Singapore, seeking to create a “multi-billion dollar” market for resolving cross-border disputes, will gain from China’s affirmation that sovereign states can’t be sued in Hong Kong courts, lawyers say.
On Aug. 26, China approved an interpretation of Hong Kong’s Basic Law that states the city should follow central government policy giving countries absolute immunity.
Singapore, which allows sovereign states to be sued on commercial and contractual issues, has opened its legal market to foreign law firms and offered tax incentives in a challenge to Hong Kong for international arbitration business. Full story
