Independent M&A advice when China is the deciding factor
The asset does not have to sit in China for China to set its price, its buyer and its approval. Chartroom is an independent M&A advisor in Hong Kong for the industrial transactions where that is true.
We read both sides of the corridor, the road less taken. We find it early, in both languages — and it shows up in price.
- 15+
- Years advising on cross-border M&A
- US$3bn+
- Advised, including at prior firms
Point of view
Differences that can be priced.
The same industry is rarely comparable across regions. Chinese and Western capacity was built at different times, under different capital costs and different policy, and thirty years of that compounds into structurally different margins. The same is true of regulatory approval: each side reads the other’s process as an obstacle, when a different question is simply being asked. We benchmark both and explain where the differences come from.
What can be explained can be managed. What can be managed gets closed.
Advisory
Sell-side
We act as financial adviser to corporates, sponsors and private shareholders on the sale of a business: divestitures and carve-outs from multinational parents, sponsor exits, and owners bringing a business to market for the first time. For Chinese and non-Chinese sellers alike.
Buy-side
We advise Chinese and international acquirers on acquisitions in the industrial sector, from assessing a target through to terms. In this corridor, access and diligence are harder than valuation.
Complex situations
We advise on transactions that turn on regulatory or national security review, or a joint venture that has to be unwound before anything else can start.
Latest transaction
Arconic's China business, sold to Yongjie New Materials.
Exclusive sell-side advisor to Arconic on the sale of its China business to Yongjie New Materials
SSE: 603271- Business
- Arconic China
- Client
- Arconic
- Buyer
- Yongjie New Materials (SSE: 603271)
- Value
- Undisclosed
- Completed
- June 2026
- Role
- Exclusive sell-side advisor
Approach
Built small, on purpose.
Both markets, from the inside
We have worked inside a global investment bank and inside a leading Chinese securities house. We work in Mandarin and English, and read both sides of a deal in the original.
Team scale, by choice
The deal team does not change
Large institutions run standardized processes. At several hundred mandates a year they have no choice. We are built the other way. The decisions that matter are made by a few people on each side, and a bigger deal team does not change that — it adds distance between the people gathering information and the people using it.
Where China is never incidental
One sector, not ten
In the industrial sector, China is never a side question. It sets global capacity, end demand and acquisition activity, and it is often the reason a board is considering a transaction at all. We cover one sector, not ten.
Mid-market, by design
We advise multinationals and private equity sponsors on mid-market transactions, where senior attention changes the outcome most.
People
The people you meet do the work.
Selina Cao
Founder
Selina Cao founded Chartroom Advisors in 2025, after fifteen years in investment banking in Hong Kong, specifically focusing on cross-border transactions. She has advised on more than US$3 billion of cross-border transactions across Asia, Europe, North America, Australia and Africa, each with a China angle, including at prior firms.
- Previously
- Deutsche Bank, UBS, GF Securities
- Education
- BSc Accounting and Finance, London School of Economics; International Baccalaureate, Chinese International School
- Has lived in
- Hong Kong, London, Vancouver, Singapore, Hangzhou
Lillian Cong
Founding member
Lillian Cong joins Selina as a key founding member and brings extensive cross-border transaction experience across China, the U.S., India and Southeast Asia. She has provided dedicated advisory support to leading global funds including Mubadala and KKR, with a proven track record of successfully executing complex multi-jurisdiction deals across these core markets.
- Previously
- HSBC, GF Securities
- Education
- BSc Quantitative Finance, University of Hong Kong
- Has lived in
- Hong Kong, Singapore, Shenyang
Careers
Real mandates from the first week.
We hire rarely and carefully. If you work comfortably in English and Mandarin and want early responsibility on cross-border transactions, send us your CV and a short note on a deal you found interesting.
Send your CV to selina.cao@chartroomadvisors.comContact
Start a confidential conversation.
Most mandates begin with a short call. Tell us what you are weighing, and we will tell you plainly whether we can help.
Address
24/F Lee Garden One33 Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
Elsewhere
Selina Cao on LinkedIn