Hong Kong: Contracts and Commercial Law

Hong Kong has launched a two-month consultation period on introducing a statutory cooling-off period for and imposing a contract duration limitation on pre-paid consumer contracts in the beauty and fitness industries. This initiative targets longstanding issues of unfair trade practices (“UTP”) to protect the rights and interests of consumers by amending the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (“TDO”), the primary consumer protection legislation in Hong Kong.

Pursuit of Xiamen court proceedings by Hong Kong award debtors constituted vexatious and oppressive attempt to frustrate enforcement of CIETAC award in Hong Kong and relitigate matters already decided by Hong Kong courts...

The Hong Kong Court of First Instance has ruled that account managers can owe fiduciary duties to their employers when handling client enquiries and commercial information, even if they are not senior executives. This case examines when preparation for future employment crosses the line into active competition, misuse of confidential information, and concealment of business opportunities.

The HKIAC broke new records for the total amount in dispute and the number of new administered arbitrations in 2025, according to the institution's statistical report for 2025 (published on 12 February 2026).

Herbert Smith Freehills is pleased to present Navigating Contract Disputes: Views from Practice, a series of seminars with accompanying guides...

In our previous article on the UK Supreme Court decision in King Crude Carriers v Ridgebury November LLC [2025] UKSC 39...

The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods ("CISG") is now law in Hong Kong, having come into effect in December 2022 under the Sale of Goods (United Nations Convention)...

In Re Fullerton Capital Limited (in liquidation) [2025] SGCA 11, the Singapore Court of Appeal has affirmed the importance of a debtor's registered office (in this case in the BVI) as its centre of main interests ("COMI").

What lawyers call a "battle of the forms" occurs when two parties, negotiating a contract, exchange conflicting standard terms during the contract negotiation...