Multinationals turn away from Hong Kong for dispute resolution

Lawyers say growing uncertainty over city's legal environment worries clients

20230607 Daily life in Hong Kong

Lawyers say companies are increasingly hesitant to choose Hong Kong as a location for arbitration due to concerns over the legal and political environment in the city.  © AP

PAK YIU and ECHO WONG, Nikkei staff writers

HONG KONG -- Concerns over the rule of law are threatening Hong Kong's ambitions to become a hub for corporate arbitration, according to lawyers, stoking the appeal of regional rival Singapore for many multinationals.

The Chinese city still handles hundreds of arbitration cases each year. However, companies drafting new contracts are increasingly choosing places other than Hong Kong as the location for arbitration, a dozen lawyers and corporate advisers in Hong Kong, Singapore and London told Nikkei Asia.

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