In collaboration with our foreign law firm partners, we continue to update our chart of COVID-19 measures taken by governments around the world. Today’s update includes new information for many countries as indicated in the chart: Global Government Measures Taken in Response to COVID-19.

Due to the global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Thai Government has implemented a number of important initiatives aimed at supporting the Thai economy and affected industries.

As part of these initiatives, the Ministry of Finance of Thailand has enacted several important short terms and medium terms tax relief measures to support individual and corporate entities in Thailand to ease the hardships faced by many during these uncertain times. Set out below is a summary of these measures.

Defer tax filings and payments

引言

随着 COVID-19 疫情持续在全球范围内造成严重破坏，疫情对泰国经济的影响 也非常明显。由于暂停对国际旅客的开放，占泰国 GDP15％以上的旅游业在 本年度收入已大幅减少。严重依赖旅游业的企业已经被迫关闭了成千上万家， 而许多在 COVID-19 之前就已经遇到财务困难的公司现在已濒临破产边缘。 今年，泰国的破产与重整法在 1997 年亚洲金融危机以后又一次重回公众的视 野。2020 年 4 月下旬，泰国行业领先的房地产开发商之一 PACE Development Public Company Limited 向泰国中央破产法院（“法院”）提交了破产重整 申请。

紧接着是泰国的老牌航空公司——泰国国际航空公司（Thai Airways International Public Company Limited，简称“ 泰航”），由于 COVID19 造成的财务困难，于 2020 年 5 月 26 日向法院提交了破产重整申请。曾经 被视为航空企业标杆的泰航，截至 2020 年 3 月 31 日，债务总额高达 3540 亿 泰铢（约合 112 亿美元）。法院初审时间定在 2020 年 8 月 17 日，届时法院 将裁定是否接受泰航继续进行破产重整。

Background

Due to the economic contraction and impact of COVID-19 outbreak, many business operators are encountering financial distress. Some companies may decide to reorganize their business by way of rehabilitation to avoid being adjudged bankrupt. In this regard, it is worthwhile for the creditors of those companies to be aware of the impact of the rehabilitation proceedings that may affect their status as creditors.

As the global travel industry continues to grapple with the effects of COVID-19, many companies are now beginning to seek protections under various insolvency regimes. On 30 July 2020, Nok Airlines Public Company Limited ("NOK") filed a petition for business rehabilitation under the Bankruptcy Act at the Central Bankruptcy Court of Thailand (the "Court") and the Court accepted such petition on the same day under case number ForFor. 21/2563 with a debt amount of THB 26,522,203,418. NOK has nominated the following as its rehabilitation planners:

In part 2 of this 3-part series, Omni Bridgeway turns to Nathan Landis, an Investment Manager based in our Perth office, Shane Taylor, a Business Development Director based in our Sydney office,

This Legal Update provides an outline of the Thai rehabilitation process, by reference to the Thai Airways proceedings currently underway in Bangkok's Central Bankruptcy Court.

Toward the end of this Legal Update, we also touch on how airlines could use US Chapter 11 proceedings, a process understood to have been mooted by Thai Airways.

UPDATED 3 AUGUST 2020

Updates marked with *

Updated: Ireland, Israel

We take a look at some of the recent emergency legislation and measures implemented by various nations around the world in response to COVID-19. As this is a rapidly developing crisis, please ensure you keep a close eye on the Lexology Coronavirus hub page for the most up-to-date information.

As the world economy struggles to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies and other creditors are exploring options to manage non-collectible debts. However, the tax costs and consequences of different approaches to settling debts are often overlooked when they should be key considerations, and unwary creditors are at risk of unexpected surprises. This article will analyze some common debt settlement options and their tax consequences.

Debt Offset

As Covid19 continues to wreak havoc around the globe, its devastating impact on Thailand’s economy is becoming increasingly apparent. With its borders closed to international travelers for the foreseeable future, Thailand’s tourism industry, whose revenues account for more than 15% of the country’s total GDP, has been largely decimated. Businesses heavily reliant on tourism have closed their doors in the thousands – and many companies who were already experiencing financial difficulties pre-Covid19 have now been pushed over the edge into insolvency.