An international arbitration body in Hong Kong is exploring business opportunities in the Middle East and Africa, citing the city’s neutrality and predictability as key draws for new markets amid rising geopolitical tensions.

Domitille Baizeau, co-chairwoman of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, said the city had benefited from an overall shift in global business growth from Europe to Asia, with overseas businesses increasingly choosing Hong Kong to arbitrate disputes.

The international commercial arbitration specialist was speaking on the sidelines of the ADR in Asia Conference, an event organised by the centre last week. The conference brought together legal practitioners to discuss the latest developments in alternative dispute resolution and the use of artificial intelligence in the field.

The event was part of the annual Hong Kong Arbitration Week, with more than 1,200 professionals from 53 jurisdictions registered to attend.

Victor Dawes SC, co-chairman of the centre, also said the scope of growth for arbitration cases using the city was enormous, with growing offshore investment in emerging economies. He said Hong Kong’s dispute resolution strength extended beyond its proximity to mainland China.

“It is the predictability and the certainty of Hong Kong’s jurisdiction that is holding its development in arbitration,” Dawes said.

Dawes added that the arbitration body was exploring opportunities in the Middle East, while Africa had become another avenue of growth, with burgeoning Chinese offshore investment into the continent.

“Some of those disputes are still being handled in Europe because the counterparty, a lot of them, are more familiar with London … but they are getting to know dispute resolution centres in Asia, and there will be a shift,” he said.

Of the 388 arbitration cases received by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre last year, 85 per cent of them involved at least one non-local party.

Parties that used the arbitration body’s services in 2025 hailed from 61 jurisdictions, while the organisation handled cases involving 17 different governing laws.

Users of the Hong Kong arbitration centre included parties from the United Arab Emirates (ranked 7th last year) and Russia (10th), as well as emerging markets such as Indonesia (8th), Brazil (9th) and South Africa.”Baizeau said Hong Kong had been able to absorb cases involving Russian parties amid heightened geopolitical tensions between the country and European powers.

“A lot of corporate disputes are being heard here that may not directly involve companies headquartered here, but there’s a choice of Hong Kong as a neutral, independent, predictable framework,” she said.

In addition to its established strength in private capital disputes, the city is seeing a rise in arbitrations involving digital assets and investment treaties, according to the lawyers.

The key for Hong Kong to ensure its competitive edge over other global arbitration hubs amid growing geopolitical tensions was to maintain an independent and efficient judiciary that was familiar with the alternative dispute resolution process, they added.

In an arbitration, the award is deemed final, enforceable and not subject to appeal. However, courts have the power to intervene in a narrow set of circumstances laid out in the city’s Arbitration Ordinance, such as one party being unable to present its case.

“A competitive seat is to have a very strong court system in support of arbitration, not too interventionist,” Baizeau said.

This advantage would keep Hong Kong attractive to international businesses beyond its proximity to the mainland, Dawes added.

“The factors we mention that make us successful – it is independent, the quality of the institution, the quality of the panel – they are all there whether the China factor is there or not,” Dawes said.