Between 21 to 24 June 2017, our partner Mr. Eric Lui joined the Sichuan delegation led by The Law Society of Hong Kong and acted as a speaker at the “Hong Kong Law of Finance and Commerce” seminar.

Mr. Lui spoke about “Legal Risk Management of IPO in Hong Kong” and introduced the requirements for IPO’s in Hong Kong and examined the legal risks that mainland enterprises might face during the process, such as suitability of the IPO, responsibility of directors, ongoing obligations of a listed company, connected transactions and market misconduct. He also shared some case studies with the participants to analyse effective planning for risk management.

The seminar was well received and participants raised their understanding of the risks which mainland enterprises might face for an IPO in Hong Kong.

At the same time, The Law Society of Hong Kong held a conference with the Chengdu Lawyers Association and Chengdu Bureau of Justice to discuss future cooperation in training and professional conduct. The delegation also visited the Chongqing Lawyers Association and attended the “Overseas Mergers & Acquisitions” seminar and learnt about the history of the Chongqing legal industry.

Should you have any enquiry about this event, please contact our Mr. Eric Lui for further information.

On 20 June 2017, our partner Ms. Catherine Por attended the signing ceremony of an Arrangement on Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Civil Judgments in Matrimonial and Family cases held in the Offices of the Department of Justice.

The Secretary for Justice, Mr Rimsky Yuen, SC, represented HKSAR and the Executive Vice President of the Supreme People’s Court, Mr Shen Deyong, represented the Mainland in signing the Arrangement.

Mr. Yuen spoke during the ceremony that there has been a rising number of cross-border marriages and an increasing proportion of families having assets in both the Mainland and Hong Kong. As a result, it is generally agreed that there is a rising need to make an arrangement on reciprocal recognition and enforcement of civil judgments in matrimonial and family cases.

It is often the case that enforcement is the most difficult part of civil proceedings, including matrimonial and family proceedings, especially if people or assets are located in different jurisdictions. With the Arrangement soon in place, there are now clear rules on what documents are to be submitted along with an application for such reciprocal recognition and enforcement of matrimonial and family judgments, and in what circumstances the Court will decide not to recognize or enforce such matrimonial and family judgments.

The coverage of the Arrangement is as follows:
– individual identity and relationships (including divorce),
– maintenance orders,
– custody orders in respect of children, and
– protection orders in cases involving domestic violence.

The Chinese version of the Arrangement is available through the Hong Kong Department of Justice Website here.

Please contact our Ms. Catherine Por for any enquiries or further information about the Arrangement or this event.

On 20 June 2017, our partners Mr. Willy Cheng and Ms. Heidi Chui attended the 29th Annual General Meeting and annual dinner of the Association of China-Appointed Attesting Officers Limited held at JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong.

Representatives from the Ministry of Justice PRC attended the dinner together with CAAOs and members of China Legal Service (Hong Kong) Limited and the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Mr. Zhou Yuansheng, Head of Department of Directing Lawyers and Notarization of Ministry of Justice of China also joined and gave a speech during the event.

Please contact our Mr. Willy Cheng and Ms. Heidi Chui for any enquiries or further information about this event.

On 16 June 2017, our partners Mr. Hank Lo and Ms. Cornelia Chu and associate Mr. Terence Lau attended the kick-off ceremony of the first Deloitte Technology Fast 20 (TF20) and Rising Star in Hong Kong.

Stevenson, Wong & Co. is honoured to be a Diamond Sponsor of the programs which aim to recognize fast-growing companies with viable business models and to encourage the development of innovative and promising industries in Hong Kong. The programs are open to hardware, software, communications, media, life sciences and clean technology companies.

The programs serve as a platform for fast-growing and high technology companies to gain market visibility as they share their success stories and showcase their products and services. The participating companies can also take the opportunity to share their experience on tackling the common challenges in the industry. More importantly, Stevenson, Wong & Co. can work together with other supporting partners and potential investors to build an ecosystem in Hong Kong.

“I am a strong believer that technology will change the future of work. Even in the legal industry, I already see technology being used to automate certain areas of work such as due diligence and discovery. Stevenson, Wong & Co. is excited to be a partner of the Deloitte TF20 and Rising Star programs, and will continue to play a part in supporting the tech start-up community in Hong Kong,” said Mr. Lo.

For more enquiries about this event, please contact our Mr. Hank Lo, Ms. Cornelia Chu or Mr. Terence Lau.

Representatives of Stevenson, Wong & Co. and Deloitte at the kick-off ceremony.
Left to right: Ms. Polly Lee (Partner of Deloitte China – Audit & Assurance), Ms. Cornelia Chu, Mr. Hank Lo, Mr. Bong Chan (Partner & Southern Region Central Business Development Leader of Deloitte China), Mr. Terence Lau and Mr. Sunnie Sy (Partner of Deloitte China – Audit & Assurance).

Mr. Hank Lo, fourth from the left.

The Legislative Council of Hong Kong concluded the third reading and passed the Arbitration and Mediation Legislation (Third Party Funding) (Amendment) Bill 2016 on 14 June 2017. The amendments once taken effect will permit third party funding in arbitration and mediation cases. The amended arbitration law will greatly enhance and strengthen Hong Kong’s status as a leading centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region. We will highlight the main features of this key breakthrough of the arbitration regime in Hong Kong below:-

1. The amendments apply to Hong Kong seated arbitration, the costs and expenses of services that are provided in Hong Kong in relation to the arbitration outside Hong Kong and mediation, reflecting the pro-mediation, pro-arbitration and international arbitration friendly approach adopted by the Hong Kong Courts.

2. The Arbitration Ordinance (Cap. 609) will be amended, after which common law offences of maintenance and champerty will cease to apply to third party funding in relation to arbitration and mediation. The amendments operate to permit a person who does not have an interest recognised by law in the arbitration to provide funds to a funded party in the arbitration, in return for a share in the financial benefit of the award if the arbitration is successful.

3. The mechanism for third party funding in Hong Kong is much more flexible than the Singaporean counterpart, in the sense that besides professional funders, any person “who is a party to a funding agreement” and “who does not have an interest recognised by law in the arbitration other than the funding agreement” can participate in arbitration funding. Upon compliance with the legal requirements under the new regime, in principle law firms can operate and set up a funding arm specifically providing the services for arranging and coordinating third party funding in Hong Kong.

4. To avoid conflict of interests, lawyers who in the course of the lawyers’ legal practice, act for any party in relation to the arbitration are not allowed to directly fund the arbitration.

5. To reinforce the rule of law and to avoid the abuse of the new regime, third party funding must fulfil a series of strict requirements, including signing and execution of a written funding agreement after the commencement of the regime.

6. The amended ordinance has yet to encompass a separate set of regulatory provisions at this stage. However, the Secretary for Justice has been empowered by the Government to appoint an “authorised body” to draw up a Code of Conduct and monitor the compliance of the funders, including but not limited to capital adequacy requirements, confidentiality, avoiding conflicts of interests.

7. The amendments are expected to take effect this year, keeping pace with the development of the Code of Conduct.

It is expected that the new regime will promote the development of mediation and arbitration in Hong Kong, strengthening Hong Kong as the hub for international law and disputes resolution centre in Asia. Providing a comprehensive legal service to our clients, Stevenson, Wong & Co. possesses profound experience in cross-border disputes resolution with a team of seasoned practitioners who always act in the clients’ best interests. Please contact our Mr. Eric Lui or Ms. Heidi Chui for any enquiries or further information about our services.

On 12 June 2017, our associate Mr. Gordon Tsang and Head of Business Development Ms. Connie Yeung presented a seminar on IPO requirements and regulations at the head office of Prudential Hong Kong Limited. They introduced the legal requirements of IPO in Hong Kong and explained the Common Reporting Standard.

The seminar was well received as more than 300 staff from Prudential attended and participants found the sharing both interesting and practical.

Please contact Mr. Gordon Tsang and Ms. Connie Yeung for any enquiries or further information about this event.