The Hong Kong Courts exercise supervisory jurisdiction over liquidations in Hong Kong. Recently, the High Court reiterated its role to assist liquidators to effectively discharge their duties, in the best interest of the general body of creditors.

In Re Guy Lam Kwok Hung [2023] HKCFA 9, the Court of Final Appeal clarified when a debtor can resist a bankruptcy petition based on an exclusive jurisdiction clause (EJC) in his contract with the petitioner creditor. It is important to appreciate the Court’s reasoning and how it can be applied to various factual scenarios.

The statutory exemption can be refreshed each time a person signs a new contract, even if he/she continues to hold the same position.

Receivers of a failed company have been unable to convince the Federal Court that statutory restrictions on termination payments reduced the payout entitlement of a senior executive (White v Norman; In the Matter of Forest Enterprises Australia Limited (Receivers and Managers Appointed) (in Administration) [2012] FCA 33).

Background

Key Points: An administrator of a deed of company arrangement has been allowed to sell the company over a shareholder's objections.

The GFC has seen a significant rise in the number of corporate insolvencies.[1]

Many of those insolvencies have been the result of tighter credit, rather than a collapse of the company's business. It's no surprise, therefore, that there is a major appetite for the acquisition of distressed businesses and companies.