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引言

自2022年5月起,上市公司“携带”未到期可转债进入预重整或重整程序的案例逐步在A股视野中涌现。截至目前,重整计划成功执行并顺利处置可转债违约风险的只有*ST正邦(002157)和*ST全筑(603030)两个案例。作为一种上市公司破产重整领域的新兴产品,由于可转债具有债权性、股权性和二级市场可交易等特点,较重整中的其他普通债权更具特殊性,给上市公司破产重整提出了“新课题”,应当在重整中进行定制化处理。

可转债在上市公司破产重整中的处理方式保持了其作为金融工具“进可攻,退可守”的特点,债券持有人可以选择到期兑付、转卖或转股。因此,重整方案设计中最为核心的是保护可转债原持有人在可转债产品项下的合法权利。通常做法为保留可转债持有人一定期限的交易及转股权利,利用可转债的特殊规则为持有人做好权利保护衔接,实现上市公司与持有人的利益共赢。

本文谨从可转债的特殊性及权利保护措施、实践中主要案例总结及重整方案设计要点等三个方面展开,对存续可转债在上市公司破产重整中的处理方式进行总结和探讨。

一、可转债的特殊性及权利保护

(一)可转债的特殊性

引言

2020年10月5日国务院发布的《关于进一步提高上市公司质量的意见》(国发〔2020〕14号)中明确规定,“上市公司实施破产重整的,应当提出解决资金占用、违规担保问题的切实可行方案”。2022年3月,沪深交易所分别发布《上海证券交易所上市公司自律监管指引第13号——破产重整等事项》《深圳证券交易所上市公司自律监管指引第14号——破产重整等事项》,进一步明确了上市公司在申请破产重整时,需要提交包含资金占用情况和违规担保情况的自查报告。至此,上市公司破产重整中两大“红线问题”暨资金占用及违规担保问题,已被提到了空前的高度。在重整前或重整中解决资金占用及违规担保问题已成为法院受理上市公司破产重整的必要条件。

资金占用系指非经营性资金占用,即上市公司控股股东及其关联方非经营性占用上市公司资金,以及变相利用经营性资金往来的形式达到实质非经营性占用上市公司资金的行为。违规担保,系指上市公司及其控股子公司违反法律法规规定或公司章程规定,或超过规定限额对外提供担保的行为。对于陷入危机的上市公司而言,违规担保往往表现为上市公司为控股股东及其关联方提供担保,也是控股股东变相占用上市公司资金的一种形式。因此,资金占用及违规担保问题在上市公司破产重整中往往相伴相生,需要一并解决。

The High Court of Hong Kong refused to allow a Chapter 11 Trustee to disclose a Decision from Hong Kong winding up proceedings in the US bankruptcy court. The US proceedings were commenced to prevent a creditor from taking action following a breach of undertakings given to the Hong Kong court in circumstances where the company had no jurisdictional connection with the US.

Following our previous article, the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal following the High Court deciding that a moratorium in relation to restructuring proceedings in Azerbaijan could not be extended in breach of the Gibbs rule, allowing two significant creditors to proceed with their claims in the English Courts.

Despite the debtor's contention that his primary residence was in the United States, the Court held that it had jurisdiction to make a Bankruptcy Order following a petition presented by HMRC.

HMRC presented a bankruptcy petition against Robert Stayton on 30 May 2014 who owed approximately £653,640. The matter came before the court on a number of occasions before the final hearing, with judgment being handed down in November 2018.

A discharged Bankrupt had intentionally misled the Court as to his COMI being in England and Wales in order to obtain a Bankruptcy Order. Four years after the making of the Bankruptcy Order, the Court annulled it on the grounds that the Court did not have jurisdiction to make the Order in the first place.

Ashfords successfully acted for the Joint Trustees in Bankruptcy of Vincent Mascarenhas (deceased) in their application to discharge Freezing Orders, an Interim Charging Order and an Interim Third Party Debt Order obtained by creditors of the late Bankrupt in 2014. The Joint Trustees were not a party to the original proceedings but had standing to make the applications.

The Hong Kong Court have confirmed for the first time that a foreign voluntary liquidation is eligible for common law recognition and assistance in Hong Kong.

China Culture Media International Holdings Limited, incorporated in the BVI, was wound up on 9 May 2016. China Culture was the sole shareholder of Supreme Tycoon Limited, also incorporated in the BVI.

In an urgent application, the Court of Appeal held that a CVA should be precluded from becoming effective where an unanticipated claim of €126.7m was submitted after the CVA was approved but before the statutory bar on new claims had lapsed.

The Agricultural Credits Act 1928 ("ACA 1928") enables a farmer to grant an Agricultural Charge to a bank over all his farming stock and other agricultural assets, but not the land he farms.

An Agricultural Charge can be a fixed charge, a floating charge or both. However, any assets obtained by the farmer after the creation of the Charge will only be subject to a floating charge. Only a registered deposit taking bank or the Bank of England can take an Agricultural Charge.

A floating charge is automatically converted to a fixed charge if: