With top U.S. capital markets firms virtually stepping over each other to launch Hong Kong law practices, one might think that the best days for U.S. securities law practices in Hong Kong and China are over, and that Chinese companies are now turning exclusively to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen for their capital-raising needs.

Not exactly.

The New York Stock Exchange saw a record 22 listings by Chinese companies last year, with Nasdaq taking on another 12. Both numbers were up sharply from 2009, when only 10 Chinese companies listed on either exchange. In 2008, there were only three U.S. listings by Chinese companies.

Firms have taken notice. Last week, Proskauer Rose recruited U.S. capital markets partner Gene Buttrill from DLA Piper. Just a few days before, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe poached Jeffrey Sun Jie, a veteran of several U.S. equity and debt offerings for Chinese companies, from Latham & Watkins’ Shanghai office. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati opened a Hong Kong office last fall in part to aid its push for U.S. listing work on behalf of Chinese clients.

None of which is to suggest the growth of Hong Kong and other Chinese capital markets has been overstated. The 34 U.S. listings by Chinese companies last year raised about $4 billion, less than a fifth of the $22 billion that the state-owned Agricultural Bank of China raised in its debut last year in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

But for certain kinds of Chinese companies — mainly private instead of state-owned — the U.S. markets still have a certain appeal. Unlike in Hong Kong, which requires listing companies to have been operating for three years, there is no track record requirement in the major U.S. exchanges, a fact that favors startups. And Chinese technology companies in particular have also counted on U.S. markets, with their greater infrastructure of tech-savvy investors and analysts, to deliver them higher share valuations.

via The Lure of a U.S. Listing Remains Powerful for Some Chinese Companies.