HKIAC’s 2024 Statistics Demonstrate Continued Growth and Reinforce Hong Kong’s Position as a Leading Arbitration Hub

On February 20, 2025, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) released its annual statistics for 2024. The numbers demonstrate steady growth and reinforce Hong Kong’s position as a leading centre for international arbitration.

In 2024, HKIAC received 352 arbitration filings (up 25% from 2023), marking its highest-ever caseload. Of these, 249 were administered by HKIAC under the HKIAC Administered Arbitration Rules or the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. The total amount in dispute reached HKD 106 billion (approximately USD 13.6 billion)—also an all-time high. The average amount in dispute in administered arbitrations was HKD 375 million (approximately USD 48.1 million). The 2024 caseload demonstrated diversity across sectors, with commercial disputes leading the caseload at 14.5%, followed by sale of goods (13.9%) and corporate disputes (13.6%).

The arbitrations submitted to HKIAC in 2024 maintained their strong international character. Parties from 53 jurisdictions participated in these cases, with Hong Kong, Mainland China, and the British Virgin Islands remaining prominent jurisdictions for party origin. Notably, 76.4% of all arbitrations and 86.1% of administered arbitrations featured at least one non-Hong Kong party. The international nature of HKIAC’s caseload was further evidenced by the fact that 41.5% of arbitrations involved no Hong Kong parties and 14.5% involved no Asian parties.

The data continues to show progress in enhancing diversity among HKIAC arbitrator appointments. Female arbitrators represented 34.7% of all arbitrators appointed by HKIAC in 2024, maintaining the high level achieved in 2023. HKIAC also continued to expand its pool of arbitrators; 36.7% of appointments were new appointees not previously appointed by HKIAC over the last three years.

Building on developments covered in our previous alerts about HKIAC’s 2023 statistics and 2022 statistics, the utilization of the Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-Ordered Interim Measures (the “Arrangement”) saw significant growth in 2024. HKIAC processed 40 applications made to 21 different Mainland Chinese courts under the Arrangement in 2024, more than double the number in 2023. These applications sought to preserve assets valued at RMB 9.1 billion (approximately USD 1.2 billion). Mainland Chinese courts issued orders preserving RMB 6.3 billion (approximately USD 865 million) of assets. Approximately 55.8% of the applications concerned assets owned by Mainland Chinese parties and 44.2% concerned assets or evidence owned by non-Mainland parties, including parties from the British Virgin Islands, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States.

HKIAC’s data also demonstrates that since Hong Kong’s new regime permitting outcome-related fee structures (ORFS) in arbitration and arbitration-related court proceedings came into force in December 2022, the adoption of ORFS in arbitration proceedings has grown steadily. Parties disclosed ORFS arrangements in six cases administered by HKIAC, up from three cases in 2023. Three of these agreements were entered into after the commencement of arbitration, showing increasing flexibility in dispute funding arrangements.

HKIAC’s 2024 statistics demonstrate HKIAC’s continued importance in the global arbitration landscape. The record-breaking caseload, continued diversity in appointments, and substantial increase in the use of interim measures reaffirm Hong Kong’s position as a premier hub for international arbitration, particularly for complex cross-border disputes.

For more information, please see HKIAC’s 2024 statistics.

*Morrison Foerster Trainee Nicholas Li also made a contribution to this article.