This eagerly-anticipated book provides an excellent introduction to the world of mergers and acquisitions ("M&A"), which is perhaps a more high value-added form of corporate practice, and one in which lawyers must understand the nature of deals in general. Whereas initial public offerings, and even general corporate work, are usually directly correlated with the health of the economy, public M&A work - like insolvency workouts - can sometimes be countercyclical in that it comes to the fore when the securities markets are weak and the need for companies to consolidate strong.

In the opening of the Legal Year 2020, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon emphasised the continual imperative to build a justice system that better meets society’s justice needs. He laid out the context (at para 41 of his Response): "These enduring problems are a legacy of a justice process that was conceived in a different era and which was founded on a philosophical preference for argument and adjudication as primary methods of dispute resolution. That model of justice is increasingly straining to meet the needs of modern society – one which is evolving faster than ever before; inhabits both the online and offline worlds; faces increasing socio-economic stratification; and confronts a polarised world more prone to conflict and division than peace and multilateralism".

On 3 September 2020, the Asian Principles for the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments (hereinafter, "Asian Principles") adopted under the auspices of the Asian Business Law Institute was officially released, a date that may be considered a turning point in the history of legal developments in the field of recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in Asia. This is because to date, there is no single regional framework that ensures the smooth circulation of judgments between neighbouring states despite strong economic ties that bind the various Asian jurisdictions. Many of these states (such as Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand etc.) have not even showed eagerness to establish their own networks of bilateral cooperation to that effect (for an earlier unfruitful attempt, see Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee, Report of the Seventh Session Baghdad 1965 (1966)). This status quo might intrigue outsiders' curiosity. Indeed, unlike Europe, Latin America,_x000D_ or intergovernmental organisations such as the Commonwealth of Independent_x000D_ States ("CIS"), the League of Arab States ("LAS") or the Gulf Cooperation Council_x000D_ ("GCC"), where regional schemes on judgments recognition and enforcement have_x000D_ already been in place, the lack of interest displayed in some parts of Asia, at least at_x000D_ an official or diplomatic level, is hardly comprehensible. This is more so knowing_x000D_ that the field of international arbitration has a completely different picture although_x000D_ the need to foster economic growth and to guarantee legal certainty and predictability_x000D_ is indifferent to which method of dispute resolution is adopted.