2/2023 ASEAN PLUS GROUP (APG) Annual Meeting was held at Grandall Shanghai Office from 11 October to 12 October. It is the first time for APG to hold a meeting in China, and Grandall, as the only Chinese mainland member firm, organized the conference.

More than 60 participants from 12 jurisdictions – including experts and scholars, representatives of APG member firms and Grandall lawyers, discussed the legal issues related to international cooperation and development on regional economic cooperation, government compliance regulation, social and artificial intelligence, capital markets, dispute resolution under the theme of “Growth via Collaboration”.

Henry Huang, Partner of Grandall Shanghai and Managing Committee Member of APG, expressed his warm welcome to all distinguished guests from afar. He said that the meeting is of great significance as it is the first time for APG to hold a meeting in China, a non-ASEAN member country. Henry further added, Grandall has 36 offices around the world, and nowadays, friends from different countries and regions are gathering here to explore the way of international cooperation and development, serving a good opportunity to know each other and enhance understanding. He hoped that the following lectures and exchanges would bring inspiration to all the participants.

Azman Jaafar, Chairman of APG and Managing Partner of RHTLaw Asia, said in his opening speech that it is glad to meet with all APG member firms in Shanghai; though the participants are from different countries and firms, we share the common expectation of long-term cooperation and development. He reminded that, in today's complex and volatile world situation, lawyers should think about how to face the changes of the times and the market. In addition, Azman introduced that ONERHT, with CSR as the core, has built up a service network covering the whole world, and established specialized departments including digital economy, wealth management, investment evaluation, activity training, etc., as well as professional teams involving in the service fields of law, information, ESG and risk control.

APG is an alliance consisting of leading law firms with an unwavering focus on Asia. In 2018, Grandall Law Firm officially joined APG, becoming the only member firm from Chinese mainland, marking another solid step in the process of internationalization after it launched the Belt and Road Legal Services Cooperation Platform.