Michael Ceulen - Partner

Michael Ceulen is a Partner in Simpson Thacher’s Hong Kong office and a member of the Firm’s Private Funds Practice. He specializes in the organization, structuring and operation of global private equity funds, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region. Having worked in both Simpson Thacher’s New York and London offices before relocating to the Hong Kong office in 2014, Michael is able to offer clients an international perspective. He has extensive experience advising on fundraisings across numerous asset classes, including buyout, growth, real estate, infrastructure, and credit. In addition to traditional private equity fundraising initiatives, Michael regularly advises sponsors with respect to customized fund arrangements, separately managed accounts, co-investment vehicles, and carry plans and other internal arrangements, as well as regulatory compliance and fund-related aspects of M&A and financing transactions.

Marjory Ding - Partner

Based in Simpson Thacher’s Hong Kong office, Marjory Ding is a Partner in the Firm’s Corporate Practice, where she focuses on capital markets. She has extensive experience advising clients on a wide variety of public and private offerings of debt and equity securities, as well as in providing counseling concerning corporate governance and other issues.

Daniel Fertig - Partner Based in China, Partner Daniel Fertig focuses his practice on a mix of equity and debt securities offerings, as well as M&A transactions. His work on securities offerings includes U.S. registered offerings and Rule 144A and Regulation S offerings. The issuers he represents are based both in mainland China and in Taiwan. He also advises public companies on corporate governance and regulatory matters. Daniel is fluent in Mandarin. Before joining the bar, he studied Mandarin in Beijing and Taiwan, and worked as a translator overseas. He holds an M.A. in East Asian Studies from Columbia.

Adam C. Furber - Partner

Adam Furber is the Co-Head of the Firm’s Asia offices and the Head of the Firm’s Asia Investment Funds Practice, the largest funds practice Asia. Fluent in multiple languages and having lived on four continents, Adam brings a uniquely international perspective to his work. He has been recognized as a “Global Elite Thought Leader” in fund formation by Who’s Who Legal Global Elite and Adam has been recognized as a leading fund formation lawyer by Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and IFLR1000. Simpson Thacher’s Asia Investment Funds Practice has won numerous awards, including “Investment Funds Firm of the Year” at the 2022, 2019 and 2017 Asia Legal Awards and 2019 Asia Legal Business Japan Awards, and “Asia Fund Formation Firm of the Year 2018” by Private Equity International.

Yi Gao - Partner Yi Gao is Partner in Simpson Thacher’s Hong Kong office and a member of the Firm’s Corporate Department, where he focuses on capital markets transactions. His varied practice includes advising clients on SEC-registered offerings, Rule 144A/Regulation S offerings and listings in New York and Hong Kong for China-based companies from various industries. He also advises these companies in their pre-IPO and post-IPO financings and investments as well as various general corporate and regulatory matters. He is qualified in three jurisdictions, PRC, New York and Hong Kong.

Makiko Harunari - Partner

Based in Simpson Thacher’s Hong Kong office, Makiko Harunari is the Head of the Firm’s Asia Banking and Credit Practice. Makiko concentrates on complex cross-border financing transactions throughout the Asia-Pacific region, leading a team with multi-lingual capabilities and deep transactional experience in providing liquidity solutions at all levels of the capital structure. She advises on a broad mix of acquisition finance, real estate finance, fund finance, back-leverage, direct lending and other innovative financing products and has extensive experience representing prominent financial sponsors, corporate borrowers, international financial institutions and private credit funds.

Named to China Business Law Journal’s “The A-List,” Makiko is recognized as a highly regarded lawyer by recent editions of IFLR1000 and The Legal 500 Asia Pacific. She has also been recognized as a notable practitioner by Chambers Asia-Pacific, with one source noting she is “extremely good at pushing through complex, lengthy projects, and maintaining sight of the bigger picture.” Makiko was shortlisted for Banking & Finance by Euromoney Legal Media Group Women in Business Law Awards Asia for both 2021 and 2022. Simpson Thacher was also honored as “Banking & Finance Firm of the Year” at  Law.com International’s 2023 Asia Legal Awards.

Ian C. Ho - Partner

Co-Head of the Firm’s Asia Offices, Ian Ho advises public and private corporations, private equity firms and other clients on complex cross-border M&A transactions in the U.S. and throughout the Asia-Pacific Region, including Greater China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia (including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), Bangladesh, India, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand. 

Since relocating to Asia from our New York office in 2007, Ian’s diverse practice encompasses acquisitions, divestitures, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, and minority and strategic investments across a broad range of industries, including consumer, education, healthcare/pharma, industrials, infrastructure (including renewables), real estate, technology and fintech.

His recent representations have included Alibaba, Ant Group, Blackstone, CVC, GDS Holdings, KKR, Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia, Silver Lake, Softbank and Trendyol.     

Ian was recently recognized by Asia Legal Awards as “Private Equity Lawyer of the Year” in 2022, Asian Legal Business as among “Asia’s Top 15 M&A Lawyers” in each of 2021, 2022 and 2023, and Asian Legal Business as among the “Dealmakers of Asia” in 2020 and 2021.

Jonathan Hwang - Partner

Jonathan Hwang is a Partner in the Firm’s Hong Kong office and leads the Real Estate team in Asia. He has broad experience advising private equity firms and corporations on acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, establishing investment platforms, asset management arrangements and management compensation arrangements, with a focus in real estate-related transactions throughout the Asia-Pacific region. His team in Hong Kong was named “Real Estate and REIT Practice of the Year” by China Business Law Awards (China Business Law Journal) in 2017, 2021 and 2022. Jonathan is rated as a “rising star partner” on IFLR1000 and speaks English and Mandarin.

Bo Bryan Jin - Partner Based in the Firm’s Palo Alto office, Bryan Jin advises corporations, investment funds, and financial institutions on a wide range of high-stakes litigation matters. Bryan’s practice includes securities litigation, government and internal investigations, merger litigation, IP litigation, complex commercial litigation and corporate compliance matters. A member of the Firm’s Asia Litigation Practice and a native Chinese speaker, Bryan frequently travels to Asia and has extensive experience defending Chinese companies before U.S. courts and regulators. A Legal 500 source noted that “he is one of the few litigators who is not only experienced in handling complex U.S. litigations, but also [has a] deep understanding of Chinese companies’ culture and needs.”

Anthony D. King - Partner

Based in our New York office, Anthony King focuses on corporate acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, minority and strategic investments and other M&A and corporate transactions. Anthony has significant M&A experience across various industries, with a particular focus on real estate and real estate-intensive M&A transactions. Anthony also practiced in the Firm’s Hong Kong office from 2013 through 2020 and continues to have an active practice representing private equity clients and their portfolio companies in M&A transactions across the Asia-Pacific region.

Jin Hyuk Park - Partner

Jin Hyuk Park has extensive M&A and capital markets experience in Korea, China and the rest of Asia. Jin’s M&A work includes buyouts and minority investments representing both private equity and strategic clients, and his capital markets transactions include IPOs and Rule 144A/Regulation S offerings representing both blue-chip companies as well as leading investment banks. Jin also leads the Firm’s Korea Practice. Jin has been recognized by Chambers Global, Chambers Asia and IFLR1000 for his outstanding work and excellence in both M&A and capital markets.

Erik Ping Wang - Partner Erik Wang is a Partner in the Firm’s Hong Kong office, focusing on mergers and acquisitions. Erik advises corporate, private equity and other clients in connection with a variety complex cross-border transactions, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, PIPE transactions, minority and strategic investments and other corporate matters. Erik’s clients span a wide range of industries including technology, infrastructure, financial services, healthcare, consumer products and industrials.

Christopher Wong - Partner Partner and Head of the China Practice, Christopher Wong has a breadth of experience in capital markets, public and private M&As, transactions involving private equity and regulatory compliance.

David Yun - Senior Counsel

With extensive experience advising on a wide variety of high-profile transactions for clients across Asia, David Yun is Senior Counsel in the Firm’s Hong Kong office. Large corporations, private equity sponsors and financial institutions alike turn to David for guidance on a broad range of corporate matters, including mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures and corporate finance transactions. He also has extensive experience advising on regulatory and compliance matters, structured and debt financings, corporate governance and securities offerings.

Carol Chan - Counsel

Based in the Firm’s Hong Kong office, Carol Chan is a member of the Capital Markets Practice. She represents issuers and underwriters in initial public offerings and various securities offerings in Hong Kong. She also provides mergers and acquisitions and securities law compliance advice for issuer clients.

Alvin Kwong - Counsel (New York)

Alvin Kwong is Counsel (New York) in the Firm’s Asia Banking and Credit Practice. Focusing on cross-border transactions throughout the Asia-Pacific region, Alvin advises on a wide range of acquisition finance, real estate finance, fund finance, back leverage transactions, margin finance and other corporate financing transactions. He regularly represents leading private equity sponsors, including Blackstone (and its portfolio companies), KKR, Apax and others, on various acquisitions across different industries and jurisdictions in Asia.

Benjamin Moh - Counsel

Benjamin Moh is Counsel in the Firm’s Real Estate Practice based in Asia. He advises on corporate M&A with a particular focus on real estate, and has advised various private equity sponsors on their Asia-based acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures and management arrangements. His recent practice includes advising private equity clients on PE-to-PE acquisitions and disposals, carve-out acquisitions, structured investments and instruments, structuring of and transaction documentation for real estate investment platforms, secondaries and management incentive and promote arrangements in the Asia-Pacific region. His recent sub-sector focus includes extensive work in the data center space, having advised various private equity sponsors on a number of data center transactions, including on issues arising at an asset-operator level and fund portfolio-level. Benjamin speaks English and Mandarin.

Joongwon Park - Counsel

Joongwon Park is Counsel (New York) in the Hong Kong office. He has a diverse corporate practice that focuses on M&A and capital markets, including providing a wide range of clients with advice on complex buyouts and minority investments, IPOs, Rule 144A/Regulation S offerings and private placements. Now based in Simpson Thacher’s Hong Kong’s office, Joongwon also practiced in the Firm’s New York office and spent several years in Seoul.

Anuj Shah - Counsel

Anuj Shah is Counsel in the Firm’s Hong Kong office, advising on complex cross-border financing transactions throughout the Asia-Pacific region. He represents a range of private equity sponsors, their portfolio companies, financial institutions, private credit funds and corporate borrowers, providing liquidity solutions at all levels of the capital structure. This includes a mix of acquisition and leveraged finance, fund finance, back-leverage and margin finance, infrastructure finance, real estate finance and other corporate finance transactions. Anuj’s pan-Asia Pacific experience covers jurisdictions including India, Greater China, Singapore, Vietnam, Korea, Japan and Australia.

Anuj has been named a 2024 “Rising Star” by the Fund Finance Association. Between 2021-2022, Anuj spent time on secondment with KKR in Hong Kong, supporting the capital markets and legal teams.

Chenjing Shen - Counsel

Based in the Firm’s Hong Kong office, Chenjing Shen is Counsel in the Capital Markets Practice. Her practice includes representing issuers and underwriters in equity and debt securities offerings and advising clients on securities law related issues. Prior to joining Simpson Thacher, she worked in the New York office of a well-known international law firm.

Cherrie Zhang - Counsel

Cherrie Zhang focuses her practice on a mix of equity and debt securities offerings, including initial public offerings, follow-on and secondary offerings, high yield and investment grade debt offerings, as well as post-IPO regulatory and compliance matters. She represents clients in a variety of industries, including technology, consumer retail, renewable energy, logistics and industrials.