Profile
- Ms. Ellie Gu graduated from the School of International Law at East China University of Political Science and Law. During her undergraduate studies, she was sponsored to be an exchange student studying at the School of Law of the University of Navarra, Spain. She later obtained her LL.M. degree in American Law (Concentration in International Business Practice) from Boston University. Ellie primarily practices in the areas of cross-border investment & financing, corporate compliance, and international wealth management & family affairs. Her experience includes providing legal services for outbound investments by domestic enterprises into Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa, and for inbound investments by enterprises from Singapore, Europe, and other Southeast Asian countries into China; advising foreign-invested enterprises in China on corporate compliance, corporate restructuring, business reorganization, and personnel restructuring, such as amending articles of association and corporate bylaws, drafting plans for the removal of senior executives, and formulating debt transfer schemes arising from corporate restructuring. She also has legal experience in dealing with international family affairs, including inheritance of estates of foreign nationals in China and establishing of wills of foreign nationals in China.
Prior to joining Hiways Law Firm, Ellie worked at a Chinese law firm focusing on international matters, where she became familiar with cross-cultural and cross-jurisdictional collaboration. She coordinated with overseas lawyers and accountants from multiple jurisdictions, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Morocco, and Mozambique. She holds qualifications for securities and fund practice. Earlier in her career, she worked in the marketing department of a foreign family office, where she was responsible for overseas investments/offshore listing structuring and establishment, Cayman Islands/Singapore fund formation, and offshore trust set-up. She later joined a domestic independent third-party fund service provider registered with the Asset Management Association of China (valuation accounting/fund share registration) as a management role in the risk management department, where she oversaw contract review, internal control management, labor compliance, intellectual property, regulatory reporting, audit inspections, employee training, and other routine legal matters. She provided advisory support and compliance recommendations on issues related to the registration and operation of onshore private fund managers and the fundraising, investment, management, and exit phases of private funds, as reported by various departments (product, fund operations, IT, etc.). She was also deeply involved in the strategic implementation of the firm’s offshore fund administration services.
Educational Background
- East China University of Political Science and Law – Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) in International Economic Law
Boston University – Master of Laws (LL.M.) in American Law (Concentration in International Business Practice)
Typical Case
- Cross-border Investment / Offshore Listing Structuring
Managed cross-border investment/offshore listing structure establishment and dissolution for funds and enterprises, including the formation of entities in mainland China (JV/WFOE), the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Singapore, the United States, and other jurisdictions; applied for COGS/COI certification documents; handled equity transfers, director/shareholder changes, CRS/FATCA filings, and notarization and legalization by overseas lawyers; assisted clients with SAFE registration under Circular 37, offshore bank account opening, and onshore OSA/NRA bank account opening. Clients served include Xiaomi, Fenbi (Yuanfudao), Yunji, Dosn Media, Far East Group, Guodong Group, Ximalaya, Lucid Motors, Heli Edu, SmartStudy, China Growth Capital, Sinovation Ventures, K2VC, etc.
Cross-border Investment & Financing
Assisted multiple enterprises in industries such as biomedicine, chip R&D, e-commerce services, F&B, and metal processing in dealing with overseas investment filing (ODI); provided legal services for an appliance component manufacturer investing in Vietnam, including investment structuring advice, ODI filing, and establishment of overseas entities; advised a F&B enterprise on the acquisition of a food processing factory in Vietnam; assisted an auto parts company with the issuance of certificates of good standing for its Moroccan entity and bank account opening, provided advice on handling and claims arising from a local road accident involving its Moroccan factory, and helped coordinate with a U.S. state government to apply for and recover forfeited assets of its dissolved U.S. company. As lead counsel for a Latin American investment project of a F&B enterprise, she oversaw its investments and business conducting in Mexico and Brazil (including onsite work abroad), liaised and attended meetings with embassies/consulates, coordinated with local lawyers/accountants and other professional service providers, provided advisory opinions and memoranda on local investment, store operations, franchising, and labor compliance for foreign investors, handled the establishment of local entities, coordinated notarization and apostille across jurisdictions, assisted with local bank account opening, import/export and store opening permit applications, and drafted/reviewed agreements for store/office leases, labor contracts, franchise agreements, and trademark licenses. Clients served include Next Capital, HH-Medic, VisionICs, Tongtai Aluminum, Mixue Group, TSP Technology, etc.
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