On 22 March 2016, our partner Mr. Neville Watkins gave a presentation on the newly-implemented Competition Ordinance (Cap. 619) at Certified Public Accountants Australia (“CPA Australia”) office. The presentation was well attended by members of CPA Australia.

During the presentation, Mr. Watkins explained the general applications of this new law, and its particular implications on the accounting industry.

Please contact our Mr. Neville Watkins for any queries or further information about this event.

In March 2016, our firm expanded with a new office opening at Gloucester Tower, The Landmark. On 18 March 2016, an opening ceremony was held at our new office.

Our partner Mr. Willy Cheng gave an opening speech to wish the firm a prosperous future. This was followed by a toast made by our partners and a wine party.

 Mr. Willy Cheng giving an opening speech

 From right to left: Mr. Willy Cheng, Ms. Catherine Por, Mr. Eric Lui, and Mr. Neville Watkins

Our Ms. Lai Lam attended the Interlaw Asia Pacific Regional Conference held in Hanoi, Vietnam between 17 and 20 March 2016.

The theme of this event was ‘Windows for Integration’. The conference provided the participants with an overview of the recent negotiation of The Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement which successfully linked 12 economies, representing 40% of global GDP, and brought about a series of bilateral or multilateral Free-Trade Agreements in the Asia Pacific region. Close to 50 delegates from member firms attended this event.

Ms. Lam also attended several talks during the event. Keynote speakers included Dr. Vo Tri Thanh (deputy head of CIEM/Economist), Ms. Dinh Thi Quynh Van (CEO, PwC Vietnam) and Mr. Kevin Doolan from Møller PSF Group also gave his talk on global client development.

Delegates found the meeting informative and look forward to networking at future conferences later in the year in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA and Valletta, Malta, and ending with the AGM in Tokyo, Japan.

Mr Pham Nghiem Xuan Bac, managing partner of Vision & Associates Legal making his opening remarks

From the left: Our Ms Lam (former board member and Vice Chair of Interlaw Asia Pacific Region), Mr Andy Richter (former board member of Interlaw Asia Pacific Region) and Ms Alesia R. Daniels (current Director of Operations, Interlaw)

Traditional Vietnamese Music Performance during Opening Ceremony

Please contact our Ms Lam for any enquiries or further information about this event.

On 16 March 2016, we held a seminar on anti-money laundering (AML) laws in our new office at Gloucester Tower, The Landmark. It was our pleasure to have Mr. Andrew Radcliffe, QC as our speaker. Over 40 lawyers and in-house counsel attended the talk. During the seminar, Mr. Radcliffe, QC shared his experience in and insight into this topic which concerns professionals from different industries in Hong Kong. The talk was well received by the audience, and questions relating to AML in practice and development of AML laws in Commonwealth jurisdictions were raised and discussed in the Q&A session.

 Mr. Radcliffe, QC delivering a talk to lawyers and in-house counsel

Mr. Andrew Radcliffe, QC is a member of 2 Hare Court, Temple, one of London’s leading criminal sets of Chambers. He is a white collar crime specialist, and is ranked by Chambers & Partners in Band 1 for Financial Crime. He has wide experience of all areas of business crime including money laundering, insider dealing, price fixing and misconduct in a public office.

 From right to left: Mr. Andrew Radcliffe, QC, our partners Mr. Willy Cheng and Ms. Lai Lam, and Dr. Robert Hanson

On 12 March 2016, our partner Mr. Eric Lui attended the opening ceremony of AllBright Law Offices (Hefei) and also a conference in Hefei. The conference, titled “Economy and Capital Market”, was jointly hosted by AllBright Law Offices and Anhui Federation of Industry and Commerce. Speakers at the conference spoke on the current issues in relation to securities market and financial asset management business.

At the conference, Mr. Lui gave a talk on “Essential Requirements for Listing of PRC Enterprises in Hong Kong”. The talk was well received and participants engaged in a fruitful discussion with Mr. Lui on the topic.

Please contact our Mr. Eric Lui for any enquiries or further information about this event.

On 1 March 2016, AllBright Law Offices moved into Shanghai Tower which is currently the tallest building in Asia with the fastest lift in the world. On 11 March, we invited representatives from family offices, private banking and trust institutions to visit where Head of Business Development (China) Ms. Connie Yeung delivered a presentation on how to protect assets through the establishment of family trust and its benefits. The talk was well received and attendees found the sharing both interesting and practical.