Hong Kong

Recent Articles

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  06/02/2025

  Hong Kong

  Legal update on crypto­cur­rency liquidation case

  Following the High Court’s landmark case in 2023 where cryptocurrency was recognised by the Court as property and could form a subject matter of a trust, the High Court recently further clarified the trust relationship between exchanges and their customers. Non-Consenting Customers (NCCs) who did not accept the 2018 Terms and Conditions (T&C) were found to have a proprietary interest in their assets, giving them priority in the liquidation process. Conversely, customers who had agreed to the T&Cs were treated as unsecured creditors. This recent decision in the Gatecoin liquidation...

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  31/01/2025

  International

  Sustainable Finance Regulation 2025 Timeline

  Our sustainable finance timeline sets out recent and expected EU, US, UK and International regulatory developments relating to sustainable finance in 2025.  

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  24/01/2025

  APAC Region

  New mandatory licensing requirements for application service providers in Malaysia

  From 1 January 2025, companies providing internet messaging services and/or social media services (“Applications Service Providers”), and which have 8 million or more users in Malaysia, must obtain an Applications Service Provider class licence (“ASP(C) Licence”) to comply with their regulatory requirements under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588) (“CMA”). The new requirements aim to regulate online services to protect the safety of users, especially in relation to online harms of violence, child exploitation, scams, gambling, bullying and harassment.A....

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  22/01/2025

  International

  LCIA publishes latest costs and duration analysis: are parties getting value (and efficiency) for money?

  The London Court of International Arbitration (“LCIA”) has published its third report on the costs and duration of arbitrations conducted under the LCIA arbitration rules, following previous reports published in 2015 and 2017 (the “Report”).  The Report covers all 616 cases that reached a final award between 1 January 2017 and 12 May 2024. This is the longest time period studied by the LCIA to date and apparently the longest time period covered by any costs and duration analysis by any arbitral institution to date.  In that period, the LCIA received the highest...

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  16/01/2025

  International

  CMS Expert Guide on Beauty

  With a highly circumspect online and IRL consumer, the beauty industry is facing increasing scrutiny on everything from ingredients to their supply chain. For those offering treatment services in particular, which has until now been the wild west of wellness, there’s a shift in consumer demand for transparency and accountability – namely a desire for better regulation and insurance. This follows well documented horror stories in national press worldwide of those travelling to secure these services at bargain prices with catastrophic results.This Expert Guide on Beauty considers...

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  16/01/2025

  APAC Region

  Understanding Vietnam's Data Law: Key Objectives and Business Implications

  Vietnam's new Law on Data (“Data Law”), passed on 30 November 2024, will take effect on 1 July 2025. The law regulates both personal and non-personal data, similar to the Chinese Data Security Law (“Chinese Data Law”). Vietnam’s Law represents a significant milestone in regulating Vietnam's digital environment.Comparison with Vietnam’s Personal Data Protection LawThe Data Law regulates digital data, data products, and services, applying to both domestic and foreign entities in Vietnam, as well as offshore entities engaged in Vietnam's digital data activities....

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