Description

In recent years, the number of battles for corporate control in Chinese listed companies has risen sharply. First, this is due to the many hostile takeovers that have occurred. Such hostile takeovers often reveal underlying boardroom battles. Second, defects in the company’s corporate governance have allowed for unfair practices to be used to obtain corporate control. Notwithstanding this, Chinese listed companies seldom employ common anti-takeover measures. Instead, unusual methods are used, such as amending the company’s article of association in response to a hostile bid. This lecture plans to discuss the corporate governance defects in Chinese listed companies as highlighted by recent boardroom battles and how these defects can be addressed, as well as explore key avenues for substantive reform of the corporate law in response to these loopholes.

About The Speaker

Zhu Ciyun is a Professor at Tsinghua University, School of Law and the Director of Tsinghua Commercial Law Research Centre and Executive Director of China Commercial Law Society. Prior to joining Tsinghua University, Professor Zhu taught at Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, School of Law (1982–1999). Professor Zhu is a well-established scholar in Corporations Law, Commercial Law and Economic Law. Her book ‘The Theory and Practice of Disregarding Corporate Personality’ received Second Prize of the Second China Distinctive Legal Achievement Reward (December 2011). Professor Zhu’s other award-winning publications include a paper on ‘Majority Rules and the Fiduciary Duty of Controlling Shareholders’ and a book on ‘Research on the Improvement of Disregarding the Corporate Personality’.