China Business Law Journal – November 2024

Breaking down boundaries

Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore, said Nobel Prize-winning French author Andre Gide. While many Chinese businesses joining the fresh wave of outbound ventures may not have heard of this particular quote from a century ago, they no doubt resonate with the boldness within the message, as well as the stubbornness to defy boundaries, whether they be natural or artificial – economic and political barriers being a strong theme of recent years.

To Chinese companies, overseas markets mean opportunities to take business growth to the next level, but also unfamiliar challenges at potentially every turn. To celebrate the significant overseas deals, projects and cases involving Chinese parties between 2022 and 2024, as well as the incredible legal efforts that went into them, we launched the inaugural China Outbound Deal Awards focusing on the Latin American market.

The region contains more than 30 countries and territories, each boasting their own economic and legal systems, and industry focus, as well as varying levels of development. Correspondingly, the winning deals make for a diverse and dazzling collection.

Middle East is another region that has economic ties with China that, in spite of mounting international trade restrictions and sanctions, have only grown stronger over the years. But when disputes inevitably arise, what are the essential need-to-knows for Chinese in-house counsel regarding the local dispute landscape, and what can they do to improve their chances?

In Knowing is half the battle, we address these questions and more in an exclusive interview with Sadaff Habib, a Dubai-based independent arbitrator and founder of Equanimity Arbitration.

Panning the camera a bit closer to home, in 2024, South Korea actively pushed for the passing of its AI Act; Japan saw a rise in shareholder activism in the form of unsolicited takeover bids; the Philippines and Malaysia embraced ESG principles into their regulatory framework; Australia imposed a social media ban on children and was prepared to fine tech giants that fail to implement it; and China rewrote the rules on capital contribution with its revised Company Law.

In Keep up, a wrap-up of the year’s most significant legal developments in the Asia-Pacific region, we look at how these transformative issues have impacted businesses and their counsel.

Last but not least is the grand reveal of The A-List 2024-25: Growth Drivers after months of extensive editorial survey, during which we invited the legal community to recommend lawyers that proved instrumental in driving market-shaping deals, projects and cases in the past year. We offer our congratulations to all the winners!