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 company without requiring a deed of contribution. The Honourable Mr. Justice Harris deviated from the English law approach and ruled that a deed of contribution will no longer be necessary for the release of a principal obligor's liability that has been guaranteed by the scheme company.
A going concern
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 company without requiring a deed of contribution. The Honourable Mr. Justice Harris deviated from the English law approach and ruled that a deed of contribution will no longer be necessary for the release of a principal obligor's liability that has been guaranteed by the scheme company.
A going concern
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 company without requiring a deed of contribution. The Honourable Mr. Justice Harris deviated from the English law approach and ruled that a deed of contribution will no longer be necessary for the release of a principal obligor's liability that has been guaranteed by the scheme company.
A going concern
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 company without requiring a deed of contribution. The Honourable Mr. Justice Harris deviated from the English law approach and ruled that a deed of contribution will no longer be necessary for the release of a principal obligor's liability that has been guaranteed by the scheme company.
A going concern
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 be illogical.
Directors who oppose company windings up with little more than a hope that a restructuring proposal may bear fruit may have to weigh their actions carefully going forward, following a recent decision by the Hong Kong Companies Court.
A Hong Kong court has severely criticised the provisional liquidators (PLs) appointed by the court in the company’s place of incorporation in the Cayman Islands, for trying to interfere with the rights of creditors in Hong Kong and to bypass the statutory scheme of winding-up in Hong Kong. In GTI Holdings Limited [2022] HKCFI 2598, the Honourable Madam Justice Linda Chan said it was a matter of concern to see that solicitors and counsel engaged by the PLs in Hong Kong "did not bring home to the provisional liquidators their duties owed to the creditors and to this court".
In a recent judgment, the Hong Kong Court reiterated the principles outlined in Kam Leung Sui Kwan v. Kam Kwan Lai [2015] 18 HKCFAR 501 (Yung Kee), the case concerning the famous roastgoose restaurant in the heart of Hong Kong's Central district, when determining whether to exercise its discretion to wind up a foreign-incorporated company. In this case, the court also refused to grant a stay of the petition in favor of arbitration.
Florida escape
The Singapore High Court has recently granted recognition to Hong Kong liquidation proceedings and liquidators for the first time under Singapore's enactment of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Model Law on Cross Border Insolvency (the model law).
The Hong Kong court has confirmed that – going forward – the court is ready to recognize and assist a foreign insolvency process conducted in the company’s center of main interests (COMI) and that it will no longer be necessary for the foreign insolvency process to be carried out in a company’s place of incorporation. The judgment sets out a practical roadmap for the future of cross-border insolvency in Hong Kong, where listed companies that use complex holding company structures find themselves in difficulty.