The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) has seen 352 arbitration cases in 2024, one of the highest on record and is an optimistic sign.
Joanne Lau, secretary-general of the HKIAC, described this growth as “optimistic” when she announced the HKIAC’s 2024 statistics to a room full of dispute resolution lawyers on 19 February 2025.
“Parties are choosing the HKIAC for high value and complex contractual arrangements as we can see from the number of cases involving multiple contracts and multiple parties (134 cases),” Lau said, “[and the] … HKIAC remains very committed to ensuring that the cases that we administer proceed efficiently and effectively.”
Of the 352 arbitration filings involving a total of USD13.6 billion, the arbitration centre has administered 249 cases. HKIAC managing counsel Dong Long said the amount in disputes had broken the centre’s record.
Although the number of HKIAC arbitration cases is encouraging, it still falls behind the International Chamber of Commerce, both of which have been seen as top arbitration centres in the world along with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre.
The ICC, which also recently announced its latest figures, revealed 831 cases had been filed under its arbitration rules in 2024. Most of the parties that have participated in the ICC’s arbitration are from countries in the Western Hemisphere, namely the US, Brazil and Spain, while the HKIAC appeals to Asia-Pacific clients.
Most of the arbitration cases administered by the HKIAC, 86%, were international in nature. The HKIAC has seen a more diverse pool of parties from all over the world, who have come from 53 jurisdictions in 2024, as compared to 45 in 2023.
The percentage of arbitration cases with non-Asian parties surged from 5.8% in 2022 to 14.5% in 2024. While parties from Hong Kong and mainland China still top the list of party origins, the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines returned to the top 10 spot last year.
The percentage of arbitrations involving mainland Chinese parties remained around 40%, which is similar to 2023 data. Lau said, “Parties continue to benefit from the unique PRC-Hong Kong interim measures.”
The interim measures arrangement, which came into effect in October 2019, allows parties involved in Hong Kong-seated arbitrations to seek interim measures, including preservation of assets, evidence and conduct, from mainland courts.
The HKIAC made 40 interim measures applications to 21 mainland Chinese courts last year, which is double the 19 cases submitted in 2023.
On Wednesday, the HKIAC also celebrated the addition of Kiran Sanghera as deputy secretary-general, who succeeded Eric Ng. Lau said the HKIAC was still considering recruiting a replacement for Yang Ling, who was previously the HKIAC’s deputy secretary-general and chief representative of the Shanghai office.
