Owing to the nature of the Group’s related business, the Group is involved in contingencies and legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business, including, but not limited to, being the plaintiff or the defendant in litigations and arbitrations. We may also be subject to regulatory and government investigations and actions. Such investigations and actions could develop into legal proceedings or enforcement actions, in which remedies could include fines, penalties, restitution or alterations in our business practices, and could result in additional expenses, limitations on certain business activities and reputational damage. Provision has been made for probable losses to the Group, including those claims where management can reasonably estimate the outcome of the lawsuits taking into account any applicable legal advice.

Many of these matters are also highly complex. It is therefore inherently difficult to predict the magnitude or scope of potential future losses arising from these matters. No provision has been made for pending assessments, litigation, potential contractual breaches, regulatory and government investigations and actions where the outcome cannot be reasonably estimated or where management considers the likelihood of loss to be low or remote. With respect to pending litigation, management believes that any resulting liabilities would not have a material adverse effect on the financial position or operating results of the Group or any of its subsidiaries.