Ms. Hao is the Head of the Firm’s Corporate & Special Projects Department. She advises on the entry of foreign investments to the Philippines including the establishment of branch offices, subsidiaries, representative offices and regional operating headquarters of foreign enterprises. She has advised on the registration of incentives with the Board of Investments and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, including the Clark Special Economic Zone.
Ms. Hao has provided advice on various business transactions of clients involving joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, legal due diligence reviews, privatization, reorganization, build-operate-transfer projects, franchising and licensing agreements, construction contracts, and real estate transactions. Ms. Hao has been involved in acquisitions covering, among others, a toll road project, an airport development project and a metro railway construction and development project.
Ms. Hao has also provided banking advisory services to local and foreign banks and has assisted in the preparation and documentation of loans, other credit transactions, and security documents. Ms. Hao also advises clients on projects involving the Real Estate Investment Trust Act and securities laws, and has represented issuers and underwriters on equity and debt capital raising transactions such as the offering of bonds, stock rights offering and private placements.
Among her significant transactions are:
- assisted San Miguel Corporation in, among others, (a) its investment in Philippine Airlines, Inc. and Air Philippines, Inc.; (b) in the acquisition of the company that owns the concession to construct and operate the MRT-7; and (c) in the acquisition of the company that owns the right to extend, rehabilitate, and operate the Caticlan Airport
- assisted in several acquisition projects, whether on the buy side or sell side, including the investment in and acquisition of shares by Johnsonville LLC in Frabelle Corporation, the Kersia Group in Kalinisan Chemicals Corporation, Warburg Pincus in MAPFRE
- acted as counsel for the arrangers and dealers in connection with the establishment and/or update of the medium term note programme of BDO Unibank, Inc., Union Bank of the Philippines and Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., Inc., and subsequent issuances from the programme
- acted as Philippine counsel to the joint lead managers in connection with the USD bond/notes issuance by BDO Unibank, Inc., AEV Equity, Filinvest Corporation, AC Energy, Double Dragon, Petron Corporation, among others
- acted as domestic counsel for the underwriters in connection with the initial public offering of several companies including Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc., Cebu Landmasters, Inc., Axelum Resources Corporation, MREIT, Inc.
- acted as counsel for the underwriters in relation to the bonds issued by several companies, including 8890, Inc., Vista Land, SM Prime Holdings, Inc., Century Property Group, Inc., Union Bank of the Philippines, Megaworld, Inc., Double Dragon
- acted as domestic counsel to joint bookrunners in connection with the stock rights offer of BDO Unibank, Metropolitan Banking and Trust Corporation, and PS Bank
- acted as counsel for the underwriters in relation to the notes facility of several issuers/borrowers, whether secured and unsecured
Ms. Hao has been cited by IFLR 1000, Asia Pacific Legal 500, Chambers and Partners, and Asialaw Profiles as one of the leading lawyers and market expert in the field of corporate and mergers and acquisitions and capital markets.
She has likewise been recognized by Asialaw Profiles as a Leading Lawyer and Distinguished Practitioner in the practice areas of capital markets and corporate and M&A since 2019.
Ms. Hao has been regarded as a Leading Lawyer, and has been recommended for the practice areas of Banking and Finance, Capital Markets, Real Estate and Construction, and Corporate and M&A by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific since 2019.
She has also been recognized by the Asia Business Law Journal as among the Philippines’ Top 100 Lawyers since2020. In 2023, Ms. Has was recognized as Legal 500’s Leading Regional Lawyer of the Year.
Ms. Hao is a member of the Makati City Chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, the Philippine Bar Association, Federacion International de Abogadas, and the University of the Philippines Women Lawyers’ Circle