In line with global trend to protect employees’ personal data privacy, the Hong Kong Office of the Privacy Commissioner ("Commissioner") issued a draft Code of Practice on Monitoring and Personal Data Privacy at Work in March 2002 to seek public views on such issues.

Listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange by way of introduction received some attention recently as a result of the suspension of trading in the shares of Asian Citrus Holdings Ltd, China’s biggest orange plantation just 2 hours after trading on the opening day and in June 2010, the listing of London listed insurer Prudential PLC where Prudential added another trading venue in Hong Kong without raising additional funds as no new shares were issued in Hong Kong.

Under the Hong Kong secondary board GEM Listing Rules, a new applicant applying for a GEM listing is required to demonstrate that throughout its active business pursuit period ("ABP Period") it has, either by itself or through one or more of its subsidiaries, actively pursued one focused line of business.

On 1 December 2004, the <I>Notice of the China Banking Regulatory Commission on Matters Regarding Further Opening of the Banking Sector</I> was published by the China Banking Regulatory Commission ("CBRC").

The recent Hong Kong High Court case of Victor Chandler (International) Ltd v Zhou Chu Jian He (2006), involves Victor Chandler (the Plaintiff) a well known bookmaker registered in Gibraltar and Zhou (the Defendant) a wealthy Peruvian businessman.

Under the reformed Hong Kong civil procedural rules which came into effect on 2 April 2009, one of the most important changes is the emphasis on the use of alternative dispute resolution to settle or resolve disputes.

Pursuant to the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement ("CEPA") signed between Mainland China and Hong Kong SAR on 29 June 2003, the Mainland have applied zero tariff on certain imported goods of Hong Kong origin commencing from 1 January 2004.

Often, parties to a contract may agree that any dispute relating to the contract will be resolved by way of arbitration.

In July 2006, Wal-Mart Stores announced that it would allow employees in China to unionize following criticism that it was exploiting lax labor laws in the country to keep costs low. The current PRC Labor Law was first enacted in 1994.

Ong Hong Hoon (“Ong”) was the executive director of GP NanoTechnology Group Limited, formerly known as Guang Ping NanoTechnology Group Limited (the “Company”) previously listed on the Growth Enterprise Market (“GEM”) of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (“HKSE”) and de-listed in June 2005.

Honest concurrent use is one of the uncommon grounds a trademark applicant in Hong Kong can rely on to overcome an objection to a trademark registration that conflicts with, or would take unfair advantage of, or would be detrimental to, an earlier mark.

After nearly a decade of preparation, the Civil Justice Reform (CJR) will finally come into effect on 2 April 2009.

Hong Kong like many other open economies is vulnerable to the problems caused by unsolicited electronic messages ("UEMs"). It is estimated that over 60% of all emails received in Hong Kong are UEMs and over 99% of the UEMs come from outside Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, if a company is dissolved following compulsory or voluntary liquidation, the court may declare the dissolution void on the application of any person interested within two years of the date of dissolution

Commercial Franchising is a successful business model around the world. It is also a fast growing business trend in China. It is estimated that there are more than 2,600 franchise operations in China (ranking number one in the world) involving more than 168,000 franchise outlets in more than 60 industries in 2006.

After more than 2 years of consultation and redrafting, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress finally passed the new PRC Labour Contract Law (the "New Law") on 29 June 2007.

After years of consultations, the Hong Kong Government submitted the long waited Competition Bill (the "Bill") on 2 July 2010 to the Legislative Council for debate in the coming 2010-2011 session.

The following case attracted substantial publicity both in China and elsewhere for several reasons. Firstly, it was the first case of a judgment being published by an Intermediate People’s Court in China involving the illegal sale of pirated DVDs in China in which foreigners were punished.

The Mainland and Hong Kong signed an Arrangement between them for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income (the "Arrangement") on 21 August 2006 to eliminate any situation of double taxation that might otherwise be faced by a Mainland or Hong Kong investor or resident in the conduct of cross border activities.

Approximately 1,000 companies are listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Stock Exchange”) now and many of these companies are family controlled or government/state owned enterprises.