Steve Zhao is a partner of Finesse Law Group and a registered attorney of the State of New York, the United States. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City with a Juris Doctor degree. Steve is a native Mandarin speaker and has exceptional English speaking and writing skills, having been a literary editor of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Review. Prior to co-founding Finesse Law Group, Steve has worked at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringers’ Beijing Office and King & Wood’s Beijing Office.

Steve is experienced in inbound and outbound FDI, M&A, VC&PE, real estate, Chinese State assets, corporate restructuring, carbon trading and investment, antitrust and other legal matters relating to doing business in, from or with China.

A selection of his more recent experience includes advising:
•A Japanese company in the joint investment with a major international bank in a portfolio of CDM projects estimated to generate a total of 13 million tonnes of carbon reduction;
•HSBC Private Equity in investing in a forestry company in China;
•Hewlett-Packard in the over RMB 900 million acquisition of minority shareholding in Hewlett-Packard China from a Chinese State-owned shareholder;
•CNOOC in investing in a potential energy project in the Middle East;
•a top international retailer in pursuing acquisition of a supermarket chain in China;
•several international clients in pursuing real estate development opportunities in the PRC;
•3Com Corporation on certain PRC-related issues in its US$882m acquisition of the 49 per cent shares in the Hong Kong incorporated Huawei-3Com Co., Limited from Huawei;
•Danone in entering deals for joint ventures with combined registered capital of approximately US$100m and combined total investment of over US$200m with China’s leading dairy producer Mengniu;
•Ticketmaster in winning the bid for the ticketing exclusive supplier status of the Beijing 2008 Olympics and in forming a joint venture with its Chinese partners in Beijing, China to supply ticketing services to the Beijing 2008 Olympics;
•Danisco in acquiring certain PRC food additive companies;
•Pirelli in establishing a joint venture with a major Chinese tyre producer;
•Kone in its RMB200m total investment joint venture deal with a major Chinese elevator producer in China;
•a European biodiesel producer in establishing its EUR 82 million total investment WFOE in China;
•a leading European refractory producer in its RMB125m total investment joint venture deal with a top Chinese iron and steel producer in China;
•a major European publisher in its cooperation with a major Chinese publisher and the establishment of its wholly-owned book distribution subsidiary in China;
•several foreign investors in anti-trust filings to Chinese authorities for offshore M&A transactions; and
•several Beijing office buildings and shopping malls on their leases and tenancy negotiations.