The recent case of The Joint Official Liquidators of A Company v B and Another has confirmed that a liquidator of a foreign company can seek the Hong Kong Companies Court’s assistance by applying for orders for the production of information and documents without the need to also apply to wind up that company in Hong Kong.

Background

The case of Highmax Overseas Ltd v Chau Kar Hon Quinton considers the interaction of two issues very relevant to trustees (particularly trustees of trust funds including company shares):Beddoe applications and Bartlett clauses. Reported Court decisions on both issues are thin on the ground, so this case provides helpful insight.

The exercise of the court’s discretionary jurisdiction to wind up an unregistered overseas company has again come under judicial spotlight in the recent case of Re China Medical Technologies Inc. (HCCW 435/2012).

In the recent Victorian Supreme Court decision of Central Cleaning Supplies (Aust) Pty Ltd v Elkerton and Young (in their capacity as joint and several liquidators of Swan Services Pty Ltd (in liquidation))[1], the Supreme Court considered the issue of whether the Plaintiff's credit application signed by Swan Services Pty Ltd (Swan Services) before 30 January 2012 was a 'transitional security agreement' within the meaning of that term in the Personal Property Securities Act

The Victorian Court of Appeal recently held that a payment, disposition or grant of security by a company to a person on behalf of, or for the benefit of a director of the company, extends to a mortgage of land given by the company to a creditor of the director in consideration of a covenant by the creditor not to sue the director. 

As a result, insolvency practitioners now have stronger judicial guidance as to what constitutes a 'benefit' for the purposes of setting aside or varying voidable transactions, which should assist in recovering proceeds for unsecured creditors.

The High Court in Hong Kong recently examined the circumstances in which a liquidator was able to depart from their implied duty not to disclose documents obtained from third parties under statute or in the furtherance of their legal duty.

The Court of First Instance in Hong Kong recently provided a timely reminder that the jurisdiction to wind up a foreign company is an exorbitant one and therefore winding up petitions and applications for leave to serve them out of the Hong Kong jurisdiction must be properly thought through and drafted before the Court will consider giving leave to serve out, and they may be liable to be struck out entirely if not.

The case of Lau Siu Hung and Another v Krzysztof Marszalek and Another [2013] HKEC 936 appears to be the first authority in Hong Kong on the effect an annulment of a bankruptcy order has on debts which remain unproven when an annulment order is made.  On 17 June 2013, the Court of First Instance held that an annulment of bankruptcy cannot prohibit a creditor, who has not proved his debts before, to obtain relief from the court after the annu

In a judgment handed down on 6 March 2013, the Hong Kong High Court elaborated on the guiding principles the court will follow when determining whether or not it should exercise its 'exorbitant' jurisdiction to wind up an unregistered overseas company 'which prima facie is beyond the limits of territoriality'.

In Rubin v Eurofinance SA and New Cap Reinsurance Corporation (in liquidation) and another v AE Grant and others [2012] UKSC 46, the UK Supreme Court held that: