Hong Kong Updates- Hong Kong a "Super Jurisdiction"

Hong Kongers and frequent visitors to Hong Kong will be familiar with the famous Yung Kee goose restaurant, and the former will be aware of the long-running family dispute (as a result of which part of the family is asking for a winding up petition) over the running of the restaurant.

A key (no pun intended) preliminary question has been over whether Hong Kong courts have jurisdiction over the case as the ultimate holding company is a BVI company. The case went to Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal which this month delivered its judgement on this issue, deciding that Hong Kong does indeed have jurisdiction to hear the substantive case.

The Court’s reasoning was that there is "sufficient connection" with Hong Kong, the criteria being whether the petitioner would derive significant benefit from a winding-up order in Hong Kong even though the company is incorporated elsewhere, and whether it is just and equitable to wind up the company in Hong Kong after considering all the circumstances.

The decision is significant specifically in terms of the facts of the case, namely the “sufficient connection” including the presence of shareholders and directors in Hong Kong, but more importantly in general terms as it shows that the use of an offshore company to run a business in Hong Kong does not necessarily remove the jurisdiction of Hong Kong courts.

In more general terms still, this illustrates both the operation of the common law process and principles in Hong Kong, as well as Hong Kong’s robustness as a jurisdiction.

In this respect, Primasia Corporate Services Ltd. was pleased to be quoted in an article in the South China Morning Post this month (“Offshore Backlash A Boon For Hong Kong”) in which Hong Kong’s rule of law and smooth bureaucracy are mooted as a reason for Hong Kong’s rise, as a ‘super jurisdiction’, at the expense of offshore jurisdictions such as the BVI, Cayman and Singapore.

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Primasia will post the updates of Hong Kong and China from time to time. Follow us on our Website/ Blogger/ LinkedIn and stay tunned for our updates!

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