In Peakwave Investment Management Ltd v Energy Evolution GP Ltd [2026] CIGC (FSD) 7, the Cayman Islands Grand Court has provided further guidance on the interplay between arbitration and winding up proceedings.
In this case, the Court appointed provisional liquidators to protect company assets pending the outcome of foreign arbitration proceedings, despite having stayed the winding up petition. The decision shows that arbitration and insolvency proceedings can operate as complementary parts of the overall dispute-resolution process.
With the Cayman Islands being a preferred jurisdiction for the incorporation of investment vehicles, inevitably cases will arise where non-controlling shareholders complain that they are being unfairly prejudiced by conduct of those in control, and necessarily pursue those complaints by way of proceedings to wind up the subject company on the just and equitable ground.
In its recent judgment in Re Atlas Capital Markets LLC [2026] CIGC (FSD) 19, the Grand Court considered itself bound to make a supervision order pursuant to s.131(b) of the Companies Act, notwithstanding that the company was the subject of a pending just and equitable winding up (J&E) petition when its voluntary liquidation was commenced; and rejected an attack on the joint voluntary liquidators’ (JVLs) independence, which was principally based on a misreading of the JVLs’ evidence and lacked any objective foundation.
Broadly, the dissolution options for a solvent Cayman Islands company are either a voluntary liquidation or a strike-off. The appropriateness of either method will depend on the business history of the particular company and its current financial position.
Preliminary steps
Before commencing the formal dissolution process, it may be necessary to take some preliminary steps, including ensuring that:
Aquapoint LP v Fan [2025] UKPC 56
Introduction
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in CL Financial Ltd (in Liquidation)[1] has provided helpful guidance on applications for approving liquidators’ remuneration.
This article first appeared in Volume 22, Issue 6 of International Corporate Rescue.
Synopsis
The structured finance market in the APAC region continues to grow in recent years, particular in the number of new issuances and the use of different financial products in complex structuring. Cayman special purpose vehicles (SPVs) are one of the most utilised offshore vehicles in the Asian structured finance industry, which is well supported by established legal and regulatory regimes.
在某些情况下，开曼公司的官方清算人可能能够采取行动追回公司破产前转移的资产。对于那些关注濒临破产的开曼公司事务的人来说，了解开曼群岛官方清算人和大法院所拥有的法定权力至关重要。
可撤销的优先权
《公司法（修订版）》（「该法」）规定，「在公司无法偿还第93 条所指的债务时，公司为了使该债权人优先于其他债权人而对任何债权人作出、招致、承担或遭受的任何财产转让或转移，或对财产的抵押，以及每项付款义务和司法程序，如果是在清算开始前六个月内作出、招致、承担或遭受的，经公司清算人申请，均可撤销。」
值得注意的是，如果在清算开始前六 (6) 个月内发生、产生、取得或遭受付款，则向开曼公司「关联方」支付的款项应被视为是为了给予债权人优先权而支付，因此，根据公司清算人的申请，该款项可予撤销。
如果债权人有能力控制开曼公司或在公司财务和经营决策方面施加重大影响，则该债权人应被视为「关联方」。
公司在什么情况下无法偿还债务？
若发生下列情况，开曼公司将被视为无力偿还债务：
(a) 未遵守法定要求；