“No Profit Motive” Defence to Insider Dealing Made Out
Peter So
On 26 November 2015, the Market Misconduct Tribunal (MMT) ruled that three former executives of Asia Telemedia Ltd (ATML) had not engaged in insider dealing in ATML shares. The case is interesting, as it appears to be the first recent case in which the defence of “no profit motive” under section 271(3) of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) has been successfully made out. Full article »
Moody’s Case – “Misleading Statements” Considered by a Hong Kong Tribunal
Peter So
On 31 March 2016, the Securities and Futures Appeals Tribunal (SFAT) upheld the SFC’s disciplinary action against Moody’s Investors Service Hong Kong Ltd (Moody’s). This is a landmark decision, as it is the first such action against a credit ratings agency, since the activities of such became regulated by the SFC on 1 June 2011. In addition, this case is noteworthy because the legal principles in relation to the oft-overlooked aspect of false or misleading statements – i.e. statements may be false or misleading when looked at as a whole even if each individual statement is not – are considered and applied by a Hong Kong tribunal. This case will likely have wider application, in particular, in circumstances where there is a statutory obligation not to provide false or misleading statements, e.g., issuing announcements, submitting documents to regulatory authorities and the market misconduct provision of prohibition of dissemination of false or misleading information to induce transactions. Full article »
ICC announces new policies to speed up awards and create greater transparency
KK Cheung
On 5 January 2016, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Court of Arbitration (Court) announced the introduction of two major measures, aimed at enhancing the efficiency and transparency of ICC arbitrations, namely (1) reduction of an arbitrator’s fees where there has been unjustified delay in submitting the draft arbitration award to the Court; and (2) publication on the Court’s website of arbitrators’ information. Full article »
Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal establishes guiding principles for “fraud exception” in summary judgment applications
Genevieve Lam
There are an increasing number of wire frauds occurring in Hong Kong. Victims usually seek to recover their funds by asking the police to freeze them (or by obtaining a court injunction freezing them) and commencing civil proceedings against the fraudster and recipient of the funds. If the fraudster does not contest the proceedings, the victim will usually be able to obtain default judgment. Full article »
Hong Kong Court confirms that there is no appeal from a Court of First Instance decision to refer the parties to arbitration
KK Cheung
In a recent decision, Hong Kong’s High Court confirmed that its Court of First Instance (CFI) decisions to stay court proceedings in favour of arbitration are not subject to appeal and that this is not unconstitutional (Wing Bo Building Construction Company Ltd v Discreet Ltd, HCA 146/2015). Full article »
The law and practice of serving legal documents on Mainland parties
Andrew Law
It is commonplace today for one of the parties in Hong Kong court proceedings to be from the Mainland, be it an individual ordinarily resident in the Mainland or a company incorporated and with its only place of business in the Mainland. In these cases, the conduct of civil litigation is vastly different because documents generated in the Hong Kong litigation still need to be served on the Mainland party. This article is a brief guide to the law and practice in this area. Full article »
Hong Kong Court stays proceedings to arbitration despite jurisdiction clause in favour of Hong Kong Courts
KK Cheung
In the recent case of Bluegold Investment Holdings Ltd v Kwan Chun Fun Calvin, HCA 1492/2015, Hong King’s Court of First Instance stayed the proceedings in favour or arbitration, even though the Plaintiff was claiming against the Defendant under a guarantee which contained a non-exclusive jurisdiction clause in favour of the Hong Kong courts. Full article »