The much-anticipated UK Supreme Court decision in BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA & Ors was finally released, giving clarity to directors and insolvency practitioners about the existence, scope and engagement of the so-called “creditor duty”. A relatively recent development in English law, the creditor duty is in fact really a dormant creature of the existing directors’ fiduciary duties that awakens in an insolvency, or near insolvency, context.

Introduction

The court ruled that:

"Credito Real is attempting to bypass Mexican and US insolvency laws and deploy a corporate liquidation statute with almost no protections for creditors.

Welcome to the October 2022 edition of the HFW Commodities bulletin.

In this extended edition, a number of our partners from across the globe have taken time to reflect on the profound impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the commodities sector. It includes contributions from our offices in Australia, Geneva, London and Singapore, with articles on energy and food security, sanctions, insolvency, regulation, the energy transition and force majeure.

On the back page, you will find details of the latest news and where you can meet the team next.

Background

Houst Ltd (“the Company”) is a property management company which specialises in short-term holiday rentals through an online platform. It is an SME (small or medium-sized enterprise) with total liabilities of approximately £10 million at stake. The Company became both cashflow and balance sheet insolvent having experienced financial difficulty during the Covid pandemic and this resulted in creditors having threatened winding-up petitions.

The Insolvency Service recently published a consultation with respect to the proposed implementation of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law ("UNCITRAL") Model Law on Recognition and Enforcement of Insolvency-Related Judgments, which concerns cross-border recognition of judgments associated with insolvency proceedings, an

Summary

The Hong Kong Court and the US Bankruptcy Court have made conflicting comments regarding the discharge of New York law-governed debt by a foreign scheme of arrangement, where that scheme is the subject of recognition under Chapter 15 of the US Bankruptcy Code.

Part 1: Preventative composition as a restructuring tool

As commercial companies in the UAE grapple with increasing inflation and interest rates, constraints to supply chains and labour market challenges, it seems inevitable that the number experiencing financial distress will rise. 

On 30 August 2022, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal overturned the Court of First Instance's decision in the case of Guy Kwok-Hung Lam v Tor Asia Credit Master Fund LP and held that a creditor's bankruptcy petition presented in Hong Kong should not be allowed to proceed where the petitioned debt was disputed and arose from an agreement with an exclusive jurisdiction clause in favour of a foreign court.

On August 11, 2022, the US National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (“NAIC”) Executive (EX) Committee adopted a request from the Restructuring Mechanisms (E) Working Group (“RM Working Group”) to reopen the Property & Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association Model Act (#540) (“Model Act #540”) for amendment to ensure that policyholders will retain guaranty fund coverage following an insurance business transfer (“IBT”) or corporate division (“CD”).

In a recent opinion arising from the Chapter 11 proceedings of Arcapita Bank, Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York affirmed a bankruptcy court decision denying safe-harbor protection to Shari’a-compliant Murabaha investment agreements.¹ Specifically, the district court held that the Murabaha agreemen