You have just returned from China. Are you excited by its potential?
Cann: We find China pretty exciting and that's why we've been committing further resources. Shanghai has taken off, and I expect considerable things from our Beijing office. We anticipate getting a lot of good China work, focusing on high-end finance and corporate finance work. The old traditional FDI work still exists too.
Do you see a lot more M&A happening between Chinese entities and foreign multinationals?
The old traditional JVs still exist, but now it's becoming a lot more about M&A work with people coming in and buying businesses. The arrival of M&A is clearly good for us.
What's going to occupy most of the time of people in the Shanghai office - M&A or ECM?
My guess is that it will focus more on the M&A and joint-venture side, and the listing work will be done more by Celia Lam in Beijing and the lawyers we have here in Hong Kong.
How many lawyers do you have in Shanghai now?
About a dozen lawyers. That's the right size for now, but we hope and fully expect it will grow.
Speaking more broadly, is Asia one of the growth areas for your firm globally?
On a longer term view, there will be growth in Asia. Obviously, China, Korea, Japan, as well as regional M&A will grow. Our strategy is to be the leading law firm in Asia. That means us taking major positions in each Asian country and I hope we increase our relationships with Asian corporates.
You've spoken about M&A, do you feel that globally a lot of M&A in recent years has been shareholder value destructive? What does this mean for Asia?
Quite clearly some very fancy prices have been paid, and some companies have overpaid. I guess I have been around long enough to find some of the prices that were paid slightly bizarre.
I suppose it's fair to say a large number of M&A transaction do destroy value. M&A is not a panacea, and some people have used it in the past to flatter their figures, and try to maintain a growth story.
There will be less M&A in the coming months globally. I have been encouraged, however, by what our people here in Asia have told me. They see signs of growth and the M&A work is of a high quality, which is good to hear.
