GENERIC RELIANCE ON PRC-HONG KONG ENFORCEMENT ARRANGEMENTS INSUFFICIENT TO OPPOSE LIABILITY FOR SECURITY FOR COSTS

In Du Guorong v Bank of China International Limited and BOCI Securities Limited [2022] HKCFI 2777, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance offered its latest guidance on a defendant’s entitlement to security for costs in Hong Kong proceedings from a plaintiff ordinarily resident in the PRC. Notwithstanding the arrangements between the two jurisdictions related … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills successfully strike out a HK$3 billion fraudulent trading claim commenced against an IPO sponsor in breach of mandatory procedural rules

Last week, the Hong Kong Court struck out a fraudulent trading claim brought by the liquidators (the “Liquidators“) of China Metal Recycling (Holdings) Limited (“China Metal“) against one of its sponsors (the “Sponsor“) on the ground that it was brought as a High Court Writ action (the “Action“), in breach of the mandatory statutory requirement … Read more

Hong Kong: will Courts accept cryptocurrency as a security for costs?

In a recent English High Court decision, Tulip Trading Limited v Bitcoin Association for BSV [2022] EWHC 2 (Ch) and [2022] EWHC 141 (Ch), the Court refused the claimant’s request for security for costs to be paid in Bitcoin. This is the first English case where a party to litigation has sought to provide security in the form … Read more

End of an era? Hong Kong Court finds letters of no consent unconstitutional

In Tam Sze Leung & Ors v Commissioner of Police [2021] HKCFI 3118, the Court of First Instance found the longstanding practice of the Hong Kong Police in effecting an informal freeze against bank accounts through the use of “letters of no consent” (the No Consent Regime) to be unconstitutional. The No Consent Regime as operated … Read more

HONG KONG: NO TIME TO WASTE WHEN ENFORCING NON-COMPETE COVENANTS

The recent case of AB Club Ltd & Anors v Chan Yin Ki Cubie & Anors [2020] HKCFI 2769 reinforces the need for speed when seeking to enforce post-employment covenants. Any undue delay, even if only a matter of weeks, may mean a Court refuses to grant an interim injunction. Read more

Malaysia: High Court considers validity of applications determined through remote hearings during the Movement Control Order

In SS Precast Sdn Bhd v Serba Dinamik Group Bhd & Ors (Civil Suit No. BA-22C-6-03), the High Court considered the validity of the remote hearing of three applications conducted through Skype during the enforcement of Malaysia’s Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures Within Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020 (“Movement Control Order”). The decision … Read more