanese company - and the $22.5 billion merger between Randgold Resources and Barrick Gold, which created the world's biggest gold mining company.

"Although we've found big ticket M&A has more recently been impacted by uncertainty created by Brexit and the US/China trade war, for our Hong Kong team in particular this has been offset by a surge in US bond offerings as Chinese enterprises look to raise US dollars in the international market.

"In Hong Kong, IPOs are a key part of the finance sector and Cayman continues to be the default choice for listings. While there are fewer mega IPOs coming out of China, we are still seeing strong deal flows. In addition, we are seeing an uptick in the popularity of New York as a listing venue for Chinese companies looking to IPO. Our corporate administration business in Hong Kong is growing significantly – largely driven by Cayman structures but also BVI."

Nathan is part of Ogier's 70-strong Hong Kong office which offers partner-led service lines providing advice on BVI, Cayman and Jersey law. For the Asia region, Ogier focuses on international finance and corporate law with an emphasis on investment funds, PE, M&A, capital markets and finance. Its private wealth practice advises HNWIs and families throughout Asia, as well as a dispute resolution practice providing contentious and non-contentious restructuring and insolvency legal services.