China’s Hong Kong national security law—which could be approved as early as this week—is drawing significant backlash and has the potential to undo Hong Kong’s longstanding position as a global financial center. Hong Kong is braced for more uncertainty, and Singapore is again on people’s minds as an alternative.

For years, Hong Kong and Singapore have competed head-to-head to be Asia’s center of professional services, from cross-border financing to dispute resolution. As legal markets, Hong Kong and Singapore couldn’t be more different: Hong Kong has more or less an open regime for foreign lawyers despite a recent trend of increased regulatory oversight; Singapore, on the other hand, operates a highly regulated regime for foreign legal practitioners but has been gradually opening up. As far as opening an office is concerned, Hong Kong appears to have a much more straightforward and efficient process; Singapore’s process can be more nuanced and more protracted.

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