Howard K. H. Lam

Hong Kong

Latham & Watkins LLP
18th Floor, One Exchange Square
8 Connaught Place
Hong Kong

Tel: +852.2912.2570

Email: howard.lam@lw.com
Web: www.lw.com

Howard Lam advises clients in China and across Asia on restructuring, special situations, private credit, and banking finance transactions.

In his restructuring practice, Mr. Lam draws on more than two decades of experience to guide all types of parties to a transaction, including:

  • Creditors, particularly banks and credit funds
  • Debtors
  • Insolvency practitioners
  • Bondholders

He complements his creative problem-solving and decisive recommendations with an ability to remain even-keeled and diffuse tension in high-stakes situations, and so bring parties together around a solution.

Mr. Lam is an INSOL Fellow and a regular speaker at international restructuring and insolvency conferences, and has served on the APLMA China and documentation committees, TMA Hong Kong board, and the executive committee of Restructuring and Insolvency Faculty (RIF).

In Mr. Lam’s financing practice, he advises private equity sponsors, banks, and private capital lenders on a full spectrum of complex financing structures, including:

  • Leveraged buy-outs
  • Corporate acquisition financings
  • China onshore/offshore financing
  • Margin loans
  • Direct lending transactions

He draws on a keen sense of what is at market and insights from the firm’s global deal flow on cutting-edge financing terms to translate best practices in global jurisdictions to deals Asia.

  • A syndicate of banks led by Bank of America, N.A. on a US$8.3 billion club loan to a leading Chinese technology company
  • A consortium led by Chinese private equity firm Hopu Investments on a US$1.1 billion financing for acquisition for a minority stake in FWD, a leading insurance business arm of the private investment group, Pacific Century Group
  • The mandated lead arrangers on US$3.5 billion financing in connection with Tencent Holdings’ acquisition of Supercell Oy, a Finland-based mobile games developer
  • The underwriters BAML, Citi, and HSBC on the leveraged buyout financing by Blackstone consortium in connection with a going-private transaction of a Nasdaq-listed company
  • Bright Food (Australia) Co., Limited, a Chinese multinational food and beverages manufacturing company, on its A$85 million term facility agreement in connection with its acquisition of additional shares in an Australian subsidiary
  • The original sponsor consortium in relation to the proposed financing of the take private of Shanda Games
  • Secured term loan facility for Vedanta Resources to refinance the acquisition facilities for the acquisition of Cairn India
  • Baring Private Equity and Nord Anglia Education on various credit facilities including a pre-IPO finance, bridge loan, and a new facility
  • China Firstextile (Holdings) Limited on its US$100 million syndicated facility agreement arranged by Nomura International (Hong Kong) Limited
  • HSBC as mandated lead arranger and bookrunner on the US$74 million and HK$201.5 million term loan facility to Hilong Holding Limited, part of the Hilong Group of Companies, a group of holding enterprises specializing in businesses related to the oil and natural gas industries
  • Fortune REIT, the Hong Kong-listed real estate investment trust, on refinancing of existing credit facilities by way of a HK$1.1 billion term loan facility and a HK$700 million revolving credit facility

Latham supports financial institutions across cutting-edge transactions, sensitive regulatory and legislative matters, and high-stakes disputes and litigation — in all major jurisdictions across the globe.

We bring together globally integrated capabilities with deep experience and familiarity with the financial services industry to help financial institutions thrive amidst rapid regulatory change and technological disruption.

We keep a finger on the pulse of the key government and industry bodies that govern financial products and services worldwide, so our clients can remain ahead of the regulatory curve. Our top-ranked practitioners cover the full range of financial institutions activities, drawing insights from colleagues who have served as high-ranking officials with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and various US Attorneys’ Offices. Our industry team routinely represents financial institutions before government regulators in the US, UK, EU, the Middle East, and Asia, and provides comprehensive counseling that combines a global, cross-border perspective with local expertise  relating to banking, securities, derivatives, stock exchange matters, and other financial products and transactions.

Latham & Watkins is a global law firm with more than 3,000 lawyers in its offices located in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. The firm has internationally recognized practices in a wide spectrum of transactional, litigation, corporate and regulatory areas.

Our success is grounded in our devotion to the collaborative process, which reaches across global offices and practices and draws upon our deep subject matter expertise, an abiding commitment to teamwork and a powerful tradition of creative lawyering.