Issue #4: Money Doesn’t Make You Invincible
Happy Monday!
We're thrilled to see some of you taking our food suggestions seriously! So we might've gone a little overboard with today's suggestion... which is more a feast, then one dish. Merry & Pippin would approve, surely! 🙊
But first, lets dig into the real meat of this newsletter - the latest legal headlines 🥩:
China: A US Court has enforced a USD 450 million CIETAC Award against the billionaire owner of a Chinese movie theatre company (full details below)
South Korea: A South Korean investment firm has launched a SIAC claim against the owner of the International Finance Centre Seoul after pulling out of a USD 2.8 billion deal (full details below)
See you in 2 weeks' time!
Ling Yah
Money Doesn't Make You Invincible!
A US Court has enforced a USD 450 million CIETAC award against Qin Hui - the Chinese billionaire owner of a Chinese movie theatre company, Run Yun.
Background
In 2017, 3 investors invested a total of USD 210 million (at today's rates) in Run Yun for proportionate equity. That investment came armed with a buyback clause.
In 2020, the investors filed for CIETAC arbitration on the grounds of breach of obligations 😱.
Meanwhile, Qin Hui pushed back: the contracts were invalid under Chinese law as they hadn't been signed by all necessary parties & imposed impossible obligations on him to sell or buy Run Yun shares that he never directly owned. The investors were now trying to strip Run Yun of its assets & force him to buy back useless stock.
However, the Beijing-stated tribunal held that the contracts were valid under the Chinese law and that Qin Gui had to:
pay USD 385 million to acquire the investors' 9% company stake;
pay USD 70 million in damages for delayed payment; and
transfer a 5% stake in Run Yun to the investors.
Now
The investors succeeded in enforcing the said award in New York.
Let Us Have Cake 🍰
Mirae Asset Global Investment (a South Korean investment firm) has launched a SIAC claim against Canada's Brookfield Asset Management - the owner of the International Finance Center Seoul ("IFC Seoul").
Why?
Because Brookfield refused to return Mirae's USD 140 million deposit ("Deposit"). This Deposit was paid as part of Mirae's USD 2.8 billion purchase of the IFC Seoul, which would have made it South Korea's largest real estate deal of 2022.
Since Mirae pulled out of the deal, they asked Brookfield for a refund of the Deposit.
As you might imagine, Brookfield is miffed 😤. They'd stood to gain 50+% on its investment. And let's be honest, did Mirae really use its 'best efforts' to close this deal?
One does not simply default on one's contractual obligations and demand for a refund of one's deposit.
Is Mirae trying to have its cake 🍰 & eat it too? 🤔
It's a Brave New World 🌏
Wars are erupting everywhere and you've got to wonder...
Who's right?
Who's wrong?
And more importantly, how do we protect our rights across borders?!
So very many questions. Which is why we were thrilled to discover a series of notable public international law webinars (FREE & hybrid! 🎊) being held starting this week!
😯 Interesting topics include:
Fact & Expert Witness Evidence in International Dispute Resolution
Circumstances Precluding Wrongfulness: Non-Precluded Issues, Defences, Police Powers
👀 These sessions are being helmed by some heavy hitters:
Dr Adina Kamarudin (Minister of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia)
Professor Chester Brown (University of Sydney)
Toby Landau KC (Duxton Hill Chambers (Singapore Group Practice))
Lucas Bastin KC (he was our Spotlight in Overheard's inaugural newsletter!! 😍).
Full details (+ registration details!) in the link below.
Spotlight - Elizabeth Chan
⚒️ What do you do?
I’m a Senior Registered Foreign Lawyer in Allen & Overy’s APAC arbitration team in Hong Kong.
I’m currently working on some interesting research projects in the tech space, including dispute resolution issues relating to the metaverse, and valuation issues in crypto disputes.
🏆 What is your proudest professional achievement?
Establishing Mandarin Arbitration Salon (国际仲裁沙龙) in December 2021, offering small group discussions in Mandarin language on arbitration topics. Since then I’ve offered close to 50 sessions to almost 300 members, giving people the chance to share their knowledge and network with each other, as well as leading arbitration practitioners.
Co-founding ARBinBRIEF in 2021, a practical video-guide featuring outstanding female arbitrators sharing their tips on conducting arbitrations. Our episodes air every second Wednesday.
⌛ There are now 25 hours in a day! How do you spend your extra hour?
At the beach with my husband and son. 🏖
🚀 If you weren't a lawyer, what would you do?
Read novels 📚 and deepen my knowledge and understanding of Chinese language and culture.
😋 Your favourite food haunt (bonus points if it's off the beaten track!)
The Australian Dairy Milk Company in Jordan, Hong Kong does fantastic breakfasts and delicious condensed milk toast 🍞.
Food Reveal
Elizabeth Chan's favourite food haunt is ours too!
This sumptuous breakfast can be found at Australia Dairy Company in Jordan, Hong Kong. It is best to visit with an empty stomach because you'll want to check out the egg white & milk custard, egg custard, scrambled egg with buttered toast & macaroni and ham soup - just to name a few.
The hot milk tea is pretty good too!
Details: Google Maps, TripAdvisor
Are you a student or young lawyer?
Want to get involved in helping to run Overheard? Meet senior practitioners? Do legal research with real world impact?
We're always looking for bright, young talent like yourself so if you're interested, give us a holler at editor@overheard.asia!
Special thanks to Overheard in Asia's sponsor:
David Grief was described as "the Law's Middleman" (Business Times, 2021). You can reach out to him at dg@davidgrief.com if you need help identifying the right lawyer, arbitrator or expert for your matters, or even if you just want to grab a drink 🍵🍺 with someone who has managed and mentored lawyers for almost 5️⃣0️⃣ years!