Asian Legal Review

Chinese manufacturers in Vietnam breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday, after Washington and Hanoi agreed a “better than expected” trade deal that will reduce US tariffs to 20 per cent and bring an end to three months of uncertainty.
Most Chinese exporters are likely to continue operating in the Southeast Asian nation in the wake of the agreement, with firms viewing the final tariff rate as manageable, analysts and businesspeople in the country told the Post.
US President Donald Trump announced…

An eight-year-old boy, abandoned in the company of his family’s six dogs for years in Thailand, could communicate only by barking, authorities found when they turned up to check on him in response to reports from a local school principal and child activist.
The boy had not been to school in two years despite his mother receiving about 400 baht (US$12) in government education support funds to enrol him in classes, according to news site Khaosod English.
Neighbours said the 46-year-old would beg…

A proposal to build a US ammunition manufacturing and storage hub in Subic Bay – the site of a former American naval base in the northern Philippines – is raising fears of strategic entrapment, local economic disruption and Chinese retaliation, despite tentative backing from Manila’s defence chief.
Experts said while the move could help plug logistics gaps in the Indo-Pacific and deepen alliance coordination, it might also undermine the Philippines’ policy of strategic ambiguity and reignite…

A recent Supreme Court of New South Wales decision underscores the importance of professional judgment for insolvency practitioners when appointed as voluntary administrators during a winding up proceeding.

Australian politician Hannah Thomas could lose vision in her right eye after she sustained injuries during her arrest at a pro-Palestinian protest in Sydney, as police launched an investigation into the incident following uproar over alleged excessive use of force.
Thomas, the daughter of former Malaysian attorney general Tommy Thomas, was among a group of about 60 people who gathered outside SEC Plating, an Australian provider of electroplating services, last Friday. They did not get prior…

Malaysia’s judiciary faces a leadership vacuum as Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat prepares to step down on Wednesday without a successor named – a gap lawyers warn could undermine judicial independence and public trust.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration has opted not to extend the tenure of Tengku Maimun or Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, the president of the Court of Appeal, both of whom reach the mandatory retirement age of 66 this week. The constitution allows for a six-month…

Recently published statistics in relation to workplace stress, depression and anxiety across Northern Ireland highlight the need for employers to proactively manage mental health in the workplace, experts have said.

Two Malaysian state assemblymen and the businessman who accused them of corruption pleaded not guilty in court on Monday to charges linked to alleged bribes for a mining licence, in a high-profile case that has gripped the public since covert videos of the transactions surfaced online last year.
The case has piled pressure on Sabah’s ruling coalition months before an expected December election, fuelling concerns over the state’s persistent corruption problems and raising questions about…

Hong Kong’s vast lead over Singapore as a listing venue appears unassailable, with even the Southeast Asian city’s home-grown companies heading north to raise funds, but the city state remains determined to improve its allure, according to bankers and analysts.
IFBH, a Singapore-incorporated Thai firm that is the world’s second-largest bottler of coconut water, started trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday after completing a HK$1.16 billion (US$147 million) initial public offering…