On 6 March 2024, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) released its annual statistics for 2023. The numbers reaffirm Hong Kong’s position as a highly attractive center.
In November last year, China’s Supreme People’s Court and the Hong Kong Government signed the Supplemental Arrangement Concerning the Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards between the Mainland and Hong Kong SAR. The agreement is widely expected to enhance the enforcement process and serve as an expansion of the 2000 Arrangement Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards between the Mainland and the HKSAR.
For law firms in the region, the Supplemental Arrangement has been welcomed as a compelling development, and one that the market has been waiting for. The Supplemental Arrangement serves as a refinement of the existing Arrangement Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards between the Mainland and the HKSAR, while functioning with fewer grey areas, say lawyers.