Beijing: LawFuel.com – Asia Legal Newswire Service – Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised the HSBC NF China Real Estate Fund, L.P. who, together with its co-investors, has formed a 50:50 joint venture with British supermarket giant Tesco in China.
The joint venture will open three new malls in the north-eastern region of China, each with a Tesco hypermarket as anchor tenant. One of the sites includes Tesco’s first shopping centre development in China, a 500,000 sq ft retail, entertainment and residential centre in Fushun city in Liaoning province.
One of the world’s leading retailers, Tesco operates over 4,000 stores worldwide, including operations in 14 markets in Europe, Asia and North America. The new stores are part of Tesco’s planned expansion in China.
The firm’s China team handled the M&A and joint venture aspects of the deal. Beijing partner Terence Foo led the team, assisted by senior associates JIN Hao and Ming Yen YIP, and associates YANG Yi and Paul Tang.
The real estate aspects of the transactions were handled by a London team, led by partner Jonathan Solomon and assisted by senior associates Paula Box and Gemma Ebsworth, and associate Sarah McGinley.
In January 2007, Clifford Chance advised HSBC on establishment of HSBC NF China Real Estate Fund, L.P., a joint venture between HSBC Specialist Investments, the dedicated real estate investment and infrastructure arm of HSBC, and Nan Fung, a leading Hong Kong real estate developer with significant China real estate experience.
