Kirkland & Ellis represents a Malaysian sovereign fund (as lead investor) in the US$160 million Series B fundraising of WeLab, operator of Wolaidai, one of China’s largest mobile lending platforms and WeLend.hk, Hong Kong’s leading online lending platform.  The Malaysian sovereign fund led a consortium of investors which includes, among others, ING Bank and state-owned Guangdong Technology Financial Group.  The investment in WeLab represents the Malaysian sovereign fund’s first investment in China’s financial technology (fintech) sector.

The Kirkland team is led by Hong Kong-based corporate partners Nicholas Norris, David Zhang, Joey Chau and Xiaoxi Lin.