GUAN JIAN IS A PARTNER at WFW GLOBAL LLP AND A FOREIGN LEGAL CONSULTANT (PRC).
Guan has over a decade of legal experience in China and internationally, specialising in shipping law. He handles both transactional and contentious matters, with a strong track record in financing transactions in the maritime and energy sectors.
Guan has worked in both private practice and in-house roles. Before joining WFW, he was a senior legal counsel at ICBC Leasing and China Merchants Commerce Financial Leasing, where he also served on the credit committee. He has dealt with a variety of high-profile and complex international shipping and offshore transactions, as well as cross-border restructuring and enforcement work. He also has experience in litigation and arbitration in China, Hong Kong and London, having worked at a leading maritime law firm in China.
Guan is recognised as a leading practitioner by Chambers Greater China and Legal 500 Asia Pacific. Chambers praises him as “a very professional lawyer who can easily understand the commercial logic.” Legal 500 commends him as “responsible” and “will do his best to protect the interests of clients” in its 2024 edition.
He is qualified in China and speaks Mandarin, Cantonese and English.
- Advising AVIC Leasing on the sale-and-lease-back transaction of 2 Maltese flagged LNG carriers valued at US$136m.
- Advising Minsheng Financial Leasing on the sale-and-lease-back transaction of 9 Maltese flagged container vessels valued at about US$63m.
- Advising China Merchant Commerce Leasing on a US$310m syndicate loan facility arranged by HSBC, CITIC Bank and Agriculture Bank of China.
- As in house counsel, structuring and negotiating a joint venture of two major Chinese leasing companies in financing the construction of a cruise ship valued at US$855m.
- As in house counsel, negotiating with Petrobras and supervising the documentation for the financial lease facility in relation to an FPSO valued at US$1billion.
Education
- 2007 – 2009 · University College London, London, England — LLM
- 2003 – 2007 · Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, PR China — LLB
