Hong Kong's Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah said Hong Kong will continue to serve as an international legal hub for deal-making and dispute resolution services, and to clarify misconceptions and misunderstanding through concerted efforts in promotion and explanation.

Writing on her official blog, Cheng said today that Hong Kong excels as a leading arbitration center, with the arbitral service well known for its flexibility, and the enforceability of awards in over 160 jurisdictions.

“It is noteworthy that nearly all the awards have been successfully enforced in the Mainland,” she wrote.

She also said Hong Kong will take advantage of the Greater Bay Area’s unique strength of “One Country, Two Systems and Three Jurisdictions” to assume a vital role in its development.

“The ‘Regulations of the Qianhai Shenzhen–Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone’ were amended and approved in August 2020. It allows Hong Kong enterprises registered in Qianhai to choose Hong Kong law as the applicable law in their civil and commercial contracts,” said Cheng.

She stressed that Hong Kong’s Basic Law guarantees judicial independence, with the former Chief Justice also denied there was pressure exerted on the Judiciary.

The Financial Times earlier reported that large international corporations doing deals in Asia are considering excluding Hong Kong from legal contracts over concerns China’s tightening grip may impact rule of law in the territory

Some corporations are said to have started thinking about alternative jurisdictions like Singapore for their arbitration.