March 2026 Introduction Hong Kong is an international financial centre and is well known for being ranked as one of the best economies in terms of ease of doing business in the world. Given its simple tax structure, well-established legal system, sound financial market, free flow of information, sophisticated workforce and the government’s long-standing capitalist 'laissez-faire' policy, thousands of multinational corporations have chosen to establish their foothold in Hong Kong. As of the fourth quarter of 2025, Hong Kong has shown resilience, with a real GDP growth forecast of 3.8% for the quarter despite global economic uncertainties. Today, the People’s Republic of China (China) is the second largest economy in the world after the United States and is one of the fastest-growing major economies. China has been gradually transforming itself from being 'the world’s factory' into a significant consumer and financial market itself given its increasingly affluent population. Hong Kong’s geographical and cultural proximity to China, together with its international business environment

This Practice Note considers the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements and its application when seeking to enforce a court judgment or a judicial settlement. It considers the definition of a judgment and judicial settlement, the requirements for the recognition and enforcement of a court judgment, including the severability of a judgment as well as enforcement of non-monetary remedies and judicial settlements. The Practice Note also covers the procedure for recognition and enforcement and the documents required, as well as specific considerations in England and Wales. Finally, it looks at the grounds for refusing recognition or enforcement under the convention. For practitioners working with the Convention there is an explanatory report by Trevor Hartley and Masato Dogauchi which provides detailed explanations for each article. Does the Convention apply?—transitional provisions Article 16 of the convention is a key consideration when determining whether the convention applies to a matter involving a new contracting state. For general guidance, see Practice Note: Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements—application

This week's edition of Construction weekly highlights includes a two-part analysis of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s phase 2 report, a consultation launched by the Scottish Government on the proposed Building Safety Levy, a case in which the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) considered whether it could revise an adjudicator’s decision on liability for his fees (A&V Building Solution v J&B Hopkins), and an announcement from Construction Industry Council (CIC) of the publication of a report by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) and the Supply Chain Sustainability School (SCSS) focusing on addressing the housing crisis.

Enhanced redundancy payments It is relatively common for employers, particularly larger employers and those that are unionised, to pay redundancy payments to redundant employees which are in excess of the statutory minimum under the statutory redundancy payments scheme. The employer may have an established written policy which sets

Fraud—what is it? Fraud can best be described as the deliberate or intentional use of misrepresentation, deception or dishonesty to deprive, in order to make a gain or achieve an advantage for someone or something or to disadvantage or cause loss (usually financial) to another person or party. That said, it is not always necessary that a scenario, which has at its heart elements of dishonesty, requires establishing dishonesty on the part of some or all of the protagonists in order to seek a civil remedy. Fraud is defined differently depending on whether you are acting in a civil or criminal context, and even within civil and criminal law the definition changes depending on the type of claim or offence being pursued. Fraud is something which is done by an individual, who may or may not be acting on behalf of a company. In either case, it can have significant ramifications for any company associated with the individual, as well as the victims of the fraud (whether individual or corporate). Here are some examples of recognised

When a company has been struck off, it may be possible to make an application to the Registrar of Companies (the Registrar) to restore that company to the register using the administrative restoration procedure. This Practice Note summarises the company restoration procedure by way of administrative restoration pursuant to the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) and includes administrative restoration of a company struck off under regulation 22 of the Registered Office Address (Rectification of Register) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/233 (Registered Office Address Regulations 2024). Why restore a company to the register? When a company has been struck off, it may be possible to make an application to the Registrar to restore that company to the register using the administrative restoration procedure. Common reasons for restoring a company to the register using the administrative restoration procedure include: • that the company was still carrying on business or was in operation at the time that the Registrar struck off the company, and • the company still owned property when it was struck off and dissolved, which has now vested

Other protections available to trustees Despite dire warnings about the onerous nature of trusteeship, the liabilities imposed by the Pensions Regulator and the pitfalls inherent in trusteeship, pension trustees generally enjoy a high level of protection under both statute and the governing documentation of their pension scheme. This includes: • the Trustee Act 1925, s 61 under which a trustee may be relieved of liability for breach of trust if they have acted honestly and reasonably and ought fairly to be excused from that breach • the Trustee Act 1925, s 27 (TA 1925) which, by means of a notification arrangement, protects trustees from unknown beneficiaries on a scheme wind up • exoneration clauses in trust deed and rules which exempt trustees from personal liability for certain acts or omissions • indemnity clauses in trust deed and rules which ensure that certain liability claims against trustees are met by another party or source • indemnities by the plan sponsor Trusteeship undertaken via a company enjoys a further layer of protection under the Companies Act 2006. By

What is a borrowing base facility? Borrowing base facilities ('BB Facilities') are a type of trade finance. They are working capital credit facilities designed to provide short term liquidity by way of advances or the issue of trade instruments ('Instruments') such as letters of credit (see: Letters of credit—overview) or demand guarantees (see: On demand guarantees/bonds—overview). They are secured in full by current assets (usually trading receivables, inventory (ie goods in storage or in transit), cash and contractual rights) of the borrower and/or other security providers. To that end, the amount of capital available to the borrower at any moment is directly linked to the value of the assets providing security to the lender(s). BB Facilities are generally provided to trading companies on a revolving basis for the purposes of purchasing, storing, transporting and selling prescribed commodities. They are usually used to finance a pool of traded assets with high price volatility. A typical borrowing base facility agreement will include provisions which focus on those assets and their value. A typical BB Facility will have a tenor of 1–2 years, although

Guarantees are a contractual arrangement where one party (the guarantor) agrees to answer for the liability of another party (the principal) to another party (the guaranteed party). The common law has developed over time to provide considerable protection for guarantors. The main rationale behind the protections is that a guarantor should have certainty about the amount, type and terms of the obligations it is guaranteeing and to protect the rights that the guarantor acquires as a result of being a guarantor. For more information on the rights of guarantors, see Practice Note: Guarantor rights and how to defer them in guarantee documentation—no competition clauses. Guarantor protections could prejudice a lender's position and it is common practice for lenders to seek to exclude these rights in guarantee documentation. This Practice Note summarises: • the key protections that apply to guarantors, and • common provisions that are used to exclude guarantor protections in guarantee documentation and whether such provisions are effective In most typical finance transactions: • the

This Practice Note considers the court’s jurisdiction when dealing with consumer contracts as set out in Articles 17–19 of Regulation (EU) 1215/2012, Brussels I (recast) which makes up section 4 of the regulation. This section provides added protection for consumers given that they are regarded as the weaker party in a dispute. The general rule is that the consumer can bring proceedings in the EU Member State in which they are domiciled even if the defendant is domiciled elsewhere. It is important to be aware of the definition of a ‘consumer’ and the difficulties that may arise when determining the application of the provisions. Overview of the consumer provisions This Practice Note sets out the relevant issues when considering jurisdiction in relation to consumer contracts under Brussels I (recast). It covers: • definition of a consumer (Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 1215/2012, Brussels I (recast))—identical to the provisions in Article 15 of Regulation (EC) 44/2001, Brussels I • classes of protected consumer contracts (Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 1215/2012, Brussels I (recast))—identical to the provisions in

Markers against which the contractor’s performance under a contract is measured. A tool intended to both measure and improve performance. Most commonly used in partnering contracts.

A letter of credit issued by a bank as a form of guarantee. Payment obligations under the stand-by letter of credit operate independently of the underlying contract