Building on its global legal service footprint, GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES — a Beijing-headquartered Chinese law firm — established a directly affiliated office in central Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste, in November 2025. Launched at the critical juncture of Timor-Leste’s official accession to ASEAN, the office acts as a core service platform for the Firm to deepen its cross-border legal practice across Southeast Asia and support economic and trade cooperation between China and Timor-Leste. The office’s professional team comprises locally qualified senior practicing lawyers and Chinese foreign legal experts, with proficiency in Chinese, English, Tetum and Portuguese. With decades of in-depth experience in core local sectors including energy, infrastructure and investment, the team can coordinate with 113 overseas branches and over 2,000 professional lawyers worldwide to deliver full-cycle, dual-jurisdiction compliance and dispute resolution legal services to Chinese-funded enterprises and cross-border entities.

In June 2024, GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES formally expanded its presence into the Central Asian market by establishing an office in the central business district of Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. Serving as the firm’s hub for Central Asian legal services and the dedicated body for China-Tajikistan cross-border legal matters, the office has built a specialised service team consisting of locally licensed practising lawyers and China-Tajikistan cross-border legal experts. Team members possess years of in-depth experience in Tajik legal practice, are proficient in working across Chinese, Russian and Tajik languages, and can leverage Guozun’s global service network to cover cross-border legal needs throughout Central Asia. Focusing on core scenarios including investment and business operations of Chinese-funded enterprises in Tajikistan, energy and mineral development, infrastructure construction, corporate compliance management and cross-border dispute resolution, the office delivers professional legal services characterised by localised implementation, full-process closed-loop support and multi-jurisdictional compatibility.

In November 2023, the Japan Office of GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES completed its official establishment registration in a core business district of Tokyo and launched full-scale legal practice. As a key pillar of the firm’s cross-border Asia-Pacific strategy, it has built a legal service system covering the entire East Asian region. The office brings together lawyers qualified to practise in both China and Japan, local judicial practice experts and cross-border legal teams. All core practitioners have over 10 years of track record in delivering legal services across China and Japan, and are proficient in handling dual-jurisdiction legal affairs in both Chinese and Japanese. Qualified to undertake legal business nationwide in Japan, the office focuses on core practice areas including two-way Sino-Japanese investment implementation, commercial compliance governance, cross-border dispute resolution and intellectual property protection, and provides localised, full-chain and compliant cross-border legal solutions for enterprises and individuals.

GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES’ Kyrgyzstan Office was founded in August 2024 and is based in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. As a pivotal legal service hub developed by the firm to serve the Central Asian market, it represents a core component of the firm’s global cross-border service network. The office is staffed by a team of specialist lawyers with over a decade of hands-on experience in the local legal market, who possess comprehensive knowledge of Kyrgyzstan’s constitutional, civil and commercial, foreign investment, mineral energy, infrastructure and construction laws and regulations. Well-versed in local judicial practice and regulatory policies, the team delivers seamless multilingual services in Chinese, Kyrgyz and Russian, with a focus on providing localised, integrated and full-cycle professional legal support to Chinese enterprises expanding into Central Asia, covering cross-border economic and trade cooperation, project implementation and operation, and dispute resolution and enforcement.

GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES’ Philippines office was duly established and officially commenced operations in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, in April 2025. It serves as a key strategic hub of Guozun’s global legal service network in Southeast Asia, delivering legal services covering the entire territory of the Philippines. The office is staffed with a team of dual-qualified professional lawyers proficient in both Chinese and Philippine laws. Core team members have been deeply rooted in the local legal market for many years, with thorough knowledge of the Philippine legislative framework, judicial procedures and regulatory policies. Focusing on core legal requirements of Chinese-funded enterprises for their Philippine operations — including cross-border investment, infrastructure projects, compliance management and cross-border disputes — the office provides professional legal services that are localised, full-cycle and supported by dual-jurisdiction coordination.

Guozun Cathay Associates Pakistan Office was officially approved by Pakistan’s legal services regulatory authority in January 2025 and inaugurated in Islamabad, the national capital. As the core hub of Guozun’s South Asia legal service network, it focuses on two-way cross-border economic, trade and investment cooperation between China and Pakistan. The office has assembled a joint team of local lawyers admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Pakistan and Chinese foreign-related lawyers, with core members boasting an average practice experience of over 10 years. Proficient in Pakistan’s common law system, Islamic finance rules and industry-wide regulatory policies, the team delivers integrated trilingual services in Chinese, English and Urdu, providing end-to-end legal support for Chinese-funded enterprises from investment implementation to dispute resolution.

Officially launched in 2023 in Singapore’s Central Business District, the Singapore Office of GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES serves as the firm’s flagship practice supporting Chinese enterprises in their Southeast Asian expansion and the development of cross-border Asia-Pacific operations. The office brings together elite Chinese cross-border lawyers, Singapore-qualified practising lawyers, and Asia-Pacific cross-border legal experts to form a dedicated service team. Core team members each have over 10 years of experience in China-Singapore bilateral legal services, and are deeply attuned to Singapore’s international business environment and stringent regulatory framework. Focused on the core needs of Chinese enterprises investing in Singapore – including cross-border commercial matters, compliance and risk control, and dispute resolution – the office provides end-to-end, full-lifecycle professional legal services compatible with both jurisdictions.

GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Bangladesh Office was officially established in February 2024 in the Gulshan International Business District, Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The office has built a full-time team comprising Chinese foreign-related lawyers, lawyers admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, and South Asian cross-border legal experts. All core members have over 5 years of experience in two-way legal services between China and Bangladesh. Closely aligned with Bangladesh’s industrialization development strategy and focused on the core operational scenarios of Chinese-funded enterprises in Bangladesh, the team provides clients with full-cycle localized legal support from foreign investment landing compliance to cross-border dispute resolution.

GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Kazakhstan Office is based in the core legal district of Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, with coverage across the two major economic hubs of Almaty and Shymkent. It is a professional cross-border legal service provider aligned with the rules of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and specialising in China-Kazakhstan bilateral investment. The office operates a full-time team of Chinese foreign-related lawyers, locally registered Kazakh lawyers and EAEU cross-border compliance experts, with core personnel holding practising experience in both Chinese and Kazakh legal jurisdictions. Focusing on pillar industries of Kazakhstan including uranium energy, non-ferrous metals, cross-border logistics, agricultural exports and the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), it delivers full-cycle localised legal services covering market access, daily operation and rights protection for Chinese-funded enterprises and individuals.