Andrew Hallworth

Andrew is a gifted linguist, having originally obtained a degree in Mandarin Chinese and Japanese, before going on to study law Before embarking on a career with the leading law firm Clifford Chance, Andrew secured an internship at China’s first non-state law firm in Beijing. There he was involved in assisting resident Chinese counsel to advise on novel queries raised by foreign investors, as well as assisting in the drafting of Chinese legal opinions for sign-off by the Chinese law partners.

Clifford Chance

Andrew then began working at Clifford Chance, starting in London on aircraft financing deals for large-scale aircraft and engine providers, as well as stints in general project financing. Part of his training involved a six-month secondment at Clifford Chance’s Hong Kong office, where he was introduced to all things corporate and commercial in China His final role in London was to assist in defending, at arbitration, the Government of Kuwait against a collective action for damages by certain American companies who had been responsible for fire-fighting the oil wells at the conclusion of the first Gulf War Andrew qualified directly into the Hong Kong office, where he honed his skills in Chinese corporate and commercial matters. In particular, he was involved directly in the establishment of China’s first private telecoms joint venture (on behalf of US company Motorola), and China’s first joint venture insurance company (on behalf of Canadian company Manulife) In 1997, Andrew moved to Clifford Chance in Shanghai to specialise in mergers and acquisitions. To that end, he took over the exclusive management and control of legal aspects of Unilever’s China business. In particular, he was responsible for a prototype “asset purchase” of an existing Chinese business with detailed warranties, and a “lock-in” of the previous Chinese owner for public relations purposes.

In addition, he was the lead legal player in the establishment of China’s first super company limited by shares, following a merger of four of Unilever’s Chinese joint ventures into a newly established shell company, for subsequent listing on the Shanghai stock exchange