Be Friends levels up compliance capacity of legal team
LEGAL TEAM: Legal & compliance department of Be Friends
TEAM LEADER: Zhang Zhiming, vice president of legal and compliance
KEY POINTS: Be Friends, a leading livestream e-commerce platform, achieved a backdoor listing via CSS Group on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in July 2023. Since then, it has to meet a stricter set of compliance requirements. In response, the legal and compliance team underwent targeted transformations in areas such as organisational restructuring, digital and intelligent development, and capacity enhancement.
This reform focused on restructuring the organisational framework, establishing specialised units such as the live-streaming compliance centre, business support centre, and litigation and rights protection centre. It also involved designing customised transaction structures for major platforms like JD.com, Taobao and Douyin, as well as developing an intelligent legal compliance review and qualification risk assessment system.
Cui Dongsheng, vice president of Be Friends, praises the reforms led by Zhang Zhiming for revitalising the entire department. “Such transformations have not only enhanced the overall efficiency and professional standards of the department but also provided robust legal support for the company’s operations,” he says.
WINNER REMARKS: Zhang Zhiming is vice president and general counsel of Be Friends Holding. With a team of 32 under his wing, he has been pivotal in propelling the company towards becoming a tech-driven leader in the new retail sector, covering compliance, growth, intelligence, investment and financing, as well as team upgrades. During the past 12 months, he has overhauled the legal and compliance department’s organisational structure by setting up five specialised sub-departments, and mapped out a comprehensive plan for team objectives, professional delivery, organisational culture and talent progression.
A departmental culture rooted in “professionalism, respect, communication, trust, and value” has come into its own, fostering an upbeat work environment and a strong impetus for organisational growth. By putting in place multiple career advancement paths and optimising the talent mix, Zhiming has successfully bolstered the team’s vitality and cohesion, making the department more poised and adept at handling intricate challenges.
CICC optimises legal and compliance support system
LEGAL TEAM: Legal & compliance department of China International Capital Corporation
TEAM LEADER: Joe Zhou, chief compliance officer
KEY POINTS: The compliance support system renovation conducted by the CICC legal team includes integrating services with the business front end, implementing an individual accountability system, and assigning personnel to front-end departments to achieve better communication and standardised legal services. The legal compliance department established committees for human resources and digitalisation development to assist in decision making on management matters. A more refined division of duties ensures that every member can engage with secondary market operations. Additionally, an IT compliance group and a domestic international business support group were introduced.
In addition, the department standardised the management of legal expenses by establishing a financial management system. This system enables visualised tracking of the progress of budget execution, helping the company reduce costs and improve efficiency.
Chairman Chen Liang commends Joe Zhou and the department for their efforts in building an industry-leading legal compliance team amid a challenging internal and external environment. “They have actively contributed in key areas such as serving the company’s strategy, supporting business innovation and development, and mitigating major legal and compliance risks, firmly upholding the bottom line of preventing significant legal and compliance risk incidents,” he says.
WINNER REMARKS: Led by chief compliance officer Zhou Jiaxing, CICC’s legal compliance department navigates a challenging environment with a commitment to “prudence, stability and responsibility”. Its goal is to shape an industry-leading legal compliance team. It embraces a “four comprehensive and one innovative” strategy, which enhances its business-integrated frontline services, meticulous process management, comprehensive capability enhancement, and the digital transformation of its international compliance system. This approach has notably strengthened its business support and service quality.
It is also dedicated to refining its departmental management, conducting regular talent reviews, and fostering development to elevate its global team’s internationalisation, professionalism and collaborative capabilities. By actively contributing to the company’s strategic objectives, driving business innovation and managing legal and compliance risks, it ensures the steady and sustainable growth of CICC’s operations.
CR Capital builds a CRCL management system
LEGAL TEAM: Legal affairs, compliance, risk & audit department of CR Capital
TEAM LEADER: Feng Lin, general counsel
KEY POINTS: As the market-oriented investment management arm of China Resources Group, CR Capital established a group-specific CRCL system to strengthen legal and compliance risk control throughout the entire investment process. CRCL refers to compliance, risk, control and legal affairs.
The system includes the establishment of a legal risk database applicable before investment, a contract performance management mechanism applicable during investment, and a dispute management and external counsel management mechanism applicable after investment exit.
Qin Feng, general manager of CR Capital, praises the legal and risk control team for “exploring a management model that not only reflects the characteristics of industrial finance in central state-owned enterprises, but also adheres to industry and investor regulatory requirements” during the implementation of this system.
WINNER REMARKS: As a market-oriented investment management institution of China Resources Group, China Resources Capital has higher requirements for strengthening legal, compliance, risk and control in the investment process. Its CRCL (compliance, risk, control and legal) system provides an effective methodology for the company to strengthen its investment management capabilities.
Through its principles – “guided by the spirit of rules of law, driven by professional ability, building a solid bottom line though compliance, preventing and resolving risks, and strengthening and solidifying the foundation of internal control”, the CRCL system horizontally co-ordinates with relevant management functions such as law, compliance, internal control and risk management, and vertically connects the key points of control at all levels to promote the high-quality development of the company’s business.
The system runs horizontally through the three stages of pre-investment, post-investment and exit of investment projects. By identifying risks in advance, discovering and controlling risks during the event, and handling risks after the event, it promotes in-depth co-ordinated operation of the business and safeguards China Resources Capital’s project investments and exits.
Engma establishes risk assessment system
LEGAL TEAM: Legal department of Engma Group
TEAM LEADER: Chen Jingjing, director of legal affairs
KEY POINTS: The economic downturn and pandemic have led to increased dispute risks for human resource outsourcing service provider Engma Group, arising from both clients and suppliers. In response, the legal department established a client risk assessment system.
According to the team, the system primarily includes two major functions: risk industry assessment management; and risk client assessment management. Specifically, it features real-time data analysis, predictive modelling, automated report generation and risk capital allocation, helping the company reduce losses by 30%. Additionally, the legal department implemented a risk grading and tracking management mechanism.
Zhuang Zhi, Engma’s president, says that this system “not only improves the efficiency and accuracy of risk management, but also brings new growth opportunities to the enterprise through an innovative service model. [The innovation] has transformed the legal department from a spender into a revenue generator, creating new revenue streams for the company.”
WINNER REMARKS: Engma Group is a leading human resources outsourcing service institution in China. It has a complete product system including business process, human resources and recruitment process outsourcing, management consulting and training, as well as platform economy. With full-chain solutions, personalised customised services, a wealth of service experience, professional delivery teams, a strong operations system, and leading industry standards, it provides high-quality outsourcing solutions according to enterprise characteristics and needs.
As a first-level department of the group, the legal affairs and risk control department focuses on comprehensive enterprise legal services, human resources compliance management services, and comprehensive employee welfare guarantee solutions. It is good at summarising business logic from a legal perspective. The department provides standardised legal services in enterprise operations. In recent years, it has established a customer risk assessment system to reduce risks and prevent disputes. It has also actively explored commercialised legal services to promote the transformation of the legal affairs department to a profit-making department.
Goldpac enhances shield for sensitive information
LEGAL TEAM: Legal team of Goldpac Group
TEAM LEADER: Meline Huang, company secretary & general counsel
KEY POINTS: Goldpac Group, a fintech company, received a notice in 2020 from a partnering US software giant stating that a special audit would be conducted under the audit clauses of the software licensing agreement. Goldpac was required to provide a summary and detailed tables of relevant financial business operational data for the past three years within a specified timeframe.
Sensing that the US company may take the opportunity to obtain sensitive Chinese financial data, the Goldpac legal team formulated a strategy. Judging that the demanded data fell under the category of “critical data”, as defined under article 37 of China’s Cybersecurity Law, which requires a national security assessment before being provided overseas, they first reported the matter to the Cyberspace Administration of China.
In addition, the legal team judged that while the US company had audit rights, there was no agreement regarding the scope, subject and confidentiality obligations of the audit. Furthermore, under relevant regulations, the US auditors lacked the qualifications to practise in mainland China as they had not applied for a temporary permit to conduct audit activities. Therefore, they were not authorised to carry out this audit task.
Ultimately, the US company appointed a Chinese accounting firm to sign a confidentiality agreement with Goldpac. The audit was conducted on-site, and an audit report was issued in compliance with the confidentiality requirements.
“Looking back on this incident, the thrills and chills are still vivid in my mind,” says Hou Ping, executive director and CEO. “Equally unforgettable is the outstanding performance of Goldpac’s legal department throughout the entire process.” He particularly commends the team’s ability to navigate negotiations in a complex business environment.
Hive Box Network sets up KPI for legal team
LEGAL TEAM: Legal department of Hive Box Network Technology
TEAM LEADER: Li Qiongjia, head of legal department
KEY POINTS: Hive Box’s legal department established a performance management system and optimised organisational structure to enable department personnel to participate more actively in business development, transitioning the legal team into the role of business partners.
By June 2024, the performance management system had been updated to its third edition. In addition to the original foundational and legal skills, it introduced bonus items such as data handling and crisis event management. Under this system, legal business partners not only provide professional advice but are also required to organise and present it in written documents.
Zhou Xiangdong, head of finance, praises the legal department as a team with a strong fighting spirit. “What is most commendable is its ability to fully understand the uncertainties of the business world, while providing full support and encouragement for the development and exploration of emerging businesses,” he says. “We believe this team is destined to become one of the top legal teams in the country.”
Luk Fook Group’s legal enhancement
LEGAL TEAM: Legal affairs department of Luk Fook Holdings (International)
TEAM LEADER: Irene Cheung, senior legal counsel
KEY POINTS: The legal team of Luk Fook Group adopted a series of innovative management strategies to enhance the company’s compliance and rights protection capabilities. These include the refined division of labour within the legal department into specialised groups such as the contract group, brand group and project group; the formulation of an operational risk code for operators to guide and encourage supply chain partners to adhere to ESG standards; and the establishment of a detailed risk management system in collaboration with relevant departments, covering key areas such as anti-bribery, data protection and labour laws.
In addition, the team collaborated with business units and law enforcement agencies to combat thousands of infringing trademarks and stores, as well as tens of thousands of online infringing links.
The group’s chairman and CEO, Wong Wai Sheung, expresses his appreciation for the legal team: “The legal department has achieved remarkable success in several key areas, demonstrating extraordinary capability and forward-looking vision.”
WINNER REMARKS: Luk Fook Group principally engages in the sourcing, designing, wholesaling, trademark licensing and retailing of a variety of gold and platinum jewellery and gem-set jewellery products, with more than 3,400 points of sale worldwide.
The group’s legal affairs department is composed of the mainland China and Hong Kong SAR teams, led by Irene Cheung, senior legal counsel. The mainland China team has branches in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing and Wuhan, and is mainly responsible for legal affairs on the mainland, while the Hong Kong SAR team primarily accounts for the company’s legal affairs in all business expansion areas. The department has 32 people safeguarding the company’s global business operation.
The department has won several in-house counsel awards by China Business Law Journal for four consecutive years from 2020, including in the consumer and retail as well as IP (trademark and copyright) categories, highly recognising the team’s legal knowledge and expertise in relevant fields.
Midea Real Estate enacts legal affairs shared management
LEGAL TEAM: Legal affairs sharing centre of Midea Real Estate Group
TEAM LEADER: Shang Dongning, legal director
KEY POINTS: Previously, Midea Group’s legal team had issues such as uneven personnel distribution, high reliance on individual capabilities and significant costs due to extensive outsourcing to external lawyers.
As part of this management reform, the legal personnel structure and human resource management authority were centralised at the group’s headquarters, legal expenses and outsourcing across all units were brought under unified management, dedicated personnel were assigned to oversee the standardisation of all documents and training at the group and regional levels, and the self-management of cases was actively promoted.
In 2023, following the completion of the reforms, despite only a 15% increase in the number of legal personnel, the self-handling rate of cases surged from 10% to 90%, with the volume of self-handled cases increasing by 763%. This saved the group more than RMB30 million (USD4.1 million) in legal fees.
Liu Jun, the office general manager of Midea Group, points out that after the establishment of the shared legal management system, the legal team developed a systematic operational capability. “Self-handling of cases not only saved the company legal fees but also allowed in-house lawyers to gain practical experience,” he says.
Nestlé (China) digitises legal affairs
LEGAL TEAM: Zone Greater China (ZGC) legal & compliance team of Nestlé (China)
TEAM LEADER: Cai Ping, head of legal & compliance, ZGC
KEY POINTS: Nestlé Greater China’s legal team (ZGC) utilised technological tools to enhance work efficiency and drive the department’s digital transformation. This includes the implementation of electronic signature systems, contract management systems, litigation case management systems, and legal service tendering and price comparison systems. The online management model enables full traceability and visual management of legal matters, aiming to control budgets while improving efficiency.
In addition, the team adopted the group’s unified litigation guidelines and advanced litigation management system, facilitating collaboration among business leaders, in-house legal advisers and external counsel. According to the team, the efficient handling of cases translated into a very high success rate.
WINNER REMARKS: Nestlé Zone Greater China’s legal and compliance team is dynamic with solid professional experience as well as a diverse educational and industry background. It serves as the legal custodian of Nestlé’s business, assets, culture and values. The team fosters a corporate mindset, and aims to help Nestlé’s business grow faster and sustainably in the region’s exciting and challenging market, with pragmatic and rigorous management of legal and compliance risks and opportunities, as well as timely, sound, effective, value-added and tailored legal and business solutions. To adapt to the fast-evolving environment and support the digital transformation of Nestlé China, the team has also embarked on a journey to upgrade and innovate with new processes and digital tools that enable an efficient and effective service. The team has been a top winner of the Nestle Group Legal Award for successive years.
Ping An Health adds compliance to annual KPI
LEGAL TEAM: Legal and compliance team of Ping An Healthcare Diagnostics
TEAM LEADER: Zeng Ni, director of legal and compliance department
KEY POINTS: Ping An Healthcare Diagnostics incorporated compliance and internal control KPIs into its annual assessment metrics to clarify the compliance responsibilities of each department and enhance compliance awareness. To achieve this, the legal compliance team first needed to communicate with and secure the support of the management.
The department ensured that the assessment criteria were aligned with the company’s strategic objectives, measurable and actionable, covering aspects that could cause substantial losses or disrupt normal operations. The extent of proactive rectification by departments was also included in the evaluation.
The company’s general manager, Yang Xiaoyan, says the evaluation system has achieved excellent results within the company. “This set of indicators, developed and dynamically adjusted based on our goals and actual business operations, has effectively standardised the work behaviour of various departments, reduced the occurrence of negative incidents, and improved the company’s management system,” she says.
SonoScape develops its own AI legaltech
LEGAL TEAM: Legal and compliance department of SonoScape Medical
TEAM LEADER: Hans Wang, legal director
KEY POINTS: SonoScape Medical’s legal and compliance department independently developed and implemented a one-stop legal workbench and AI legal robot, driving the intelligent transformation of corporate legal and compliance management. The team introduced two intelligent tools, AI Legal and Legal GPT, enabling functions such as intelligent legal education, legal translation and contract assistance, improving the legal team’s work efficiency by 30%.
The team also integrated a contract template library, Tianyancha entity screening tool, and global sanctions list query system, automating the contract management process. This improved contract execution efficiency by 40% and saved the company more than RMB30 million (USD4.1 million) in legal and compliance costs.
These innovative tools helped SonoScape avoid potential losses of more than RMB20 million and reduced compliance incidents by 20%. Amber Sun, the deputy sales director, praises this innovative initiative as “not only having a profound impact within the company, but also setting a benchmark for intelligent legal services in the industry”.
SonoScape sets up global compliance system
LEGAL TEAM: Legal and compliance department of SonoScape Medical
TEAM LEADER: Hans Wang, legal director
KEY POINTS: SonoScape Medical’s legal team established a global compliance management system covering export controls and international sanctions.
The team also developed a global compliance operations guide map and an AI-driven sanctions screening tool, integrating the laws and regulations of various countries and tracking their changes.
According to the team, since the system’s launch, the company’s global compliance management efficiency has improved by 40%, and the time required to generate compliance reports has been reduced by 50%.
The sanctions screening tool also helped the company avoid 10 potential sanctions violations in the past year, saving about USD5 million in potential fines and losses. Additionally, the time required for the company to enter new markets was reduced by 30%.
Amber Sun, the deputy sales director, praises the system for “significantly enhancing the company’s global compliance management efficiency, effectively mitigating potential risks, and saving millions of dollars in legal costs”.
Taikang Asset Management revs up compliance engine
LEGAL TEAM: Compliance team of Taikang Asset Management
TEAM LEADER: Zhang Ning, executive director
KEY POINTS: The compliance and legal department of Taikang Asset Management developed a digital management tool centred on a self-developed compliance engine. According to the team, this tool enables the entire investment process to be managed online. Compliance documents analysed by AI can generate structured online compliance control plans and automatically produce various compliance reports, significantly improving the efficiency of handling compliance matters on the investment side.
Since its launch, 99% of the team’s over-the-counter instructions have been fully processed online, with business support efficiency improving by more than 70%. Zhou Feng, chief compliance officer, remarks that compliance digitalisation “truly empowers business operations, enhances management efficiency and risk control, and improves collaboration across compliance, investment and sales functions”.
Tongkun Group achieves self-sufficiency in legal services
LEGAL TEAM: Legal department and corporate legal department of Tongkun Group
TEAM LEADER: Yang Yongjun, manager of legal department and director of corporate legal department
KEY POINTS: Led by the legal department, Tongkun Group, a leading manufacturer of polyester and polyester filament yarn, established a comprehensive compliance management system, initiating the transformation from passive to proactive compliance.
In addition to implementing a standardised contract life cycle management and litigation management system, the department also applied to the provincial Ministry of Justice for approval to carry out corporate counsel services. It established a corporate law office and obtained corporate lawyer work permits, enabling the lawyers to represent the group in disputes, saving more than RMB5 million (USD690,000) in legal fees annually.
Fei Miaoqi, the group director, board secretary and chief financial officer, praises the legal department for its innovative initiative in building an in-house legal team, which has played a significant role in litigation, compliance, risk control and management. “[The team] has provided strong support and assurance for the company’s stable operations and development, and has become a core contributor to the company’s value,” she says.
WINNER REMARKS: Tongkun Group, which ranks 145th among the top 500 Chinese enterprises in 2024, is a large private enterprise primarily engaged in petroleum refining, with core competencies centred on the production of PTA (purified terephthalic acid), polyester and polyester filament manufacturing. The group is diversified into sectors such as aluminium processing, advanced packaging new materials, equipment manufacturing, real-estate development, logistics, as well as development and utilisation of new energy sources. Tongkun is committed to fostering national economic growth and enhancing public welfare. Its vision is to “establish a century-old Tongkun and achieve sustainable management”, and make unremitting efforts for China’s chemical fibre industry to take off and the national industry’s revitalisation.
Tongkun’s legal department is a first-level department adhering to the company’s core values, running in parallel with the corporate legal affairs department, through a team of lawyers well-versed in the group’s business. Through innovative methodologies, digital tools and professional team organisation, legal risk-control measures are embedded in the company’s business processes to provide comprehensive support for the group’s domestic and foreign legal and compliance affairs, prevent operational risks, improve the level of compliance management, and guide the group’s stable operations.
Zhaopin designs AI assistant legal counsel
LEGAL TEAM: Legal department of Zhaopin
TEAM LEADER: Sun Chuanyu, senior director
KEY POINTS: In March 2024, the legal team of leading online recruitment platform Zhaopin launched iEnjoyLaw, its first AI digital employee, to provide 24/7 online Q&A services, addressing various legal inquiries arising in the daily work scenarios of the group’s employees. The team also developed an intelligent legal system based on digital management and AI applications, covering areas such as case management, contracts, intellectual property and knowledge management.
The company’s technology development expert, Yu Qiang, says that the digital legal assistant “simplifies and streamlines complex legal matters, leveraging natural language processing and knowledge graph technologies to quickly understand and handle various legal issues, greatly enhancing the efficiency of legal work”.
ZX builds trademark system
LEGAL TEAM: Legal department of TanWan Games at ZX
TEAM LEADER: Wang Xudong, general counsel of TanWan Games and head of legal department
KEY POINTS: The legal department of TanWan Games led the design and development of a trademark management system, integrating one-stop functions such as trademark registration, maintenance, monitoring and renewal, while ensuring the standardised and regulated management of trademark information.
Additionally, the department collaborated with evaluation agencies to quantify the value of the TanWan series trademarks, providing a basis for trademark usage and rights protection. The team also identified and initiated multiple trademark infringement and unfair competition disputes, several of which were successfully resolved and selected as exemplary cases for local IP protection.
Wu Xuan, co-founder and chief operating officer of ZX Inc and TanWan Games, praises the team: “The independently developed trademark management system has effectively improved the efficiency and standardisation of trademark management.” He also says that trademark valuation and rights protection actions have had a positive impact on the company’s sustainable development and IP protection.
WINNER REMARKS: Founded in 2015, TanWan Games is one of the top 100 enterprises in China with a strong online presence. Its owner, ZX, was listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) on 28 September 2023.
TanWan Games’ legal department is affiliated with ZX, providing all-round legal support for the whole company, ranging from contract management to IP rights management, internal control compliance, data protection, litigation and dispute resolution. Particularly, the department helped ZX in its successful SEHK listing, in which it actively participated in the major decision-making process and provided accurate and forward-looking legal opinions and suggestions, guiding the company in its development.
