On Wednesday, the Court of Final Appeal ("CFA") reversed the lower courts' decision in the Yung Kee case¹ , holding that the Hong Kong court has jurisdiction to order the winding up of Yung Kee Holdings Limited (the "Company"), a holding company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and not registered in Hong Kong.

Dispute Resolution Beijing/Hong Kong/Shanghai Client Alert Creditors Petitioning for Bankruptcy Beware: Absconding Bankrupts May Walk Free After Staying Away from Hong Kong for 4 Years Recent developments The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (“CFA”)1 has ruled unconstitutional a provision under the Bankruptcy Ordinance (“Ordinance”) that prevents the period of bankruptcy from commencing when a bankrupt is not in Hong Kong.

Dispute Resolution Beijing/Hong Kong/Shanghai Client Alert Court of Final Appeal Widens Shareholders’ Rights for the Winding-up of Foreign Companies in Hong Kong The Court of Final Appeal’s recent decision in the Yung Kee saga (Kam Leung Sui Kwan, Personal Representative of the Estate of Kam Kwan Sing, the deceased v Kam Kwan Lai & Ors (FACV 4/2015, 11 November 2015)) has widened the door to winding-up relief for shareholders of foreign companies.

Introduction

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Recovery and resolution planning October 2015 1 The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau of the Hong Kong Government (FSTB) in conjunction with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), and the Insurance Authority (IA)1 on 9 October 2015 published a paper entitled An Effective Resolution Regime for Financial Institutions in Hong Kong: Consultation Response and Certain Further Issues (CP3).2 Background Following from the recent global financial crisis, the G20 tasked the Financial Stability Board (FSB) with

In the recent case Kam Leung Sui Kwan v Kam Kwan Lai & Ors FACV 4/2015 (11 November 2015), the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (“CFA”) ordered the ultimate foreign holding company of a world famous roast goose restaurant in Hong Kong, Yung Kee Holdings Limited (“Yung Kee”) to be wound up on the grounds that it is just and equitable to do so pursuant to section 327(3)(c) of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 32) (“Section 327(3)(c)”).

In a judgment given on 5 November 2015, the Final Appeal Court in Hong Kong held that s30A(10)(a) of the Bankruptcy Ordinance, which prevents the period of bankruptcy running from the date the Bankruptcy Order if the bankrupt is outside of Hong Kong, is unconstitutional. The Court found that the provision, which provides that upon returning to Hong Kong the Bankrupt must inform his Trustee and the period of bankruptcy runs from that date, is a disproportionate infringement on an individual's right to travel.

We have previously reported that the Official Receiver retains its entitlement to ad valorem fees on the conversion of a compulsory liquidation  to a creditors’ voluntary winding-up (CVL).

Summary

Section 42 of the Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap. 6) (“BO”) provides that where a person is adjudged bankrupt, any disposition of property made by that person from the date of presentation of the bankruptcy petition is void unless made with the consent of the Court or unless subsequently ratified by the Court. The purpose of this section is to prevent the improper dissipation of the bankrupt’s assets once a bankruptcy petition is filed and to protect the principle of pari passu distribution.