B&R key driver in legal service hub bid for HK
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying proposes to develop Hong Kong into the prime source of international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific, with the Belt and Road Initiative perfectly placed to kick-start this drive.
Addressing the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Conference hosted by the Law Society of Hong Kong on Friday, Leung said the Chinese mainland’s direct investment in Belt and Road (B&R) countries amounted to $14.5 billion last year.
He believed the initiative, which covers 4.4 billion people in more than 60 countries, is bound to boost demand for legal services.
Recalling his trip to cities in the Guangdong-Hong KongMacao Greater Bay Area last month, Leung said he was impressed by the rapid growth of Pearl River Delta cities. He believed Hong Kong clearly stood out among bay area cities when it came to legal services.
Thomas So Shiu-tsung, president of the Law Society of Hong Kong, said that as of last month there were 81 foreign law firms setting up in Hong Kong, and 70 representative offices of Hong Kong solicitors’ firms setting up in major cities on the mainland. The extensive pool of Hong Kong and overseas legal professionals was one of many advantages the city could offer in a leading role in the B&R Initiative.
Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung told the opening ceremony: “Legal risks are inherent in cross-border transactions. Any enter- prise and any jurisdiction which wishes to tap the opportunities generated by the B&R Initiative would have to take proactive steps to get themselves ready in meeting the legal challenges ahead of us.”
Together with 36 solicitor associations across 23 jurisdictions in the B&R regions, the Law Society of Hong Kong signed a Hong Kong manifesto to promote legal cooperation between lawyers from the B&R regions.
Under the guidance of the manifesto, Hong Kong would work with legal professionals across the B&R to push for uniformity of laws in trade and investment and promote more exchanges with lawyers from other jurisdictions. The city also seeks to work with law schools and course providers to tailor-make law courses.
The secretary for justice has been promoting Hong Kong’s legal and dispute resolution services around the world, visiting such countries as South Korea, Australia, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates, among others.
The central government strongly supports Hong Kong’s ambition to become a legal hub for the B&R. In May 2016, Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, said the central government “supports Hong Kong’s efforts to build a center for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific, in order to provide legal and arbitration services to the B&R”.
Hong Kong clearly stands out among bay area cities when it comes to legal services.” Leung Chun-ying, Chief Executive