A Hong Kong court has sentenced three market manipulators to periods of imprisonment of up to six years and eight months after they were found guilty of conspiracy to carry out false trading in the shares of a Hong Kong...more
The Hong Kong government has launched a two-month public consultation on artificial intelligence (AI) and Copyright law. The consultation considers possible improvements to the Copyright Ordinance (Cap. 528) (CO) following...more
Hong Kong’s audit regulator, the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council (AFRC), says it expects all audit firms and their staff to comply with all relevant laws and regulations set out within the accountants’ ethics code....more
A Hong Kong court has reiterated that an arbitral tribunal enjoys a wide discretion as to the procedure it adopts, and repeatedly deciding matters, such as whether to hold an oral hearing, in one party's perceived "favour"...more
A Hong Kong court has refused to sanction a scheme of arrangement, saying that practitioners should explain the key terms and effect of any proposed restructuring in a way which can be easily understood by the creditors and...more
The Hong Kong Court of Appeal has finally laid to rest the vexed issue of whether an arbitration agreement or a winding-up petition should take precedence in an insolvency situation. In two parallel decisions, the Court of...more
The concept of the “shareholder principle” in English law provides that a company cannot assert privilege against its own shareholders, unless the privileged documents in question were created for the dominant purpose of...more
A fire service contractor in Hong Kong has partially succeeded in its appeal against the order of the Fire Service Installation Contractors Disciplinary Board temporarily removing it from the Register of Fire Service...more
A Hong Kong court has granted leave to appeal against a decision in which an arbitral award was sent back to the arbitrator for reconsideration on the basis that the law had changed on a key point relied upon in the...more
In the year of the dragon, attention turns to the enforcement of arbitral awards. We look at five different Hong Kong decisions where enforcement or set aside has been the central issue often involving arguments of public...more
The Hong Kong High Court has given a rare order for modifications to a scheme of arrangement after it had been implemented incorrectly by the scheme administrators. Drawing on instances in which the English courts have...more
A Hong Kong court has set aside a tribunal’s finding on jurisdiction, holding that the arbitration clause in a loan agreement did not provide the tribunal with the jurisdiction to determine disputes arising out of a related...more
A Hong Kong court has rejected a bid to force liquidators to provide information and documents regarding their plans and strategies on related litigation as well as information on legal costs and funding arrangements....more
Hong Kong’s audit regulator, the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council (AFRC) says it has reached a landmark agreement to help it obtain audit working papers of Public Interest Entity (PIE) auditors located on the PRC...more
New statutory provisions have come into effect that will modernise the way documents are filed with the Official Receiver in Hong Kong. The changes, which took place on the last working day of 2023, pave the way for the...more
The Accounting and Financial Reporting Council (AFRC) has published its 2023 Oversight Report on HKICPA's Performance of Specified Functions (the report). This is the first full year the AFRC has reported on the exercise of...more
According to a recent report, nearly 6,000 construction companies in the UK are in danger of going out of business. In Hong Kong, a major contractor has lost its licence and was removed from the government's registered list...more
The past twelve months have been a time of continuing significant developments in courtled corporate rescues in Hong Kong, all within the flexible confines of the common law and in the continued absence of a statutory...more
The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal has held that the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) can serve overseas defendants as of right, without needing the court’s permission, making it easier for the SFC to go after persons...more
On 25 October 2023, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance granted leave to appeal the decision in Shandong Chenming Paper Holdings Ltd [2023] HKCFI 2065 to dismiss a winding up petition in favour of arbitration. This opens...more
The Hong Kong court has granted an order forcing an uncooperative former director of a Hong Kong listed company to ratify the appointment of a Hong Kong liquidator as the sole director of the companies' four BVI subsidiaries....more
It is anticipated that as of 1 January 2024, Hong Kong will follow the PRC in making a significant change to its concept of “sovereign” or “state” immunity which further enhances Hong Kong’s reputation as a dispute resolution...more
The Singapore High Court has again confirmed that a winding-up application concerning a disputed debt that is subject to an arbitration agreement will be dismissed if the arbitration agreement is prima facie valid and covers...more
One misplaced letter in an email address caused the Hong Kong High Court to refuse leave to enforce an arbitral award on the basis that the respondent not been validly served with the Notice of Arbitration. This was despite...more
Three recent Hong Kong first instance court decisions have left undecided the question of whether a winding-up petition will trump an agreement to arbitrate when it comes to a winding-up and particularly in the context of...more