Armstrong Chen, PhD of law from the Central University of Finance and Economics and a postdoctoral fellow in Economy from Fudan University, is a Senior Partner at Dentons Shanghai. He was the head of Dentons Global Banking and Finance Group in China and the head of Dentons Shanghai Insurance and Financial Institutions Group. He is awarded as Legal Vision 2024 "Brand Star Lawyer" in the Field of Dispute Resolution; "Special Recommended Lawyers" in the field of "Regulation and Compliance" in 2024 Legal 500; "Top 15 Innovative Lawyer" in the 2023 LEGALBAND; "A-List Legal Elite" in the 2022 China Business Law Journal; "Recommended Lawyers" of "Banking and Finance" in 2021 (Asia Pacific) The Legal 500 and "Top 15 Innovative Lawyers" in the 2021 Legal Band. Graduated from Chang 'an University, Northwest University of Political Science and Law and Queen Mary University of London, he was awarded a Chevening Scholarship by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and China National Civilized Family. He has served as a specially invited professor or co-mentor at Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, China University of Political Science and Law, University of International Business and Economics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Fudan University, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, East China University of Political Science and Law and Shanghai International Studies University.

He has worked for the National Financial Regulatory Administration (formerly the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission), the People’s Bank of China, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. His working responsibilities included managing capital projects and supervising foreign financial institutions, developing policies and regulations, drafting legislation, conducting legal reviews, providing legal advice, and regulating innovative businesses. Armstrong has also researched, drafted, argued, interpreted, and revised numbers of laws, regulations, and documents: Company Law, Enterprise Bankruptcy Law, Anti-Monopoly Law, Anti-Money Laundering Law, Regulations on the Administration of Foreign-Capital Banks, Measures for the Administration of Qualifications for Directors and Senior Managers of Banking Financial Institutions, Guidelines on Compliance Risk Management for Commercial Banks, Guidance on the Work of Legal Advisers for Banking Financial Institutions, Provisional Regulations on the Capital Management of Commercial Banks, Measures for the Administration of the Real Estate of Trust and Investment Companies, Measures for the Administration of Enterprise Group Financial Companies, Automobile Loan Regulations, Pilot Management Measures for Consumer Finance Companies, and Guidelines on Risk Management of Commercial Banks' Real Estate Lending, etc. He has also drafted and reviewed regulations on the establishment of subsidiaries of commercial banks, such as insurance companies, trust companies, fund companies and pension companies; participated in legislation on the national contingency plan for financial risk emergency; provided legal support for drafting memoranda of co-operation between the regulatory authorities and foreign financial supervisory authorities, as well as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. He has also provided legal review opinions on the establishment of financial institutions, transfer of equity, and admission of wealth management and financial derivatives, legal review of administrative penalties imposed on financial institutions, and cancellation of the qualifications of directors and senior executives. Armstrong has researched financial institutions' fulfillment of mutual legal assistance obligations, the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and social responsibility, and the response to long-arm jurisdiction, and has been invited by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Central Bank (ECB), the Financial Services Authority (FSA) (UK), and the Deutsche Bundesbank to give speeches on China's financial sector legal system, regulatory system, and reform and opening up of the financial sector.Armstrong has provided legal services to several banks, insurance institutions, and other financial institutions in market access, significant transactions, operational compliance, anti-money laundering, consumer protection, and corporate governance. Mr Chen has extensive experience in financing and M&A. He has provided due diligence, compliance advice, contract review, and transaction negotiation services to several banks, insurance institutions, Big 4 asset management companies, and local asset management companies. He has participated in drafting the Master Agreement on Financial Derivatives for NAFMII. He has reviewed the Master Agreement and Annexes of ISDA OTC Derivatives Transactions for many banks and corporations. Mr. Chen has long-term frontline contact with high-risk financial institutions, understands the everyday problems of corporate governance, internal control, and risk management of risky financial institutions, is familiar with the relevant institutional arrangements and processes for risk disposal, and has a deep understanding of the disposal mechanism and market-based disposal initiatives of risky institutions. He has provided legal services to some banking and insurance financial institutions on risk disposal and receivership trusteeship, including legal, due diligence, design of overall risk resolution plan for financial institutions, remediation of corporate governance and business compliance for risky institutions, liability consulting for financial institutions' executives, disposal of risky assets, and other legal services.

Armstrong has represented multiple domestic and foreign litigation and arbitration cases among financial peers and between financial institutions and clients. He also devoted himself to arbitration practice for over 20 years as an arbitrator of CIETAC, CMAC, BAC, SHIAC, and SCIA. He was the Initial member of the Shanghai International Arbitration Expert Panel. He was also an arbitrator for the ICC, HKIAC, and other foreign arbitration institutions, including Korea, Russia, Malaysia, etc. Armstrong participated in the trial and adjudication of more than 500 cases.

He was the first legal advisor of the China Banking Association (CBA), advisor of the Hong Kong Institute of Bankers, director of the Banking Law Practice Research Centre of the Shanghai Law Society, and executive director of the Center for Financial Arbitration and Mediation Research, Central University of Finance and Economics. He is now an expert on the Private Banking and Wealth Management Business Professional Committee of the China Banking Association and an advisor of the Legal Compliance Professional Committee of the China Insurance Asset Management Association (CIAMA). He has published books such as Theory and Practice of Banking Openness, Investing in China: A Perspective and Practical Guide to Banking Rules, The Construction of China's Financial Arbitration System, and Research on the Regulatory Framework of Insurance Investment. He is an independent director of AXA Tianping Property and Casualty Insurance Co., Ltd., Chairman of Shenzhen Longyue Charity Foundation, and competitive procurement evaluation expert for the People's Liberation Army Navy Equipment Department.

Legal consultancy services for the liquidation and risk disposal of a large insurance organization taken over by the CBI

Legal, due diligence, and legal consultancy services for the acquisition of Nan Yue Bank by YUE Holdings

Legal advice to the Hubei Department of Finance on the capital increase and shareholding of Hubei Bank

Advised Bank of Beijing on the establishment of a direct marketing bank with Anzhi Bank in the Netherlands

Advised Cathay Bank on the establishment of its Shanghai branch in China

Advised Rawbank Bank of the Democratic Republic of Congo on establishing a foreign bank in China.

Advised Vantone Bank of Nigeria on the establishment of its Chinese branch in China

Provided legal support for the establishment of a private bank and its corporate governance

Advised on the establishment of a consumer finance company

Advised Credit Suisse (Hong Kong) Limited on establishing a wholly foreign-owned company in China and applying for a QDLP quota.

Advised Qihoo Three Six Zero Investment Management Co. on establishing a fund sales company.

Advised Transfast, a remittance company, on establishing its Beijing representative office.

Advised CaixaBank S.A. on the replacement of its chief representative in Beijing.

Advised the Bank of Cyprus on replacing the chief representative of its representative office in China.

Acting for ICBC, ICBC Credit Suisse, and ICBC Asia in the arbitration of a cross-border investment custody dispute.

Acting for the ExportImport Bank of China in a financial loan contract dispute.

Represented the Agricultural Bank of China in a financial loan contract dispute in the second trial and Supreme Court retrial.

Represented Agricultural Bank of China, Shaanxi Branch, in a retrial in the Supreme Court.

Represented Ping An Bank in a private equity fund custody contract dispute

Acting for Gansu Bank in a nonperforming assets liquidation project

Acting for Wuhai Bank in a dispute over transferring the beneficial rights of an asset management plan.

Acting for Shaoxing Bank in a dispute over the transfer of notes

Acting for CCB Asia in a cross-border syndication dispute

Represented a domestic and overseas subsidiary of Minmetals in litigation and arbitration concerning cooperation between the subsidiary and its client.

Represented Huaxia Life in a real estate investment dispute

Represented a subsidiary of Sinometallurgical in a warehouse receipt pledge dispute.

Compliance Counselling for Foreign Institutions of the Bank of Communications

Advised ICBC, CCB, other large banks, and national joint-stock commercial banks on cross-border guarantees.

Provided legal services for bulk disposal of nonperforming assets and asset securitization of CCB

Advised Minsheng Bank on cross-border guarantee for its transaction banking department.

Advised Bank of Shanghai on cross-border guarantee

Advised Bank of China, Bank of Shanghai, and Shanghai Agricultural and Commercial Bank on financial derivatives ISDA agreements

Advised ICBC Shanghai Branch in signing a business cooperation agreement with a UK company

Advised Ping An Bank Shanghai FTZ branch on a credit facility project

Reviewed and issued legal advice to the Bank of Jiangsu on the EMIR agreement

Reviewed a syndicated loan agreement for Bank of Macau Tai Fung.

Provided legal services to the City of London

Advised Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ on regulatory compliance project

Advised OHL on the cross-border transfer of nonperforming assets

Advised Morgan Stanley Bank on its regulatory compliance program.

Specialised legal services for Volkswagen Finance

Advised the Central Bank of Zambia on issuing a letter of guarantee.

Advised a Thai bank on its application for RMB business qualification

Advised Ping An Capital Management on domestic and overseas equity investment projects

Provided legal services to Jianxin Pension Company permanently

Provided litigation and nonlitigation legal services for Cinda Asset Management Company

Provided permanent legal advice to 360 on internet finance projects

Provided legal opinion on the equity incentive program of a subsidiary of Everbright Group

Provided legal advice to an enterprise concerning the closure of bank accounts due to Iranian sanctions.

Provided legal compliance training to the China Banking Association, China Insurance Association, China Finance Companies Association, Microfinance Companies Association, and local banking associations.

Conducting family trust and inheritance training for ICBC AXA and ICBC Private Banking Department.