Dentons assists in SOE mixed-ownership reform and advises SF Express on joint venture with China Railway Express

On August 29, 2018, China Railway SF International Express Co., Ltd. (CRSF) was established in Shenzhen. CRSF is a joint venture set up by China Railway Express Co., Ltd. (CRE) and Shenzhen SF Express Co., Ltd. (SF Express), and it will mainly focus on high-speed rail delivery, fast cargo trains and other special logistics service product research, development and sales, as well as design and construction of cross-border e-commerce freight platform. CRE is a holding subsidiary of China Railway Corporation (CRC), and SF Express is a wholly-owned subsidiary of listed company SF Holdings Co., Ltd. (stock name: SF Holdings, stock code: SZ 002352). This cooperation marks another important achievement in the mixed-ownership reform of state-owned enterprises in the railway industry.

A Dentons Beijing-based team, led by senior partner Song Yunfeng and counsel He Wen, with support from trainees Hang Shuwei and Sun Jing, was retained by SF Holdings to provide a full scope legal assistance on the establishment of the joint venture. The team drafted and reviewed legal instruments such as the shareholder agreement and the company's articles of association, and participated in the negotiations. Dentons has provided professional and efficient legal services for private enterprises to cooperate with SOEs and to participate in SOEs' mixed-ownership reform, facilitating the preservation and appreciation of state-owned assets and securing the operational flexibility of mixed-ownership enterprises, from the perspective of transaction structure and corporate governance structure design. Our professional and diligent work has been highly praised by the client and the participating agencies.