The application of Hong Kong equitable remedies to contracts governed by Mainland law

The Hong Kong court may impose equitable remedies even where a party has breached a contract governed by Mainland law. When this may be done was recently discussed at appellate level in First Laser and Hong Jing. Both treated the applicable test as equivalent to that used in Arab Monetary Fund v Hashim (No 8). But the tests are not identical, although they may lead to similar results. In contrast, the wrong test was clearly applied in Eton Properties. The article concludes by drawing practical lessons from the three Hong Kong cases considered.