HKIAC’s 2023 Statistics Reinforce Hong Kong’s Appeal As An Arbitration Hub

On 6 March 2024, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) released its annual statistics for 2023. The numbers reaffirm Hong Kong’s position as a highly attractive center for international arbitration.

In 2023, HKIAC experienced a significant increase in arbitration filings, reaching a record-high total amount in dispute. HKIAC received 281 arbitration filings, the third-highest number since 2017; 184 of the cases were administered arbitrations. The total amount in dispute was HKD 92.8 billion (approximately USD 12.5 billion), with an average amount in dispute in administered arbitrations of HKD 467.6 million (approximately USD 60.1 million). The bulk of HKIAC’s caseload arose from the corporate sector, accounting for 21% of all registered cases, followed by the construction (17.1%) and commercial (16%) sectors. In contrast, banking and financial services disputes decreased from 36.9% in 2022 to 11.4% in 2023.

Most of the arbitrations submitted to HKIAC in 2023 were international in nature. Parties representing 63 jurisdictions appeared in these cases, with Hong Kong, Mainland China, and British Virgin Islands continuing to occupy the top three spots for party origin. Mainland Chinese parties appeared in 39.5% of all arbitrations, highlighting Hong Kong’s role as a key venue for Mainland China-related disputes. At least one non-Hong Kong party was featured in 75.1% of all arbitrations and 89.7% of administered arbitrations. Although slightly lower than figures for 2022 (83.1% and 93.4% respectively), these figures demonstrate Hong Kong’s continued importance as an international dispute resolution hub.

Notably, the data shows significant progress in enhancing diversity among HKIAC appointments. Female arbitrators represented 34.9% of all arbitrator appointments made by the HKIAC in 2023, surpassing the figures of 27% in 2022 and 21.8% in 2021. This is the highest proportion of female arbitrator appointments since HKIAC began publishing female appointment figures in 2017. HKIAC also expanded its pool of arbitrator appointments: 34.3% of the arbitrators HKIAC appointed in 2023 had not been previously appointed by the HKIAC during the prior three years.

As noted in previous alerts (HKIAC’s Arbitration Caseload Hits Record High In 2022 and HKIAC Remains Popular Destination for Arbitration Despite Slight Downturn in 2021), the Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-Ordered Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the “Arrangement”) has been well utilized by parties appearing before HKIAC in the past three years. The 2023 statistics show a continuation of this trend. In 2023, HKIAC processed 19 applications made to 13 different Mainland Chinese courts under the Arrangement. These applications sought to preserve assets valued at a total of RMB 3.5 billion (approximately USD 491 million). In response, Mainland Chinese courts issued orders to preserve RMB 544 million (approximately USD 76.1 million) of assets. HKIAC also reported that between the introduction of the Arrangement in October 2019 and the end of 2023, HKIAC processed 105 applications. HKIAC reported that, through the end of 2023, it is aware of Mainland Chinese court orders preserving assets amounting to RMB 15.8 billion (approximately USD 2.2 billion).

Hong Kong’s new regime permitting outcome-related fee structures came into force in December 2022. (For an overview of this regime, please see our client alert in December 2022.) This was a welcome development and 2023 saw parties swiftly adopting outcome-related fee structure agreements for their disputes. HKIAC reported that parties disclosed the existence of outcome-related fee structure agreements in three cases, all of which were administered by HKIAC. One of these cases involved an agreement entered into after the arbitration commenced.

HKIAC’s 2023 statistics reaffirm Hong Kong’s appeal as a premier hub for international arbitration, especially for Mainland China-related arbitrations. The continued diversification of arbitral appointments and the adoption by HKIAC users of outcome-related fee structure agreements are notable developments to watch in the years to come.

For more information, please see HKIAC’s 2023 statistics.