This book considers foreign investment flows in major Asian economies. It critically assesses the patterns and issues involved in the substantive law and policy environment which impact on investment flows, as well as the related dispute resolution law and practice. The book combines insights from international law and comparative study and is attentive to the socio-economic contexts and competing theories of the role of law in Asia. Contributions come from both academics with considerable practical expertise and legal practitioners with strong academic backgrounds. The chapters analyze the law and practice of investment treaties and FDI regimes in Asia looking specifically at developments in Japan, India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea and Vietnam. The book explores the impact of the Asian Financial Crisis in the late 1990s and the Global Financial Crisis a decade later, examining actual trends and policy debates relating to FDI and capital flows in Asia before and after those upheavals. Foreign Investment and Dispute Resolution: Law and Practice in Asia is a valuable resource for practitioners, academics and students of International and Comparative Law, Business and Finance Law, Business, Finance and Asian Studies.

Critically discusses the increasing significance of Asian States in the field of international investment law and policy. Contains analyses of national investment law rule-making in Asia, contributions of Asian States on cutting-edge developments to the global community, and contemplates future possibilities for investor-State dispute settlement.

International Investment Treaties and Arbitration Across Asia brings together leading academics and practitioners to examine whether and how the Asian region has or may become a significant ‘rule maker’ in contemporary international investment law and dispute resolution. The editors introduce FDI trends and regulations, investment treaties and arbitration across Asia. Authors add country studies for the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as well as an overview of ASEAN treaties, or examine other potential ‘middle powers’ (Korea, Australia and New Zealand collectively) and the emerging ‘big players’ (China, Japan and India). Two early chapters present econometric studies of treaty impact on FDI flows, in aggregate as well as for Thailand, while two concluding chapters offer other normative and forward-looking perspectives.

This book focuses on the Asia-Pacific region, delineating the evolving dynamics of foreign investment in the region. It examines the relationship between efforts to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) and efforts to improve governance and inclusive growth and development. Against a background of rapidly developing international investment law, it emphasises the need to strike a balance between these domestic and international legal frameworks, seeking to promote both foreign investment and the laws and policies necessary to regulate investments and investor conduct. Foreign investments play a pivotal role in most countries’ political economies, and in order to encourage cross-border capital flows, countries have taken various steps, such as revising their domestic legal frameworks, liberalising rules on inward and outward investment, and creating special regimes that provide incentives and protections for foreign investment. Alongside the developments in domestic laws, countries have also taken bilateral and multilateral action, including entering into trade and/or investment agreements. Further, the book explores regional investment trends, highlights specific features of Asia-Pacific investment laws and treaties, and analyses policy implications. It addresses four overarching themes: the trends (how Asia-Pacific’s agreements compare with recent global trends in the evolving rules on foreign investment); what China is doing; current investment arbitration practice in Asia; and the importance of regionalising investment law in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, it identifies and discusses the research and policy gaps that should be filled in order to promote more sustainable and responsible investment. The book offers a valuable resource not only for academics and students, but also for trade and investment officials, policy-makers, diplomats, economists, lawyers, think tanks, and business leaders interested in the governance and regulation of foreign investment, economic policy reforms, and the development of new types of investment agreements.

International Arbitration Law Library Volume 59 The eastward shift in international dispute resolution has already involved initiatives not only to improve support for international commercial arbitration (ICA) and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) but also to develop alternatives such as international commercial courts and mediation. Focusing on these initiatives and their accompanying case law and trends in the Asia-Pacific region, this invaluable book challenges existing procedures and frameworks for cross-border dispute resolution in both commercial and treaty arbitration. Specially assembled for this project, an outstanding team of experienced and insightful arbitrators and scholars describes pertinent developments including: ICA and ISDS in the context of China’s Belt and Road Initiative; the Singapore Convention on Mediation; the shift to virtual hearings and other challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic; mistrust of the application of the rule of law in certain East Asian jurisdictions; growing public concern over ISDS arbitration; tensions between confidentiality and transparency; and potential regional harmonisation of the public policy exception to arbitral enforcement. The contributors chart evolving practices and high-profile cases to make informed observations about where changes are needed, as well as educated guesses about the chances of reforms being successful and the consequences if they are not. The main jurisdictions covered are China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, India, Australia and Singapore. The first in-depth study of recent trends in dispute resolution practice related to business in the Asia-Pacific region, the book’s practical analysis of new resources for dealing with the increasing competition among countries to become credible regional dispute resolution hubs will prove to be of great value to specialists in the international business law sector. Lawyers will be enabled to make informed decisions on which venue and dispute resolution methods are the most suitable for any specific dispute in the region, and policymakers will confidently assess emerging trends in international dispute resolution policy development and treaty-making.

Dispute Resolution in Asia is one of few titles to deal exclusively with the Asian region. The examination of dispute resolution in ten countries provides a much wider spectrum of Asian laws and approaches than is traditional in comparative studies. Furthermore, The country studies in this work are not limited to arbitration or litigation but also examine mediation in each country. The introductory chapter presents an overview of dispute resolution throughout Asia and examines the interesting question of whether there is an `Asian' style of dispute resolution. The ten countries examined in the book are all important trading countries or destinations for foreign investment. The contributors to this publication consist of an impressive group of senior lawyers, international arbitrators, academics and directors of arbitration centres with considerable experience in the field. Their work taken together presents an interesting and varied examination of the rules on dispute resolution in the fastest growing region in the world. This book will be of interest to international business people and lawyers, As well as to students of dispute resolution.

This book brings together foreign investment and investment arbitration in Asia, the fastest growing economic region in the world. It provides a critical analysis of foreign investment, its benefits and the legal regimes of the jurisdictions studied at a time when investor-state disputes are on the rise and investment arbitration is under growing scrutiny. Governments are under greater pressure to balance the promotion of investment with public policy development and interests and calls for a permanent court for investment arbitration are getting louder.To assess future possibilities, this book takes stock of, brings together and analyses the legal regimes on foreign investment in 12 major Asian jurisdictions, namely China, Hong-Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. These constitute paradigmatic examples of what is happening in the legal framework of Asian foreign investment and the impact that the current system of investment arbitration has in all of them. The analysis shows the existence of changing positions and degrees of openness towards foreign investment in the region, as well as a distinct level of exposure to and involvement in investment arbitration.Predictably, their situation will change in the near future, at least in relation to investment arbitration. Proposals for reform have already been made and international institutions are working on the development of an alternative to the proceedings of investment arbitration as it is currently constructed and understood. Consequently, the last two chapters of this book are devoted to the analysis of these developments that will most probably affect the existing situation in the region.

'The Legal Protection of Foreign Investments Against Political Risk' examines how political risks associated with foreign direct investment in the energy sector are managed or mitigated, and suggests new ways to deal with the possibility of such risk. It applies its analysis-using case studies and international law, and examining actual contracts-to the specific context of foreign investment in five Asian countries' power infrastructure projects. "Legal protection of foreign investments against political risk has been a problem for a long time. Professor Papanastasiou's book brilliantly balances the legitimate regulatory power of host states with legitimate business interests of foreign investors by presenting a neatly designed multi-layered legal framework for political risk management. This is an important contribution to both the study of international investment law and the practice of foreign investment business transactions." - Junji Nakagawa, Professor of International Economic Law, Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo; Author, International Harmonization of Economic Regulation (Oxford Univ. Press, 2011) "This book is an impressive and important entry into the field of international investment law scholarship. While maintaining a focus on the important Japanese and Asian regions, it also provides a general and up-to-date coverage of relevant international investment law and political risk considerations faced by multinational corporations. It is impressively concise, yet thorough; it is practical, yet takes into account relevant and recent legal scholarship; it is well-written and organized. The ultimate goal is to help foreign investors and their advisors understand the current international investment law framework and climate to enable them to devise strategies to help their clients reduce political risk, and to protect their clients' property rights and investments. This work should be of interest to in-house counsel and international law practitioners, as well as to law students and scholars for its coverage of current international investment law standards, scholarship, and practices." - N. Stephan Kinsella, Attorney, Houston, Texas; Co-author, International Investment, Political Risk, and Dispute Resolution (OUP, 2005) "This study contributes insightfully to the literature on international economics and, in particular, on the laws protecting foreign investment. The book is unique in two ways. First, it analyzes and measures the impact of such multi-tier legal frameworks as FTAs, investment contracts, FDI regulations and insurance by combining legal interpretative tools and scoring techniques. Second, it adds a new narrative on how Japanese business can use law to secure investments from political risks in the energy sector of foreign countries." - Shujiro Urata, Professor of International Economics, Graduate School of Asian Pacific Studies, Waseda University; Co-editor, Economic Consequences of Globalization: Evidence from East Asia (Routledge, 2012)"

The book focuses on some of the most pressing issues in international investment law in Asia, such as the role of developing countries, the rebalancing between the investors’ rights protection and the host states’ right to regulate, the ISDS reform, among others. The book investigates these issues by looking into the bilateral investment treaties and investment arbitration cases in the region. The readers will benefit from this book’s rich content and wide coverage. For instance, the readers would learn more about Asian states’ Bilateral Investment Treaty law and practice and their standing on international investment law. The book provides a fresh angle to most readers who may be more exposed to the Western perspective on the topic, providing a more complete picture to add to the readers’ understanding of international investment law and in particular its evolution and future possibilities.