Eugene Chen

Partner & Head of China Practice

Qualifications: LLB, BCom

Fluent in: Mandarin

Industries

Practices

Eugene specialises in capital raising, funds management, financial services licensing and anti-money laundering law.

Eugene services Australian and Chinese fund managers, corporate advisors, retail and commercial banks and financial institutions, institutional investors and ultra-high net worth investors and has expertise in managing large scale mergers and acquisition, joint venturing and capital raising transactions for Australian and Chinese businesses.

Eugene is a native mandarin speaker and heads a team of experienced bilingual legal advisors as a part of Hall & Wilcox’s China practice.

Eugene has more than eight years’ experience servicing Australian and Chinese clients in mergers, capital raising, property development and funds management transactions. Eugene’s key clients include large Australian funds management and corporate advisory companies, property developers, Australian and Chinese retail banks, state owned investment companies and large listed or state owned agribusinesses.

Eugene is recommended in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2020 as a 'China expert' in banking and finance. Eugene was recognised in the Legal and Professional category at the 2022 40 Under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australian Awards.

Experience

  • Advised German-headquartered company Putzmeister on its acquisition of 100% of the share capital of Australian-based CPE Machinery Pty Ltd.
  • Worked on behalf of Shaunglin Automotive Parts Manufacturing Co on purchasing Australian and Chinese operations from Geely Holdings Group worth USD $500 million including the preparation and review of contracts of sale, joint venture contracts and distribution and guaranteed supply agreements in China.Negotiating a $20 million AUD acquisition by a high profile Chinese celebrity of a minority shareholding in an Australian organics business including drafting downstream Chinese distribution and marketing agreements.
  • Negotiated a multimillion dollar joint venturing investment by Intense Solar China into an Australian solar energy equipment R&D and manufacturing company including negotiations of IP licenses, distribution and shareholder arrangements.
  • Negotiated a $80 million investment by major Chinese State Owned Dairy Enterprise in investing in and joint venturing with an Australia dairy producer to build an infant formulae manufacturing plant in regional Victoria and a five year annual off take agreement for infant formulae into China worth in excess of $1 Billion AUD.
  • Negotiating a $40 million joint venture between an Australian private dairy producer and a large Chinese regional infant formulae producer to construct and develop an infant formulae canning line in Victoria and the drafting and negotiation of long term supply and off take agreements.
  • Assist with the purchase of $60 million of Australian agricultural land for Dashang Group in New South Wales for cattle breeding.
  • Assisted with the negotiation of joint venturing arrangements between ChinaAMC (a subsidiary of CITIC) and Azure in relation to the launch of an Australian based China securities fund.

Awards and recognition

The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2024
Recommended – Fintech and financial services regulatory
The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2020
Recommended – Banking and Finance
Most Influential Asian-Australian Awards 2022
40 Under 40

Latest thinking

Financial Services | 18 Oct 2023

Financial Services in Focus – Issue 86

In this edition, we outline the proposals to regulate or reform digital asset platforms, payday super, and Australia’s payments system, and much more.