Renowned arbitrator and counsel Jern-Fei Ng now calls Singapore home after living in the UK for 25 years. The Malaysia-born star disputes lawyer shares with ALB about the trends and talents in Asia’s arbitration scene, and why he’s confident that the region will continue to grow as a disputes powerhouse.
ALB: What prompted your decision to move to Asia after more than two decades in Britain, and why now? How has potential in Asia’s arbitration landscape been factored in?
Jern-Fei Ng: Over the past decade or so, particularly after I was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2018, the epicentre of my practice as a barrister has moved gradually but decisively eastwards; a growing proportion of my clients are now based in Asia, including a large number of Chinese State-owned enterprises and also some of the leading multinational corporations across Asia.
In addition, I have been increasingly involved in teaching arbitration and advocacy at many of the leading institutions of higher learning in Asia, such as Peking University School of Law and Renmin University School of Law. My decision to return home to Asia is a natural corollary of these developments in my professional career.
This is all bolstered by the fact that the dispute resolution landscape in Asia has continued to grow at a rapid pace and the region is already and will continue to grow in importance as one of the epicentres of commercial dispute resolution in the world. I hope to further contribute to this development following my return to Asia.
ALB: Which industry sectors and jurisdictions in Asia do you see the most arbitration activity in at the moment, and what factors do you feel are driving the same? What kinds of companies/entities are most active?
Ng: There are many jurisdictions in Asia which are thriving and on an upward trajectory insofar as arbitration activity is concerned. Of these, the two leading arbitration hubs are Singapore and Hong Kong, with Shenzhen, Seoul, and Kuala Lumpur also emerging in importance. To my mind, this growth tracks the growth of Asia’s economy in general, all of which has been fuelled by the innovative measures that have been spearheaded by many of these hubs in improving the quality of offerings to end users in the disputes sector. The best example of this is the establishment and subsequent growth of Maxwell Chambers in Singapore, on whose board of directors I am proud to serve.
ALB: Speaking of Singapore and Hong Kong, how do you envision these two arbitration seats developing? Are there any other hubs that are poised for growth?
Ng: Singapore and Hong Kong have for some time been depicted as rivals in the dispute resolution sector. However, I don’t subscribe to this theory at all. In my view, Singapore and Hong Kong complement each other - they each have unique characteristics, not to mention, slightly different legislative framework which appeals to different groups of end users. Albeit there is admittedly also a common hinterland, in which both will be seeking to draw work from. However, the diversity of choice offered by both Singapore and Hong Kong as arbitral seats, to my mind, enhances Asia’s attractiveness as a whole as an international dispute resolution hub.
To be clear, I am not just saying this because I am associated with both jurisdictions, in that I am admitted to the Singapore Bar and I am also an arbitrator member of Temple Chambers, which is one of the leading barristers Chambers in Hong Kong! The fact that I am active in both of these jurisdictions perhaps underscores the point I am making that Singapore and Hong Kong are really natural allies rather than rivals. They are no more rivals than say New York and London are.
ALB: How do you rate the quality of arbitration practitioners in the region?
Ng: The arbitration practitioners in Asia are exceptional, more than comparable in quality and strength to their peers in other parts of the world. Indeed, it might be said that arbitration practitioners in Asia are, by virtue of the diversity of the linguistic abilities and their familiarity with Asian business practices and cultures, well attenuated to serve the needs of clients who hail from this part of the world. For instance, over the years I have found myself using Chinese and Bahasa in the course of work which naturally comes in very handy with clients from, say, China and Indonesia.
ALB: What are your predictions for the growth of arbitration in the Asian region? What trends are you expecting to see?
Ng: I foresee a bright future for arbitration in Asia and I am excited to be back and hopefully contribute to this growth, drawing from the reservoir of experience as a King’s Counsel in England in the process. In terms of trends, I predict that there will be further uptick in the number of cases administered by institutions based in Asia, such as the SIAC, HKIAC and SCIA; and also a diversification of the pool of arbitrators, lawyers and experts who operate in our sector.
