Chihuahuas…Retrievers…even St Bernards…Our evening constitutional round the Mid-Levels brings my wife and I into contact with a wide range of our canine friends, in varying degrees mostly unsuitable for living in the confines of the average Hong Kong apartment. However, I eye these mutts with new respect, following the influence of a particularly well-qualified pooch [...] read more »

First for the “Lean” – the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) Rules 2010 came into effect on 1 July 2010.
This third edition replaces the SIAC Rules 2007 and is part of SIAC’s efforts to stay lean and effective as it keeps apace with the rapid growth of international arbitration.
Key updates include an expedited arbitration procedure [...] read more »

Offer my wife a diamond and you’ll see her eyes sparkle and a warm smile light up her face. I certainly wouldn’t take a gamble on offering her sand instead with a patient explanation that diamonds are actually compressed sand.
The worth of “sands” in Singapore has taken on added dimensions in recent years given the [...] read more »

Throughout the ongoing financial crisis, and in spite of the glum news all around, I continued to receive fresh inquiries from prospective investors interested in the wind power industry in China. Small wonder, as this industry has doubled in size every year since 2006.
Last year, my observation on investment in the wind power industry was [...] read more »

When is it safe to terminate under a contract?
Volcanoes – we have rather a lot of them in Asia, but even we’ve been obsessing about the infamous Icelandic one, this week. Though 6000 or more miles away from the action, Japanese car manufacturers relying on components from Ireland and Korean mobile phone suppliers ready to [...] read more »

Monday was a public holiday in China, to celebrate Qing Ming, the Chinese tomb-sweeping festival which also happily coincided with Easter. I spent some time explaining to my Chinese friends the Easter story, and how in recent times there have been other interpretations involving bunnies and chocolate eggs.
China has been busy hatching some of its [...] read more »

On 26 December 2009, the PRC Tort Liability Law (the “Tort Law”) was promulgated following a seven-year period of discussions and debate. The law will enter into effect on 1 July 2010.

The Tort Law marks a milestone in PRC legislative history, and will have myriad implications for diverse areas of private and commercial activity. read more »

Opening the mailbox at my Hong Kong apartment block brings the usual array of bills, more bills, flyers and…what appear to be ‘notices’ (usually from my landlord): but as we know from the world of construction law, often it is argued that what is intended to be a ‘notice’ fails to meet up to the strict requirements of the contract.read more »

I bought a painting a couple of months ago which I really liked. I did not have a place to hang it at the time. The gallery owner was eager to make the sale and so agreed I could pick it up later when I had found a place [...] read more »

There is a funny commercial that you can see when you take a taxi in Shanghai. You can view it on a video screen on the back of the front passenger seat. It features a foreign businessman getting into a taxi in Shanghai and telling the Chinese taxi driver the address of his destination. The [...] read more »

Many years ago, I saw a Chinese construction contract for the first time, and there was mention of a person called a “Jian Li” in the contract. I asked myself – what strange creature is this Jian Li?
The literal meaning of Jian Li in Chinese is “project supervisor” and it refers to someone [...] read more »

A couple of weeks ago in France my wife and I looked for a new barbecue. The French salesman encouraged us towards the expensive French made barbecue on the basis that the cheaper ones came from “abroad” (another European country), were made by a company he hadn’t heard of and were probably barbecues they couldn’t [...] read more »