The rise of intra-Asian trade and investment has ignited a swell of opportunities for international disputes, resulting in a growing amount of arbitration instruction hailing from emerging jurisdictions such as India and the Middle East, according to Singapore-based Clyde & Co partner Steven Lim. 

While the Hong Kong arbitration market becomes increasingly China-centric manifest in the HKIAC-CIETAC arbitration tie-up in 2008, Singapore’s arbitration industry has flourished with a strong regional and international focus.

“The shift that I have seen (in Hong Kong) is that, along with the tremendous growth in China over the last ten years, Hong Kong has become much more integrated into the Chinese economy. A lot of the work that goes on in Hong Kong right now has got a very strong China-focus,” Lim told ALB in an interview. “In Singapore you’d find that India is becoming more important as a part of the arbitration market. We have seen a fair bit of investment-related disputes from India across a broad range of sectors.”

Significant growth in investment from Asia to the Middle East, in particular Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other parts of the UAE, has occurred in the infrastructure sector, said Lim.ALB

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