When a company is in financial distress, directors face difficult choices. Should they trade on to try to “trade out” of the company’s financial difficulties or should they file for insolvency? If they act too soon, will...more
A Hong Kong court has refused to sanction a scheme of arrangement, saying that practitioners should explain the key terms and effect of any proposed restructuring in a way which can be easily understood by the creditors and...more
The Hong Kong Court of Appeal has finally laid to rest the vexed issue of whether an arbitration agreement or a winding-up petition should take precedence in an insolvency situation. In two parallel decisions, the Court of...more
The Hong Kong High Court has given a rare order for modifications to a scheme of arrangement after it had been implemented incorrectly by the scheme administrators. Drawing on instances in which the English courts have...more
A Hong Kong court has rejected a bid to force liquidators to provide information and documents regarding their plans and strategies on related litigation as well as information on legal costs and funding arrangements....more
New statutory provisions have come into effect that will modernise the way documents are filed with the Official Receiver in Hong Kong. The changes, which took place on the last working day of 2023, pave the way for the...more
The Singapore Court of Appeal has overturned the High Court decision in the case of Founder Group (Hong Kong) Limited (in liquidation) v Singapore JHC Co Pte Ltd [2023] SGCH 159, in the latest development concerning the...more
According to a recent report, nearly 6,000 construction companies in the UK are in danger of going out of business. In Hong Kong, a major contractor has lost its licence and was removed from the government's registered list...more
The past twelve months have been a time of continuing significant developments in courtled corporate rescues in Hong Kong, all within the flexible confines of the common law and in the continued absence of a statutory...more
On 25 October 2023, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance granted leave to appeal the decision in Shandong Chenming Paper Holdings Ltd [2023] HKCFI 2065 to dismiss a winding up petition in favour of arbitration. This opens...more
A wide-ranging mechanism allowing for easier reciprocal enforcement of judgments in mainland China and Hong Kong will come into force on 29 January 2024. The new enforcement regime should reduce the need to re-litigate...more
The Singapore High Court has again confirmed that a winding-up application concerning a disputed debt that is subject to an arbitration agreement will be dismissed if the arbitration agreement is prima facie valid and covers...more
Three recent Hong Kong first instance court decisions have left undecided the question of whether a winding-up petition will trump an agreement to arbitrate when it comes to a winding-up and particularly in the context of...more
In the case of Re Guangdong Overseas Construction Corporation [2023] HKCFI 1340, the Honourable Madam Justice Linda Chan recognized and provided assistance to a mainland China appointed administrator over a mainland China...more
A Hong Kong court has awarded a trustee enforcing obligations under a keepwell deed more than US$489 million after finding the keepwell provider to be in breach. The decision by the Honourable Mr Justice Harris in Citicorp...more
A Hong Kong court has reminded debtors of the need to present a credible and realistic restructuring proposal when facing creditors threatening winding up actions. In Re Jiayuan International Group Limited (佳源國際控股有限公司) [2023]...more
In the latest development regarding the validity and enforceability of keepwell deeds in the "Peking Founder” litigation, a Hong Kong court has awarded more than US$164 million by way of damages to one of the plaintiffs who...more
The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (CFA) has confirmed a Court of Appeal finding that the court should respect the effect of an exclusive jurisdiction clause in bankruptcy proceedings, just as it does in ordinary civil...more
In another blow to the concept of "soft touch" provisional liquidation, the Court of First Instance has granted an ancillary winding up order against a Hong Kong listed company that had already been wound up in its place of...more
Hong Kong’s last remaining independent airline carrier, Hong Kong Airlines Limited has undergone a significant debt restructuring. In parallel proceedings (a restructuring plan in the UK and a scheme of arrangement in Hong...more
In Re Unity Group Holdings International Ltd [2022] HKCFI 3419, the Hong Kong court has for the first time sanctioned a scheme of arrangement that releases debts of third-party obligors that were guaranteed by the scheme...more
2022 has been a year which has seen significant developments in court-led corporate rescue and insolvency law reform in Hong Kong. In light of the lingering COVID19 pandemic, it was all the more important that the Hong Kong...more
The Hong Kong Court of Appeal has confirmed that the court should respect the effect of an exclusive jurisdiction clause in bankruptcy proceedings, just as it does in ordinary civil actions. To do otherwise, it said, it would...more
Directors who opposed a winding up action citing an unrealistic restructuring proposal have now been ordered to pay costs, after a swift follow-on decision by the Hong Kong Companies Court....more
The Hong Kong Court of Appeal has dismissed a challenge to a first instance decision which recognized the Beijing administrators of the commercial arm of the Peking University group but granted only a limited stay of...more