A recent case in the NSW Court of Appeal clarifies the purpose, and limits, of a public examination summons

What is it and what has changed?

Wrongful trading is a term that has received quite a bit of press over the last few months, mainly through the headlines generated by the UK Government’s unprecedented amendment to the wrongful trading provisions contained within our insolvency legislation.

But what exactly is wrongful trading and what has changed?

We live in uncertain and financially very troubling times. The coronavirus pandemic and the unprecedented measures put in place to tackle it have caused severe disruption to businesses. Big names such as Harveys, TM Lewin, Intu and the owners of Café Rouge and Bella Italia all went into administration at the beginning of the month. They will not be the last.

In Short

The Situation: When determining and quantifying unfair preference claims in Australia, does the Corporations Act permit liquidators to value transactions forming part of a single "continuous business relationship" (such as a running account) from the point of peak indebtedness, even if doing so disregards earlier transactions that might act to reduce the value of the claim against the creditor?

Nearly two years after it was first passed in Parliament on 1 October 2018, the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act (“IRDA”) has now come into operation on 30 July 2020. The IRDA not only unifies Singapore’s legislation in relation to personal and corporate insolvency and debt restructuring, but also introduces significant changes to the present regime.

In this update, we will highlight nine key changes of the new provisions of the IRDA.

1. Restriction of Ipso Facto Clauses in Insolvency/Restructuring Proceedings

In the table below, we have summarised the key differences between the remedies available to distress company which is unable to pay monies to its creditors.

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COVID-19: LEGAL & REGULATORY CHANGES

CORPORATE INSOLVENCY AND GOVERNANCE ACT 2020 IN FORCE

The rapid onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the drastic lockdown restrictions, has left many businesses – particularly those that rely on heavy footfall – in dire financial circumstances.

Businesses are therefore seeking tools to help them weather this storm and light-touch administration is an option that continues to rear its head.

What is it?

Both COVID-19 itself and the severe financial impact the virus and associated lockdown has had on the UK economy, have led not only to a large number of UK businesses re-examining the contractual terms on which they do business but also to a spike in disputes. Some matters which have been prominent in current disputes, and which are therefore key considerations for business both in looking at their existing contracts and planning for the future, include the following: • What termination provisions do they have in their contracts?

In Re PT MNC Investama TBK [2020] SGHC 149 (“Re PT MNC”), the Singapore High Court (per Justice Aedit Abdullah) addressed, for the first time in a written grounds of decision (“GD”), the question of whether a foreign company has the requisite standing to apply for a Section 211B moratorium under the Companies Act (the “Act”).