The High Court recently granted an application for an exemption from the requirement to send the liquidator's six monthly report to every preference shareholder of the company in liquidation. In FCS Loans Ltd (in liq) v Fisk & Anor, the High Court granted the liquidators' application for an exemption on the basis that the cost of supplying six monthly reports to the 3,141 preference shareholders (estimated to be $4,719.16) is not proportionate to any likely benefit to those shareholders from having the reports mailed to them.

At the III Commercial Law Conference held on June 7, 2019, the Council of the Federal Justice approved Precedent No. 104, according to which there will be no transfer of liabilities regarding financial penalties imposed under Law No. 12.846/2013 (Clean Company Act) on the acquirer of assets when the acquisition is based on article 60 of Law No. 11,101/2005 (Brazilian Restructuring and Bankruptcy Law).

Introduction

In the recent case of Global Corporate Ltd v Hale , the Court of Appeal was asked to assess whether sums, described as “interim dividends”, paid to Mr. Hale (the “Respondent”) in his capacity as both a director and shareholder of Powerstation UK Limited (the “Company”), had been made in accordance with section 830 of the Companies Act 2006 (the “Act”) prior to the Company’s insolvency.

The government has published its response to the consultation on insolvency and corporate governance. The document sets out its proposed next steps; in some areas the government will legislate but in other areas further consultation will be needed.

The proposed insolvency reforms include

• the introduction of a new moratorium to give ultimately viable financially distressed companies a period of time when creditors (including secured creditors) cannot take action against the company, allowing it to make preparations to restructure or seek new investment;

A Guide to Doing BUSINESS IN HONG KONG Contents Introduction Hong Kong at a Glance 1 Political System 1 Legal System 1 Economic System 1 Investment Incentives 1 Financial System 1 International Relationships 1 Relationship with the PRC 2 Belt and Road Initiative 2 General Data Protection Regulation 2 Business Vehicles Types of Business Vehicle 5 Business Registration 5 Special Types of Business 5 Hong Kong Companies 5 Incorporation of a Private Limited Company 5 Branch Operations 7 Reasons for Choosing a Branch or Subsidiary 7 Representative Offices 8 Sole Proprietorships/General Partnershi

English courts recognise that shareholders hold a separate legal personality from the body corporate they own a stake in and will only go behind the corporate veil in limited circumstances. In the recent case of Onur Air Taşimacilik AŞ v Goldtrail Travel Ltd (In Liquidation) 1 , the Court of Appeal considered whether the financial means of the appellant’s wealthy controlling shareholder could be taken into account when making an order that the appellant had to make a substantial payment into court as a condition of being able to pursue its appeal.

The Federative Republic of Brazil is the largest country in South America and the world’s fifth largest country, both by land mass (almost 8.6 million square kilometers) and population (more than 200 million people). It is the only lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) country in otherwise Spanish-speaking Latin America and the largest lusophone country in the world. Brazil is a member of the G20, and one of the BRICS countries, along with Russia, India, China and South Africa. The country’s Constitution serves as the foundation of the Brazilian legal framework and sets forth fundamental rights.

A key factor contributing to the vitality and development of the common law is that judges can have the benefit of authorities from other jurisdictions with a comparable legal framework. This has proved and will be increasingly important in areas such as cross-border insolvency, where modified universalism has been thecatchword in recent years.

Under Hong Kong law, the courts’ jurisdiction is ordinarily territorial in nature. A plaintiff or applicant has to obtain permission (“leave”) of the court before it can validly serve a writ or other document initiating a legal action on a defendant or respondent located outside Hong Kong. For actions begun by writ, the procedures and criteria for applications for leave in this respect are set out under Order 11 of the Rules of the High Court (“RHC”).

Introduction Hong Kong At a Glance Population: 7 million Languages:  English, Cantonese and Mandarin Time zones:  8 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time Climate: Subtropical with long, hot summers and pleasant temperate winters Political System