Ai Tong

Partner Norton Rose Fulbright LLP

Ai Tong

Ai Tong is a corporate lawyer based in Shanghai. She has about 15 years' experience in China-related corporate and regulatory matters,

Ai has considerable experience advising clients in cross-border merger and acquisition transactions, foreign direct investments, joint ventures and general corporate matters.

Specifically, Ai has extensive experience in dealing with China's financial and FinTech related regulations. Ai's experience includes advising clients on both transactions and regulatory matters involving foreign investments in China by foreign financial institutions, including but not limited to insurers(reinsurers), insurance intermediaries, banks, fund/asset managers, and on regulatory aspects of distribution and resale networks for financial products in China. Ai is also a core team member in the firm's insurance, FinTech and asset management practices in China.

Ai has been recognised as Rising star for "Insurance" sector (2021&2022) and as Next Generation Partner for "Insurance" sector (2023&2024) in Legal 500 Asia Pacific, and also Ai has been recognised as Rising star for "Regulatory and Compliance" sector (2020 - 2023) and as Next Generation Partner for "Regulatory and Compliance" sector in Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2024.

Ai studied law in China and the United States, and is dually qualified in China (2006) and the State of New York (2011). Before joining Norton Rose Fulbright, Ai has around 4 years' experience in a magic circle firm.

Professional experience

Representative experience

Advising a leading European manufacturer of connector solutions in the high-frequency and fiber optic technology fields on the restructuring of its China business through a combination of share and asset deals;

Advising a leading European testing group (via its China subsidiary) on the acquisition of minority stake in a Chinese testing technology company;

Advising a leading international banking group's buy-out of its life insurance joint venture in China, which will become the first wholly foreign owned life insurance company in China (Shanghai) Free Trade Zone upon completion, since China's removal of foreign ownership restrictions on foreign-funded life insurance companies effective on 1 January 2020;

Advising a leading European insurance group on its buy-out of the Chinese domestic joint venture partner of a foreign invested property & casualty insurance company in China;

Advising an Australian investor on its buy-out of the Chinese domestic joint venture partner following occurrence of deadlock circumstances;

Advising a global commercial real estate services provider on its acquisition of a China's leading construction project management consultancies;

Advising an Italy based industrial manufacturer on the China portion of its global disposal of industrial furnace designing and manufacturing business;

Advising a leading US media group on its step acquisitions of a Chinese advertising company;

Advising various global insurance companies on their respective cross border distribution of insurance policies to Chinese individuals;

Advising a leading international banking group's launching of its wholly-owned FinTech services company in China (Shanghai) Free-Trade Zone, which is one of the first wholly foreign-owned FinTech services companies of its kind in China facilitating the proposed distribution of various financial products;

Advising a leading international banking group's establishment of FinTech joint venture across Asia Pacific (involving China) with a technology provider to provide FinTech services in the private wealth space;

Advising a leading international banking group's establishment of FinTech platform in Asia Pacific (involving China), designed to be operated and regulated as a FinTech business to provide a trade cycle ecosystem for small and medium enterprises in the Asia Pacific region.