Jurisdiction

Hong Kong

The American IRS will intensify scrutiny of some big banks in Hong Kong under agreements made pursuant to the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) which require non-US banks to screen their clients and hit them with a 30 per cent withholding tax penalty if they fail to do so.

Jurisdiction

Hong Kong

An inquest in Hong Kong for eight people who died in a hostage crisis in Manila called 116 Filipinos, including the mayor of Manila, to travel to Hong Kong and give evidence. A Philippine consul said he would arrange for the Filipino witnesses to attend through diplomatic channels but that there were no guarantees everyone the court sought would come.

Jurisdiction

Hong Kong

Parents of four babies affected by tainted dairy products in mainland China sued in Hong Kong's Small Claims Tribunal a Hong Kong company which was a major shareholder of the now-bankrupt Sanlu Dairy Group, the manufacturer of melamine-laced diary products. The Tribunal dismissed their claim saying mainland courts would be a better place to pursue the claims as the entire food-safety saga had taken place on the mainland.