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Connor Mycroft

Hong Kong is stepping up its game as an international arbitration hub while pushing forward to help mainland Chinese companies go global with its professional services, the city’s deputy justice secretary has said.
Deputy Secretary for Justice Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan on Tuesday described Hong Kong as an “indispensable bridge” between the rest of the country and the world, while the head of a key government legal body in Indonesia said Singapore remained the more “famous” arbitration hub.
Cheung was speaking alongside Andry Indrady, the head of the Law Policy Strategy Agency at Indonesia’s Ministry of Law, at the South China Morning Post’s China Conference: Southeast Asia 2026 in Jakarta.
“No matter if you are an Indonesian company or Asean company looking into the China market, or a Chinese company venturing into the Southeast Asia market, Hong Kong is an irreplaceable bridge,” Cheung said.
During the discussion, Cheung noted that Hong Kong was doing “very well” in terms of international arbitration, a key strategic priority for the city in recent years.
He said Hong Kong was the most preferred city in Asia for arbitration and second globally. Many arbitrators from the United Kingdom came to Hong Kong to practise, he added.
Cheung’s comments were prompted by Indrady when the latter was asked whether Indonesian companies would consider using Hong Kong as a hub to settle disputes.
“Given the nature of freedom of contract, I think that that possibly will happen,” he said. “Maybe at this moment, Hong Kong’s arbitration centre is not as famous as the Singapore arbitration centre.”
Indrady said he had recently visited Hong Kong to study the city’s push to become a family office hub, which Indonesia was also exploring, and learn more about how arbitration worked in Hong Kong.
“This is something that for us … is enriching our knowledge of how common law values can be adapted in our system,” he said.
Hong Kong is pushing – and being positioned by national strategies – to solidify its status as a premier international arbitration hub in the Asia-Pacific region.
This effort is driven by a combination of government initiatives, institutional leadership from the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and alignment with mainland China’s broader goals for the rule of law and cross-border dispute resolution.
The city ranked joint first with Singapore in the Asia-Pacific region and joint second, after London, as the most preferred seat of arbitration worldwide, according to the 2025 International Arbitration Survey conducted by Queen Mary University of London in April last year.
The city is also seeking to provide more legal and professional services for mainland companies to expand overseas.
Cheung chairs the Expert Committee on Professional Services for Going Global, announced in January, that builds on the GoGlobal platform authorities launched last year.

Cheung said the government had heard of many cases of mainland companies failing in their planned global expansions, typically due to cultural differences and different legal frameworks across jurisdictions.
“Our professional services are renowned for their international outlook,” he said. “They have a very deep understanding of both Chinese and global contexts.
“We can provide very comprehensive and full cycle support from project finance, branding, international property rights and legal protection.”
Cheung was also asked about the sentencing of former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and whether it would affect investment confidence.
Lai, the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily tabloid-style newspaper, was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment on Monday in a trial that some Western governments called politically motivated and counter to the rule of law.
Cheung dismissed foreign criticism, saying Hong Kong was the world’s most active market for initial public offerings last year and was also performing well in wealth management and professional services.
“I will say that many, or most, foreign investors in Hong Kong have confidence in our system and the protection of national security is a way to secure a very safe business environment for foreign investors in Hong Kong,” he said.
Indrady weighed in, citing his experience when he was posted to Indonesia’s consulate in Hong Kong for over three years from late 2014.
“Investors are smart enough to make their own analysis when they are going to invest in certain jurisdictions,” he said.
“I can see that Hong Kong is still one of the promising jurisdictions for international investors, especially for Indonesia.”


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Horace Cheung also confident of city’s investment prospects, while the Indonesian Law Policy Strategy Agency’s Andry Indrady cites Singapore’s strengths


Horace Cheung also confident of city’s investment prospects, while the Indonesian Law Policy Strategy Agency’s Andry Indrady cites Singapore’s strengths.


Hong Kong stepping up as international arbitration hub, deputy justice secretary says

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Horace Cheung also confident of city’s investment prospects, while the Indonesian Law Policy Strategy Agency’s Andry Indrady cites Singapore’s strengths

Horace Cheung also confident of city’s investment prospects, while the Indonesian Law Policy Strategy Agency’s Andry Indrady cites Singapore’s strengths