Bank of America Corporation's US$3bn strategic investment in China Construction Bank was the largest single foreign investment in a Chinese company and the first foreign strategic investment in one of China's 'big four' state-owned banks.
The headline transaction also stole the show at the third annual ALB China Law Awards, winning China Deal of the Year and helping domestic heavyweight firm King & Wood take home an unassailable five trophies.
More than 300 corporate lawyers, bankers and accountants packed into the Diamond Ballroom at The Westin Shanghai Hotel on 10 March for the 2006 ALB China Law Awards.
Given in recognition of excellence in the provision of legal services across the region, the 2006 Awards was broader in scope than the previous years incorporating the Deals of the Year Award's concept into the flagship event as well as a number of in-house categories.
The awards for legal excellence were spread across 31 categories in total, with recognition placed on the key transactions in China that took place in 2005 and the firms that acted on those deals.
The finalists in each deal category were assessed against a range of criteria including deal value, complexity, number of parties involved, innovative deal structure, timeframe for completion and significance to the market. Meanwhile, finalists in each firm category were recognised for their outstanding client service as well as their ability to combine rigorous analysis with astute judgment to give clients a competitive edge.
Individual winners on the evening included Zhang Xuebing of Zhong Lun PRC Lawyers who collected Managing Partner of the Year; Zili Shao of Linklaters who was crowned International Dealmaker of the Year; while Xiao Wei a partner at Jun He Law Offices was awarded China Dealmaker of the Year.
 
Not for the first time, Morgan Stanley picked up Investment Bank Team of the Year, while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer also repeated its feat of previous years collecting International Law Firm of the Year.
Perhaps the most innovative aspect of the whole evening was the recognition of the good legal work being done internally among the major corporates and financial institutions in China. Bank of China was an extremely popular winner of Banking & Financial Services In-House Team of the Year, while the legal guys at General Motors celebrated being named Multinational Corporation In-House Team of the Year.
The legal team at PetroChina were named State-Owned Enterprise In-House Team of the Year, while the team at TOM Online Inc won the big one - accepting China In-House Team of the Year.
Finally, provincial capability was recognised through the City Awards with Jing Tian Law Firm winning Guangdong Firm of the Year, Deacons winning for Hong Kong, while Jun He Law Offices took the Beijing crown and Fangda Partners reciprocated for Shanghai.
But the biggest cheer of the evening was left for King & Wood, whose strength and capability across markets was rewarded with the title of China Law Firm of the Year.