Maples Group Wins Nine “Deals of the Year 2025” Awards by China Business Law Journal

Maples and Calder, the Maples Group’s law firm, is delighted to announce that we have been recognised with nine “Deals of the Year 2025” awards by China Business Law Journal (“CBLJ”). Presented annually, these awards highlight transactions of exceptional significance, complexity, innovation and scale within the Chinese legal market. This recognition underscores our ability to navigate sophisticated mandates, deliver creative solutions and collaborate seamlessly across our global offices.

A cross-disciplinary team from our Corporate, Finance and Dispute Resolution & Insolvency practices advised on the following award-winning transactions:

Equity Capital Markets:

• AUX Electric HK$3.46 billion HKEX IPO. Led by Corporate Partner, Karen Zhang Pallaras, with assistance from Corporate Associate, Janelle Ho.
• Chagee US$411 million NASDAQ IPO. Led by Partner and Head of the Asia Corporate practice, Matt Roberts, with assistance from Corporate Legal Manager, Charmaine Chow.
• Hesai Technology HK$4.16 billion HKEX IPO. Led by Corporate Partner, Karen Zhang Pallaras, with assistance from Corporate Associate, Sarena Gong.
• Zeekr US$2.4 billion privatisation. Led by Partner and Head of the Asia Corporate practice, Matt Roberts and Corporate Partner, Vivian Lee, with assistance from Corporate Legal Manager, Charmaine Chow.

Debt Capital Markets:

• Alibaba issues US$5 billion equivalent dual-currency senior unsecured notes. Led by Corporate Partner, Karen Zhang Pallaras.
• Baidu issues RMB10 billion offshore bonds. Led by Partner and Head of the Asia Corporate practice, Matt Roberts with assistance from Corporate Associate, Sarena Gong.
• Baidu issues US$2 billion exchangeable bonds. Led by Partner and Head of the Asia Corporate practice, Matt Roberts with assistance from Corporate Associate, Sarena Gong.

Liquidation, Bankruptcy and Restructuring:

• Kaisa offshore debt restructuring. Led by Dispute Resolution & Insolvency Partner, Nick Stern with assistance from Of Counsel, Jean Bao.
• Sunac US$10.2 billion and US$9.6 billion debt restructuring. The multi-jurisdictional Dispute Resolution and Insolvency team included Partners, Nick Stern (Hong Kong), Nick Herrod and Christian La Roda Thomas (The Cayman Islands) and Matthew Freeman (British Virgin Islands). Also advising from our Hong Kong office were Finance Partner, Lorraine Pao, and Finance Of Counsel, Jean Bao.

Commenting on our achievements, Asia Managing Partner, Ann Ng said, “These awards reflect the breadth and depth of our capabilities across the capital markets, finance and restructuring spectrum. Each transaction demonstrates the trust our clients place in us to guide their most significant matters. We are honoured to be their partner of choice in navigating an increasingly sophisticated market and are grateful to the China Business Law Journal for this recognition.”

Learn more about the full results of China Deals of the Year 2025 awards.