Hong Kong could overtake London as top arbitration hub in decade: Bar Association head

Hong Kong could dethrone London as the top choice for arbitration within the next decade given the Asian city’s status as a global fundraising capital for businesses in mainland China and beyond, the head of the Bar Association has said.

Jose-Antonio Maurellet, chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association, told the South China Morning Post on Friday that the city had enjoyed rapid growth in arbitration work, with high-stakes cases attracting elite international legal talent.

Hong Kong tied with Singapore as the second-most preferred arbitration seat globally last year in a survey by Queen Mary University of London, trailing only the British capital.

The total amount in dispute in arbitration cases administered by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, the city’s oldest arbitration body, last year was HK$117.7 billion (US$15 billion).

Maurellet said Hong Kong could overtake London’s arbitration crown in less than 10 years as the city was increasingly chosen to resolve high-value disputes linked to its role as an international capital-raising hub.

“What we see in Hong Kong actually is more and more big players from the United States or even London acting for clients in Hong Kong,” Maurellet said.

“It means we get to cross swords with the best from elsewhere.”

The association chief made the remarks after attending a ceremony in London to mark the opening of the legal year in England and Wales.

More than 100 senior figures from legal organisations from over 40 jurisdictions worldwide attended the event at Westminster Abbey on Thursday.

Maurellet explained that a key factor driving overseas interest in Hong Kong’s arbitration services was the international composition of the city’s arbitrators.

The senior counsel said one-third of arbitrators at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre hailed from other common law jurisdictions such as England, Australia and New Zealand.

However, Maurellet acknowledged that some foreign practitioners still viewed Hong Kong primarily as a forum for China-related disputes.

“They’re quite interested in basically asking, well, is it all about China?” he said.

Maurellet stressed that the broader international scope of the city’s arbitration caseload should be highlighted to build global confidence.

“Although a big part of the business is China-related, and we all know the advantages of being bilingual, there’s also, as the pie grows bigger, a part of that pie is available for international lawyers,” he said.

He added: “We also have interesting new markets like Brazil, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, and I think that really raises quite a lot of interest.”

Maurellet said he had received more inquiries than anticipated regarding the Hong Kong-headquartered International Organisation for Mediation, with lawyers showing keen interest in its mandate to resolve interstate conflicts and asking how to join as mediators.

“I think for certain jurisdictions, which for whatever cultural or geographical reasons in the past would not have gone to the more traditional historical places where this sort of work was done, I think Hong Kong opens up one more option, so I think it’s seen extremely positively,” he said.