With over 20 years of legal practice experience, Keith Yuan is qualified to practice law in Mainland China, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and England & Wales. Keith’s practice focuses on the establishment and compliance of Hong Kong investment funds, private equity investments in the Greater China region, cross-border asset and wealth management, and overseas capital markets transactions. He has extensive hands-on experience in cross-border investment structuring, as well as data and financial regulatory matters.

Keith has been consistently recognized by The Legal 500 and IFLR1000 as a Highly Recommended Lawyer in the Investment Funds category for the Greater China region.

Prior to joining CFN Lawyers LLP as a Partner, Keith worked for several years at the Hong Kong offices of two leading international law firms—DLA Piper and Goodwin Procter. He also served as the Managing Partner of the Hong Kong office of a major Mainland Chinese law firm, where he led the firm’s Greater Bay Area practice group. In addition, Mr. Yuan was previously Head of Legal and Compliance at a licensed private equity fund in Hong Kong, giving him valuable in-house regulatory experience.

· 2023–present–Member–Law Society of England & Wales 

· 2021–present-Member-Law Society of Hong Kong 

· 2009-present-Specialist in Corporate Finance and Asset Management - Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute 

· 2007–2023–Member–All China Lawyers Association

• 2002-2004–TLBU Graduate School of Law in Seoul, Masters of Laws 

• 1998-2002–Fudan University Law School, Bachelor of Laws (LLB)

• 2023–present–Partner, CFN Lawyers LLP 

• 2021–2023-Partner, Anjie Broad Hong Kong 

• 2018–2021-Chief Legal and Compliance Officer ZQ Capital

• 2014–2018–Managing Partner, Broad & Bright Hong Kong 

• 2010–2014–Associate, Goodwin Procter Hong Kong 

• 2004–2010 Registered Foreign Lawyer, DLA Piper Hong Kong

Fund Formation and Regulatory Compliance (at CFN Lawyers)

· Regularly advises licensed asset management and private equity institutions in Hong Kong—including Oakwise Capital, ZQ Capitals, Fortune Asset Management Limited, New Vision Capital Partners, Sinostar Asset Management Limited, Silverstone Investment Limited, and Frontage Capital—on the formation of Hong Kong and offshore investment funds, as well as ongoing compliance under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) and the Fund Manager Code of Conduct (FMCC).

· Assisted clients in the establishment of over 20 Hong Kong Open-ended Fund Companies (OFCs), providing end-to-end legal support throughout the lifecycle of umbrella fund structures, including fundraising, investment, management, and redemption.

· Advised fund clients on the formation of over 30 Hong Kong Limited Partnership Funds (LPFs), delivering comprehensive legal services covering structuring, registration, and ongoing compliance.

Private Equity Investment

· Advised DST Global on several investments in leading high-tech internet companies in China, including Alibaba Group, JD.com, Xiaomi Corporation, Kingsoft Cloud, and ByteDance.

· Advised TA Associates on its management buyout of SpeedCast, a leading Asia-based satellite communications company.

· Advised HOPU Investments on its acquisition of a Hong Kong-based financial services company.

Capital Markets

· Represented the issuer, Nissin Foods Company Limited (HKG: 1475), in its initial public offering (IPO) on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

· Represented the issuer, China Railway Group Limited (HKG: 0390), in its H-share IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

· Represented the underwriters, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank, in the IPO of Mingfa Group (HKG: 0846) on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

· Acted as legal counsel to the offeror, Shui On Company Limited (a family investment vehicle of Mr. Vincent Lo, Chairman of Shui On Group), in its partial offer to acquire a 16% stake in Shui On Land Limited (HKG: 0983), a Main Board-listed company in Hong Kong, in accordance with the Hong Kong Takeovers Code.

· Represented the issuer, China Hydroelectric Corporation (NYSE: CHC), a company focused on small to medium-sized hydropower plants in China, in its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.

· Represented Heckmann Corporation, a U.S.-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) on the NYSE, in its US$625 million acquisition of China Water Group, a Chinese bottled water company.

• Recommended Lawyer in Corporate and M&A (Mainland China) by The Legal 500, 2016–2019 

• Highly Recommended Lawyer in Investment Funds (Greater China) by IFLR1000, 2021– 2023