The oil and gas industry in Texas is currently facing a double whammy from the recent oil price shock and COVID-19 related demand reductions. While exploration and production operators in Texas are proactively taking self-help measures to reinforce their financial frameworks — reducing capital spending, operating expenses, overhead and dividends — the outlook remains highly uncertain.
Over the last few years Spain has amended its insolvency laws to promote
out of court refinancing arrangements as a much needed alternative
to formal insolvency proceedings. The outcome of these changes,
aimed at putting Spain on a par with other EU jurisdictions, is yet to be
seen. However, what is clear is that the latest round of amendments
has substantially improved the possibility of reaching an out of court
refinancing settlement in Spain.
Historically, in relation to syndicated facilities, out of court refinancing
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Introduction
As restructuring and cross-border insolvency issues become increasingly global, an understanding of the influence of different cultures and some of the key drivers is critical. The INSOL panel was diverse, with members from Asia (Helena Huang, King & Wood Mallesons), North America (Renee Dailey, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP), South Africa (Paul Winer, ENSafrica) and Latin America (The Honourable Judge Maria Cristina O’Reilly, National Commercial Court, Argentina).
With the backdrop of INSOL 2017, Asia Today International’s Leon Gettler explores the issues and challenges of insolvency and restructuring in Asia Pacific with special guests: FTI Consulting’s head of Corporate Finance & Restructuring in Asia, John Batchelor; Baker McKenzie’s head of Australian Restructuring & Insolvency, Maria O’Brien; and Senior Legal Counsel for ANZ, Miles Grant.
Please click here to listen to the podcast.
In summary
In our previous alert we discussed how Justice Markovic in the Federal Court of Australia had granted the administrators of retailer Colette Group relief from personal liability for rent in respect of 93 stores.
Directors of Australian companies face significant personal monetary – and potential criminal and adverse professional – consequences if they allow the company to trade whilst insolvent.
Australian insolvent trading laws are harsher, and more frequently utilised to prosecute directors personally, than in many other jurisdictions including in the US and the UK.
Accordingly, frequent assessment of a company’s solvency by its directors is crucial, particularly in financially difficult times, as are active steps to address any potential insolvency.
The voluntary administration procedure in the Corporations Act was introduced in 1993. Prior to this, the only formal mechanism for a company to compromise with its creditors was by a creditors’ scheme of arrangement, a process often regarded as costly, time consuming and cumbersome.
The primary objective of voluntary administration is to provide for the business, property and affairs of an insolvent company to be administered in a way that:
Amendments to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act) to implement the measures announced by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Sunday, 22 March 2020 to provide temporary relief for financially distressed businesses due to COVID-19 have now come into effect.
The Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Act 2020 (Cth) (CERPO Act) amendments were passed by the Parliament on 2 March 2020. They will apply for a 6 month period, but may be extended or have impacts beyond that timeframe.