Arbitration Services - Wholly Owned Hong Kong Enterprises to Choose Hong Kong as the Seat of Arbitration
“The Opinions of the Supreme People’s Court on the Provision of Judicial Safeguards for the Construction of Pilot Free Trade Zones” provide that wholly owned foreign enterprises (include wholly owned Hong Kong enterprises (“WOKEs”)) registered in the Pilot Free Trade Zones of the Mainland (including Guangdong Pilot Free Trade Zone) may refer commercial disputes to arbitration abroad (including Hong Kong), and the relevant arbitration agreement will not be considered invalid due to the absence of “foreign-related elements”. The Department of Justice of the HKSAR is actively seeking support from the Central Government to extend the current measures and to allow WOKEs in the Greater Bay Area to agree to adopt Hong Kong law as the applicable law and to choose Hong Kong as the seat of arbitration.
