Federal Decree Law No (16) of 2021 (Factoring Law) was issued on 29 August 2021 and came into effect on 7 December 2021. The Factoring Law, whilst laying a legislative framework for a rapidly expanding trade finance industry in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), also provided much needed clarity from, and an update to, Federal Law No (4) of 2020 (Moveables Law) and Federal Law No (1) 1987 (Civil Code).
New entrants to the trade finance market
In order to encourage the promotion and specialized attention of corporate restructurings and insolvency proceedings, by agreement of the Plenary of the Federal Judiciary Council of Mexico, two district courts specialized in commercial bankruptcy matters (concursos mercantiles) have been created, located in Mexico City.
Courts in Commercial Bankruptcy Matters
Salem Mohammed Ballama Altamimi & ors v Emirates NBD Bank PJSC, HSBC Bank Middle East Limited, ICICI Bank UK Plc and others [2021] DIFC CFI 085 [1]
On 1 November 2021, the Federal Decree Law No. 35 of 2021 (the "Decree") (amending certain provisions of the Federal Decree Law No.9 of 2016 concerning Bankruptcy (the "UAE Bankruptcy Law")) came into force. The publication of the Decree follows a significant decision relating to directors' duties by the Dubai Court of First Instance in the matter involving the bankruptcy of Marka Holdings PJSC ("Marka") (the "Marka Case").
Overview
According to a recent decision by the High Court in R (on the application of Palmer) v Northern Derbyshire Magistrates Court, an Administrator is an officer of a company in administration for the purpose of collective redundancy rules.
This means an Administrator can be prosecuted personally for failing to notify the Insolvency Service of collective redundancies being made by the company in administration.
Background law
1. State of the Restructuring Market
1.1 Market Trends and Changes
State of the Restructuring and Insolvency Market
There were 27,359 insolvencies in France as of the end of September 2021, down 25.1% from the same period in 2020, and down 47.9% from September 2019. Such reduction is relatively stable across all sectors, including those most severely affected by the health-related restrictions, such as accommodation and food services (down 44.2% year-on-year) and trade (down 28.1% year on year).
Fewer Insolvencies for More Opportunities
At the end of 2021, corporate bankruptcies (for most company sizes and in most sectors) were at their lowest level compared to the pre-COVID-19 figures from 2019, with a 50% drop in insolvency proceedings and a 10% decrease in pre-insolvency situations. This was largely due to the temporary impact of government emergency measures and support, including:
Claims are just another asset of the insolvency practitioner: to gather in and realise for creditors’ benefit.
Success in managing insolvency estate claims however, is all about effective risk management. As a speculative contingent asset, the risks involved in handling claims as assets are greater and this risk requires constant evaluation as the claim progresses. Here are 6 issues to have under control throughout.
1. RECOVERABILITY – WHERE IS THE MONEY?
(Promontoria (Oak) Ltd v Emanuel; Emanuel v Promontoria (Oak) Ltd; Promontoria (Henrico) Ltd v Samra; Promontoria (Chestnut) Ltd v Simpson & Anor; Bibby Invoice Discounting Ltd v Thompson Facilities and Project Management Services Ltd & Anor)
Introduction
This morning, the Court of Appeal has handed down landmark guidance on how far a defendant in litigation can look under the bonnet of their pursuer's commercial transactional documents and check out the mechanical parts of a deal to which the defendant is not party.
In our previous commentary, we concluded that the ‘The Administration (Restrictions on Disposal etc. to Connected Persons) Regulations 2021’ (Regulations) had enacted a tick-box exercise for experienced market participants.