Profile
Malcolm Riddell advises leading international companies on investing or doing transactions in China, and he represents them directly in negotiating these deals in China. He is Mandarin speaker, who has lived nearly 20 years in China and Taiwan. He is board-certified international law and a member of the Florida Bar's International Law Certification Committee.He was an investment banker at Salomon Brothers, a U.S. delegate to the UN, and a case officer and Special Operations Group reserve officer in the CIA. He is a member of the Advisory Board at Peking University's Center for Real Estate Law. He is an Associate-in-Research at Harvard's Fairbank Center for China Studies, and he occasionally teaches and lectures on China issues at Harvard.Besides a law degree from Stetson University, Malcolm's graduate work includes: Harvard Graduate School of Design, AMDP in Real Estate; Columbia University, Master of International Affairs; and Harvard Business School, MBA.Malcolm is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
About Malcolm Riddell
Admitted: 1976, Florida
Honors and Awards: Asia Fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, 2009
Special Licenses/Certifications: Board Certified in International Law; International Civil Law Notary
Bar/Professional Activity: · Florida Bar Association · Member since 1976 · Board certified in international law · Member/examiner, International Law Certification Committee · International Law Section · CLE Committee, International Law Section · American Bar Association: International Law Section, China Committee · Harvard University’s Real Estate Academic Initiative · Urban Land Institute and its North Asia Council · U.S.-China Business Council · National Committee for U.S.-China Relations · Pacific Council on International Policy Council on Foreign Relations.
Pro bono/Community Service: Undersecretary of State for International Affairs, Florida Department of State (no salary) , 1999
Scholarly Lectures and Writings: · Co-organizer and speaker at the China Business Seminars at Harvard University’s Fairbank Center for Chinese Research · Academic Leader and teacher of a course on real estate investment in China at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in summer 2008 · Speaker at law schools and professional conferences on China, law, financial institutions, and real estate in the U.S. and China
Transactions: China Development: Beijing International Trade Center Malcolm advised and represented John Portman & Company, a real estate developer, in negotiations for the right to develop what is today the Beijing International Trade Center and China World Hotel He negotiated for with the Chinese government’s Aeronautical Research Agency (which controlled the site) Joint Venture: Sun Life Everbright Life Insurance Company Malcolm advised and represented Sun Life Financial of Canada in its negotiations with both CITIC and Everbright China to form a new Sino-foreign life insurance joint venture in Tianjin, China with, finally, Everbright China He also prepared a city selection analysis leading to the establishment of the life company in Tianjin, and a strategy that differentiated the life company from its competitors Joint Venture: MetLife Beijing Airport Life Insurance Company Malcolm advised and represented MetLife in negotiations with more than a dozen potential Chinese partners (most of whom he identified); MetLife eventually partnered with the Beijing Airport Authority He also developed innovative legal structures to give MetLife greater effective ownership and control Taiwan Development: Taipei International Finance Centre Malcolm organized and advised a consortium of Taiwan’s President Enterprises, John Portman & Associates, and RiddellTseng to bid on the development of the Taipei International Finance Centre, which became the world’s tallest building Joint Venture: Eagle Star President Life Insurance Company Malcolm advised and represented Eagle Star Life Insurance of the UK in negotiations with President Enterprises to create the joint venture Eagle Star President Life Insurance Company Joint Venture: Eagle Star President General Insurance Company After the successful establishment of the life company, Malcolm again advised and represented Eagle Star in negotiations with President Enterprises to create Eagle Star President General Insurance Company Korea Acquisition: Korean Life Insurance Companies During the Asian financial crisis, Malcolm advised and represented Manulife Financial of Canada in negotiations to acquire several Korean life insurance companies Acquisition/Joint Venture: Chohung Mutual Fund Company Malcolm advised and represented Sun Life Financial of Canada in negotiations with Chohung Bank to acquire Chohung Mutual Fund Company and to create a new life insurance company
Representative Clients: Representative clients include such leading U.S. and international real estate, insurance, and asset management companies as John Portman & Associates, Baring Institutional Realty Advisors, MetLife, CIGNA, Zurich Financial, National Mutual (AXA), Manulife Financial, Sun Life Financial, Threadneedle Investments, Massachusetts Financial Services, Fidelity Investments, and AIG (strategic alliance in Japan).