Xu Zhang

Practice Areas

Cross-border Banking & Finance:

-Syndicated loans

-Acquisition finance

-Project finance

-Sovereign lending

-Structured finance

-Derivatives and swaps

Restructuring & Insolvency:

-Loan restructuring and enforcement

-Distressed asset financing

Publications

Author, Belt and Road Legal Practice Casebook (Tsinghua University Press, 2021)

Co-editor, FDI and M&A Overviews for RCEP Countries (2022)

Co-editor, FDI and M&A Overviews for 12 Latin American Countries (2023)

Upcoming: Co-editor, Legal Overview of 12 African Jurisdictions (for FOCAC 2024)

Contributor, Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law – "Briefing on Major New Regulation on Cross-border Lending" (December 2022) https://www.dehenglaw.com/ueditor/net/upload/file/20221220/6380714515562241349251975.pdf

Personal

Lecturer, Renmin University School of Law (Teaching Cross-border Commercial Negotiation)

Lawyer Representative, Beijing Xicheng Bar Association (Providing free legal training for smaller law firms)

Pro bono legal counsel, Forest Angels (Supporting left-behind children in China)

Career

Zhang Xu is a leading expert in cross-border banking and finance, advising major financial institutions on complex financing transactions. As the founder of DeHeng’s cross-border banking practice, she has built a top-tier team handling high-profile syndicated loans, acquisition financing, and project finance transactions across 40+ jurisdictions. She is a trusted advisor to China’s key policy banks and commercial lenders.

Work Highlights

Advised as lead counsel on the following financing mandates:

-Domestic bank in a $3.5 billion syndicated loan for construction of a semiconductor plant.

- Mining company on a $960 million acquisition financing for the Valdero mine in Argentina.

-Structured a $800 million acquisition loan for Nexperia, handling M&A and financing aspects.

-Domestic bank in a $365 million hydropower project in Peru, aligning with international LMA and ISDA standards.