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Hong Kong's insolvency system is famous for its lack of statutory corporate rescue procedure ("CRP"). Owing to the lack of CRP, financially distressed companies may only recourse to rescue their business with (i) a non-statutory consensual agreement with major creditors to restructure debts, or (ii) a scheme of arrangement under the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622). These options, however, have many problems such as being expensive, impracticable, inflexible and tedious.

1 November 2020 ONC Corporate Disputes and Insolvency Quarterly Dear Clients and Friends, This special newsletter aims to regularly update practitioners on important and noteworthy cases in the areas of corporate disputes and insolvency in Hong Kong, the UK and other common law jurisdictions. We would also seek to give alert on important legislative and regulatory initiatives from Hong Kong.

Millions of Americans are grappling with student debt on top of the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic and the economic recession. Unlike other categories of personal debt, most student loans are nondischargeable absent a showing that the debtor is experiencing an “undue hardship.” Of the over $1.6 trillion in student loan debt, over $50 billion is comprised of private loans. On August 31, 2020, in McDaniel v.

Introduction 

Section 209(1) of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 32) empowers the Hong Kong court to make an order staying the winding-up proceedings after the winding-up order is made upon the application of, among others, a contributory. However, in the case of Safe Castle Limited v China Silver Asset Management (Hong Kong) Limited [2020] HKCFI 1028, Harris J made it clear that the court will be reluctant to exercise its discretion to stay a winding-up order pending appeal.

The COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across the United States has triggered unprecedented disruption of corporate America, resulting in many otherwise healthy companies facing financial distress and potentially teetering on insolvency. These companies’ directors understandably may have questions about how this sudden change in financial health impacts the fiduciary duties they owe to the company.