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.
Introduction
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
Reports last week of the significant increase in corporate insolvencies and voluntary liquidations in England and Wales for Q2 demonstrate the combined impact of government COVID-19 support being withdrawn, soaring energy and fuel costs, and weakening demand – and are being reflected in the nature of the instructions coming into our global jurisdictions from distressed companies across the globe.
The Grand Court of the Cayman Islands (Court) has confirmed that the Court has the jurisdiction to grant declaratory relief within winding-up proceedings (In the Matter of Polarcus Limited (In Official Liquidation) (Unreported, Justice Kawaley, 23 June 2022 Cause No: FSD 31 of 2021 (IKJ)).
This is welcome clarity for insolvency practitioners and other stakeholders in winding-up proceedings where such declaratory relief may be required and the relief cannot for some reason be included in a standard sanction application.
Background
Seahawk China Dynamic Fund: winding up on just and equitable grounds
In a recent decision, the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands grappled with the question of whether the need for an investigation into the affairs of the company is a stand-alone ground for winding up. While the Court did not determine the question conclusively, it did provide an indication of how it may rule if the issue were to be placed squarely before the Court again.
In the Matter of Seahawk China Dynamic Fund