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The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin (HKETO, Berlin) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of Guangdong Province promoted Hong Kong as the ideal venue for commercial dispute resolutions.
Three seminars were held in Poland, of which one was co-organised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Katowice and Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) in Katowice on September 9 (Katowice time); another at the Life Style Expo 2010 organised by HKTDC in Warsaw on September 22 (Warsaw time), and the third one was conducted at the request of bankers and small and medium enterprises based in Warsaw.
Director of HKETO, Berlin, Mr Stephen Wong, explained that commercial disputes had been resolved in Hong Kong in the ways familiar to the Polish enterprises under the "One Country, Two Systems" as the legal system had also remained unchanged as guaranteed under the Basic Law. Hong Kong is Asia's most international city with a vibrant and cosmopolitan community where East meets West, the key attributes of which include a level playing field for entrepreneurs of all nationalities; educated and skilled workforce; unrivalled location and gateway to China; rule of law being upheld and respected and a clean government; low taxes and world class infrastructure; and free flow of information and international lifestyle. Hong Kong has always adhered to international practices in areas such as corporate governance, investment, fund raising, finance, securities, international trade and intellectual property, which are widely recognised by international business community.
"Hong Kong provides a conducive environment that offers parties to commercial transactions a wide range of dispute resolution processes, such as litigation, arbitration and mediation, whether the disputes arise in Hong Kong, the mainland of China or other parts of the world," he added.
Taking arbitration as an example, Mr Wong highlighted that this form of dispute resolution had become popular not only because of its well-known advantages in having disputes resolved with binding effect by an arbitration tribunal choice of parties in private and in confidence, but also because of the recent reforms in Hong Kong's arbitration law that complied with international standards. In addition, the cross-boundary arrangements on reciprocal enforcement of arbitral awards, as well as consent judgments provided businessmen investing in the mainland with an option of resolving disputes in Hong Kong.
"Hong Kong has a strong, user-friendly arbitration system, and a large pool of arbitrators, lawyers and other professionals. Arbitral awards made in Hong Kong are readily enforceable in all East Asian jurisdictions, including that of the mainland of China", Mr Wong said when addressing about 120 participants including representatives from the business community and chamber of commerce; academia and the media in Warsaw.
In 2009, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre handled a total of 429 arbitration cases, representing a year-on-year increase of 15% and over one third of the cases involved at least one Mainland party. In 2008, the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) opened its first branch secretariat outside Paris, which has since been handling more than 140 arbitrations in Hong Kong. In 1999, the Arrangement on Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards, reflecting the principles and spirit of the New York Convention, was signed between Hong Kong and the mainland of China.
Ends/Saturday, September 25, 2010
Issued at HKT 00:50
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