Tony Chow

About Tony Chow

Tony leads the firm’s Hong Kong contentious insolvency practice. Based in Hong Kong, he is part of the firm’s Asia Restructuring & Capital Solutions team and also works in the firm’s Dispute Resolution practice.

Tony has over a decade of experience advising clients on distressed situations, contentious and non-contentious restructurings, corporate insolvencies, and a broad range of commercial, shareholder/company, trust and estate, and injunction-related disputes.

Earlier in his career, Tony was admitted to the New York and Hong Kong bar, and now practises as a Solicitor-Advocate in Hong Kong. He regularly represents clients in court and arbitration proceedings involving restructuring and insolvency matters as well as high-stakes disputes. He is recognised as a leading restructuring and insolvency lawyer in IFLR1000 and Chambers Greater China.

Recent work

Restructuring/Insolvency

• Advised an ad hoc group of noteholders of Logan Group on the restructuring of more than US$6bn of offshore USD senior bonds and other offshore indebtedness.

• Advised Tsinghua Unigroup and its administrator on the restructuring of the company's USD2.45 billion international bonds.

• Advised on China Evergrande Group’s proposed restructuring of offshore liabilities exceeding US$23bn and winding-up proceedings in Hong Kong.*

• Advised HNA Aviation as the white knight investor in Hong Kong Airlines’ successful US$6.2bn restructuring involving parallel restructuring processes via a Hong Kong scheme of arrangement and UK restructuring plan.*

• Advised an ad hoc group of bondholders on the restructuring of US$657 million notes issued by Helenbergh China Group, appearing as counsel in the Hong Kong High Court in the winding up proceedings.*

• Advised an ad hoc committee of bondholders on the restructuring of US$400 million notes issued by Hidili Industry International Development Ltd.*

• Advised Yango Group on the restructuring of its offshore bonds and winding up proceedings relating to its offshore issuing vehicles.*

• Advised Jiangsu Zhongnan Construction Group's proposed restructuring of US$460 million NY-law governed offshore bonds and defence of winding up proceedings against its offshore issuing vehicle.*

• Advised Dongying Fongyuan Group on the restructuring of its debts amounting to approximately US$4 billion and defence of winding up proceedings brought against group companies in Hong Kong.*

• Advised the liquidators (from PricewaterhouseCoopers) of the Shanghai Huaxin Group in the overall conduct of the liquidation proceedings in Hong Kong and Chapter 15 proceedings in the US.*

• Advised the liquidators (from Deloitte) of the China Huishan Dairy Group in the overall conduct of the liquidation proceedings in Hong Kong.*

Dispute resolution

• Advised Peking University Founder Group in a dispute relating to offshore keepwell bonds with claims around US$1.7 billion.

• Advised Credit Suisse and a consortium of investment banks in relation to their claims in the Luckin Coffee/Charles Lu dispute, involving bankruptcy, insolvency and enforcement actions in Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands, the BVI and Canada.*

• Advised China Life in a multi-jurisdictional, complex commercial litigation involving claims arising out of a pre-IPO investment in Lung Ming Mining Group. Won summary judgment in excess of US$150m in the Hong Kong courts and successfully obtained worldwide freezing orders and injunctive relief in the Hong Kong and BVI courts in the subsequent enforcement actions.*

• Advised the governing board of Deloitte in the defence of claims brought against it by certain partners. Successfully obtained a stay of the Hong Kong proceedings in favour of arbitration and won indemnity costs.*

• Advised the executors of the estate of a prominent Hong Kong tycoon in the defence of Hong Kong proceedings, appearing as counsel in the Hong Kong High Court and Court of Appeal. Successfully obtained a complete dismissal of the plaintiff’s summary judgment application.*

• Advised the chairman of a leading social networking app in the defence of substantial claims against him involving multi-jurisdictional proceedings, including a SIAC arbitration, Hong Kong court proceedings and litigation in various US states, appearing as counsel in the Hong Kong High Court to defend proprietary and freezing injunctions sought against him.*

• Advised a key defendant in a dispute over the control and ultimate ownership of Wind Energy Holding, a leading renewable energy company in Thailand, involving substantial claims and various injunction proceedings in Hong Kong. Successfully obtained a complete withdrawal of all the plaintiff’s claims and discontinuance of the action, the discharge of the ex parte injunction order, and won indemnity costs.*

• Advised Sinovac Biotech in a shareholder dispute involving multi-jurisdictional proceedings and successfully obtained injunctive relief in Hong Kong.*

*Representation occurred prior to joining Freshfields.