The Hong Kong commercial and insolvency disputes team acted for the successful appellant in Guy Kwok-Hung Lam -v- Tor Asia Credit Master Fund LP CACV 393/2021 [2022] HKCA 1297.
Introduction
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.
On 16 September 2021, the Hong Kong Court made an unprecedented ruling by recognising, for the first time, proceedings for the reorganisation of the HNA Group Co Limited (‘Company‘) commenced in Mainland China under the Mainland Enterprise Bankruptcy Law (‘Mainland Reorganisation Proceedings’) (Re HNA Group Co Limited [2021] HKCFI 2897).
John Quicler, a senior associate within our Banking and Finance Litigation team, sets out the recent changes in relation to the presentation of winding-up petitions following the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Coronavirus) (Amendment of Schedule 10) Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/1029), which came into force on 29 September 2021.
Background
The Hong Kong High Court has handed down its first decision under the pilot measure in relation to the cooperation mechanism for mutual recognition of, and assistance to, insolvency processes between Mainland China and Hong Kong, in Re Samson Paper Company Limited [2021] HKCFI 2151.
Cooperation mechanism
In a move largely welcomed by unsecured creditors, on 13 May 2021, the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong (CFA) handed down its judgment in Re Hsin Chong Construction Co. Ltd [2021] HKCFA 14 (the CFA Judgment), whereby disposition of a company’s residual rights and interests under a joint venture agreement after the commencement of its liquidation was held to be void.
Facts
Joint Venture
According to the Hong Kong SAR government’s statistics, the Hong Kong economy for 2020 contracted by 6.1% overall, which was the sharpest annual drop on record. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to hit the city’s livelihoods and economic development.
The Greater Bay Area (GBA) initiative is an ambitious scheme to link the nine cities in Guangdong’s Pearl River Delta, Hong Kong and Macau into an integrated economy and world class business hub.