The second and third reading of the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill concluded at the Legislative Council on 18 December 2024. As an important milestone of the security of payment regime in Hong Kong, the Construction Industry Security of Payment Ordinance (“Ordinance”) will be published in the Government Gazette on 27 December 2024. According to section 1(3), the provisions on power of Secretary for Development for registration and administration of Adjudicator Nominating Bodies (“ANBs”) will take effect on the gazettal date, i.e. 27 December 2024. The remaining provisions of the Ordinance will come into operation on 28 August 2025. Construction contracts entered into on or after this date will be governed by the Ordinance.

With the Hong Kong Development Bureau’s (DevB) contractual security of payment regime coming into effect from 31 December 2021 (the SOP regime), we now examine some important challenges which facing the Hong Kong construction industry as it comes to grips with the new contractual environment. The SOP regime is set out in the Technical Circular (Works) No.6/2021 published by DevB on 5 October 2021 for the implementation of security of payment provisions in public work contracts (the Circular) and will take effect in two stages, commencing on 31 December 2021 and 1 April 2022. For our earlier articles looking at the particulars of the SOP regime, please see Security of Payment in Hong Kong - pilot programme for public works contracts and Security of payment circular issued by the Development Bureau of Hong Kong – to take effect from 31 December 2021.

On 5 October 2021, the Development Bureau (DevB) published the Technical Circular (Works) No.6/2021 for the implementation of security of payment provisions in public work contracts (Circular).The Circular promulgates a contractual regime to implement “the spirit of the Security of Payment Legislation” in public works construction contracts and sub-contracts (the SOP regime). For affected contracts, the Circular (i) regulates payment application and certification processes, and (ii) enshrines adjudication as an interim dispute resolution mechanism.

Updates to NEC4 optional clause X22 – Early Contractor Involvement and its suitability for use in HK, Singapore and elsewhere in Asia.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the implementation of various temporary laws and regulations for social distancing in Hong Kong SAR, Singapore and Malaysia. In this article, we will discuss the relevance of these laws and regulations in the context of the sports industry, as well as the implications of force majeure clauses for sports event organisers and legal issues to be considered if a sports event is postponed or cancelled.