In May 2021, a landmark co-operation mechanism was implemented between Hong Kong and Mainland China in cross-border insolvency matters.

Liquidators from Hong Kong can now apply to the courts in three Mainland "pilot cities" (ie Shanghai, Shenzhen and Xiamen) for recognition and assistance, provided that:

The Hong Kong government will introduce a long-awaited statutory corporate rescue procedure (CRP) in 2021, bringing the regime more in line with international practice in jurisdictions such as the UK and the USA.

The current lack of a CRP in Hong Kong means that there are limited options available to distressed companies and the lack of a moratorium on creditor enforcement jeopardises legitimate restructuring efforts. The Companies (Corporate Rescue) Bill is timely given the difficulties brought by the current economic downturn, itself exacerbated by the impact of COVID-19.

The Hong Kong government will introduce a long-awaited statutory corporate rescue procedure (CRP) in 2021, bringing the regime more in line with international practice in jurisdictions such as the UK and the USA.

The current lack of a CRP in Hong Kong means that there are limited options available to distressed companies and the lack of a moratorium on creditor enforcement jeopardises legitimate restructuring efforts. The Companies (Corporate Rescue) Bill is timely given the difficulties brought by the current economic downturn, itself exacerbated by the impact of COVID-19.

Key Takeaways

Key Takeaways

On 2 June 2020, Mr Justice Morgan handed down his judgment in the case of Re: A Company [2020] EWHC 1406 (Ch) in which a High Street retailer (whose identity is not disclosed) applied to restrain the presentation of a winding-up petition based on the provisions of the yet-to-be-enacted Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill 2020 (the “Bill”).

The Government published its Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill on 20 May 2020, which will implement the most significant reform to the UK’s insolvency framework in decades. In addition to permanent landmark changes, including introducing a business rescue moratorium and new restructuring plan, the Bill contains a number of temporary measures to help businesses respond to the COVID-19 crisis.

The oil and gas industry in the United States is highly dependent upon an intricate set of agreements that allow oil and gas to be gathered from privately owned land. Historically, the dedication language in oil and gas gathering agreements — through which the rights to the oil or gas in specified land are dedicated — was viewed as being a covenant that ran with the land. That view was put to the test during the wave of oil and gas exploration company bankruptcies that began in 2014.

On February 25, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision holding that a trustee is not barred by either the presumption against extraterritoriality or by international comity principles from recovering property from a foreign subsequent transferee that received the property from a foreign initial transferee.