This is an appeal from a judgment of Kaplan J given on 28 November 1990, pursuant to the provisions of the Arbitration Ordinance (Cap 341), as amended by the Arbitration (Amendment) (No 2) Ordinance 1989, whereby he granted Tiong Huat Rubber Factory (Sdn) Bhd (the plaintiffs) leave to enforce nine awards against Wah-Chang International (China) Co Ltd, the first defendant, and eight against Wah-Chang International (Hong Kong) Corp Ltd, the second defendant, and entered judgment accordingly.

The only issue which now arises for our determination, and in relation to which argument has been addressed to us, is whether the terms of the arbitration clause comprised in the five agreements concluded between the plaintiffs and the respective defendants for the sale and purchase of latex -- from which the 17 awards were derived -- were sufficiently wide to embrace the matters in dispute; being the effect of the defendant buyers' failure to establish letters of credit in favour of the plaintiff sellers. The clause in question, being reg 12 of the Malayan Rubber Exchange Contract No 2 for Ordinary (Non-guarantee) Regulations, reads: