In a boost to Singapore's arbitration industry, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PAC), also known as The Hague Tribunal, is to set up its first Asian branch in Singapore to handle cases in the region.

Singapore has been picked because of its neutrality, reliability and efficiency, said Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Law Minister S. Jayakumar at the signing of an agreement to establish the Singapore facility this morning.

The Singapore branch will provide arbitration, mediation, conciliation and fact-finding services in resolving international disputes for which at least one party is a state, a state entity or an inter-governmental body.

Mr Tjaco Van den Hout, Secretary General of the PAC, who signed the pact on behalf of the international organised based in The Hague, the Netherlands, said Singapore is the "preferred choice of law" for parties familiar with the common law tradition and is a "convenient and attractive location" for arbitration.

He also noted that other international arbitration groups are also coming to Singapore. For example, the American Arbitration Association is setting up a joint office with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre in Singapore, and the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce will hold its Commission meeting here in October next year - the first time outside Paris.

He added that through its Singapore branch, the PAC will be able to offer its expertise and make dispute resolution more accessible to the region, which is experiencing rapid economic growth.

"At a stage of such brisk growth, it will be inevitable that legal issues and disputes pertaining to matters such as investment treaties could arise, said Mr Van den Hout. "These issues will need to be resolved promptly in a manner acceptable to all parties. It is thus timely that an Asian PCA facility is established to serve the region."

PAC has recently set up facilities in South Africa, Lebanon and Costa Rica as part of its efforts to broaden its global network and to cater to regional needs.

The PCA is an inter-governmental organisation established in 1899 in The Hague to facilitate arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution between states.

It has since developed into a modern, multi-faceted arbitral institution which provides services for the resolution of disputes involving various combinations of States, State entities, intergovernmental organizations and private parties. These disputes often relate to international issues such as multilateral and bilateral territorial, environmental and investment matters.