21 Jul 1986
HONG KONG SHANGHAI (SHIPPING) LTD v. THE OWNERS OF THE SHIP OF VESSEL "HEROINAE" (Liberian Flag) AND ANOTHER
- Citation
- HONG KONG SHANGHAI (SHIPPING) LTD v. THE OWNERS OF THE SHIP OF VESSEL "HEROINAE" (Liberian Flag) AND ANOTHER
- Court
- Court of First Instance
- Case number
- HCAJ109/1986
The 7 October 1980 loan agreement was not a money‑lending contract within the ambit of the Money Lenders Ordinance 1911 because (i) HSS was not carrying on the business of money lending in Hong Kong through WSS and (ii) the proper law and closest connection of the transaction were foreign (money advanced and repayable in New York by a Bahamian lender to Panamanian/Liberian borrowers). HSS was also within the banking exemption. Consequently the 1911 Ordinance did not override the parties' choice of English law; the 1980 Ordinance did not operate retrospectively to validate otherwise illegal pa…