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In several Commonwealth jurisdictions, the corporate legislation allows creditors to petition a court to order the winding up of a debtor in circumstances where that debtor is unable to pay its debts as they fall due. Such legislation generally presumes that the debtor is insolvent if it has failed to comply with a statutory notice requiring the debtor to pay a certain debt within a given period of time (a statutory demand).

The Australian Government has introduced new laws which are intended to avoid unnecessary corporate insolvencies in light of the challenges presented by the unfolding COVID-19 global pandemic. The new laws came into effect on 25 March 2020 and include:

Just in time for the Chinese New Year, a Hong Kong court has taken a major step forward in the developing law on cross-border insolvency by recognizing a mainland Chinese liquidation for the first time. In the Joint and Several Liquidators of CEFC Shanghai International Group Ltd [2020] HKCFI 167, Mr. Justice Harris granted recognition and assistance to mainland administrators in Hong Kong so they could perform their functions and protect assets held in Hong Kong from enforcement.

Just in time for Chinese New Year, a Hong Kong court has taken a major step forward in the developing law on cross-border insolvency by recognising a mainland Chinese liquidation for the first time. InJoint and Several Liquidators of CEFC Shanghai International Group Ltd [2020] HKCFI 167, Mr Justice Harris granted recognition and assistance to mainland administrators in Hong Kong so they could perform their functions and protect assets held in Hong Kong from enforcement.

In Callidus Capital Corporation v. Her Majesty the Queen,[1] the Supreme Court of Canada overturned a troubling 2017 decision of the Federal Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court held unanimously that the bankruptcy of a debtor extinguishes the deemed trust for unremitted GST and HST created in favour of the Crown (“CRA”) by section 222 of the Excise Tax Act (“ETA”).

众所周知,采矿业面临着艰难的局面。在最近几年的市场繁荣时期,矿业公司承担了空前庞大的债务。目前,随着商品价格的下降和再融资来源的枯竭,这些巨额的债务令许多公司步履维艰,严重威胁着它们的生存。

加拿大

若无法与债权人商定业务解决方案,公司应该考虑向债权人寻求破产法项下的保护。在加拿大拥有资产或在加拿大经营业务且债务金额在五百万以上的公司可获得联邦《公司债权人安排法》(简称,“CCAA”)项下的保护。

CCAA允许公司在重组公司事务时暂缓债权人追诉,同时根据某些条件维持对公司经营的控制。公司,特别是未达到五百万债务门槛的公司,还可以考虑联邦《破产法》项下的和解机制。在本文中,我们将讨论CCAA项下的程序。

CCAA项下程序的第一步是获得法院命令,该命令将暂缓债权人在三十日的初始期限内行使其权利,从而允许公司制定重组方案。在获得首个暂缓命令前,公司无需通知债权人,尽管在许多情况下,建议公司通知其债权人。

若公司能够证明其很有可能将提交重组方案,并且延期不会有损于债权人的整体利益,暂缓命令的期限还可以延长。下达暂缓命令时,法院还将任命独立第三方在命令生效期间,监控公司业务及财务事宜。监控人须向法院报告公司的业务行为,但并不管理或指导公司业务。

Moody's announced in October 2014 that the detainment of Agile Property Holdings' chairman, Chen Zhoulin by government authorities was credit negative, in Moody's view, "similar incidents would adversely affect developers' borrowing costs and/or their access to offshore funding". The events that have unfolded since show that Moody's were right on the money.

Introduction

Gaining access to development land in the PRC has often been linked to government connections and dubious business practices. However, a number of investigations into the allegedly corrupt activities of high-level real estate executives in China have recently taken place.

It is no secret that the mining sector is facing tough times. In recent boom years, mining companies took on unprecedented amounts of debt. Now that commodity prices have dropped and sources of refinancing have dried up, debt obligations have become overwhelming for many companies, posing a serious risk to their survival.

Canada

With APCOA Parking, the English High Court sets out the latest line of authority in the increasing use of schemes of arrangement by foreign companies.

This case, APCOA Parking (UK) Limited & Ors [2014] EWHC 997 (Ch), presents two novel aspects: