In a further development to cross-border insolvency cooperation between Hong Kong and Mainland China, the Hong Kong Court has issued a letter of request to a Mainland Court requesting recognition and assistance of Hong Kong liquidators appointed over a Cayman company, under the mutual recognition arrangement introduced on 14 May 2021 (the “Arrangement“, see our previous update here

There are distinct advantages to investors sitting on the boards of their portfolio companies, not least their ability to look after their investment and work toward maximising their return. The human capital provided by investor directors can be invaluable in driving efficiencies and creating growth opportunities. The interests of investors, investor directors, and the company will generally be aligned in seeking the success of the business.

As we know, the past two years have been a difficult time for many businesses and with such continuing uneconomic uncertainly, it seems there is precious little light at the end of the tunnel yet.

In this article, we consider the potential claims that might be levied at directors of an insolvent company and matters of which directors should be aware.

"Zone of insolvency”

Environment, social, and governance (ESG) are factors directors, investors, industries, and governments increasingly focus on when making commercial decisions. This is particularly so given increasing public awareness of such issues following recurrent environmental disasters and international summits such as COP26. Tim Symes and Ryan Hooton review the current regulatory environment in the UK, how it might bite on a company’s insolvency and when directors may find themselves personally liable for their actions.

1. Introduction

The winding up of insolvent companies in Hong Kong is governed by the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Chapter 32 of the Laws of Hong Kong) (“CWUMPO”), the Companies (Winding-up) Rules (Chapter 32H) (“CWUR”) and case laws. They provide the legal source of civil liabilities for directors, shareholders and senior management.

2. Directors

El reconocimiento de un derecho de separación por el atesoramiento abusivo de beneficios supone un mecanismo de protección de la minoría. Su ejercicio, sin embargo, puede resultar perjudicial para la sociedad, que tendrá que abonar al socio saliente el valor de su participación. Por este motivo, siempre se ha planteado la posibilidad de enervar, de algún modo, el ejercicio del derecho. La Sentencia del Tribunal Supremo de 25 de enero se ocupa de un caso de esta naturaleza reconociendo, en un supuesto muy concreto, el carácter abusivo del ejercicio del derecho de separación.  

Did you know it may be possible to continue using the trading name of your liquidated company?

TLT’s Insolvency Team in Belfast were recently successful in obtaining the leave of Court allowing the Director of a liquidated company to continue to use the trading name of the liquidated company with a new company. The Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 makes provision for such an application to be made to use what would otherwise be a “Prohibited Name”.

How the Belgian Cour de Cassation qualifies a director of a company as an “enterprise”

Since the entry into force of the new Belgian Code of Economic Law (‘BCEL’) it is possible for a company director, in its personal capacity, to be qualified as an “enterprise” and consequently to be declared bankrupt.

The definition of an enterprise is set out in Article I.1, 1° BCEL and relates to the following organisations:

a) any natural person who independently performs a professional activity;

Thorn (liquidator), in the matter of South Townsville Developments Pty Ltd (in liq) (Company) involved an ex parte application by a liquidator seeking approval under section 477(2B) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act) to enter into agreements to fund existing litigation and a request for the suppression and non-publication of certain details in those agreements.

Background

The government has now announced that the remaining temporary restrictions created by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 are being lifted and that the insolvency regime will return to its pre-pandemic position with immediate effect from 1 April 2022. This includes removing the temporary restrictions placed on creditors when presenting winding-up petitions against debtors who are unable to pay debts they owe.