The Court of Appeal has declined jurisdiction to wind up Yung Kee Holdings Limited (the "Company"), a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands ("BVI"), upholding the decision of Harris J at first instance that the Company did not have "sufficient connection" with Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Court refuses to grant an antisuit injunction to stay a winding-up petition where an arbitration agreement existed
21 August 2020
The Hong Kong Court of First Instance has dismissed an application by a British Virgin Islands (BVI) company (C) for an interim anti-suit injunction against proceedings commenced by a Cayman Islands company (D) for the winding-up of the BVI company in the High Court of the BVI.
The new Hong Kong Companies Ordinance is planned to come into operation in the first quarter of 2014. This wholesale renovation of the law governing the operation of companies in Hong Kong repeals almost all of the existing provisions of the Companies Ordinance with a few exceptions, including the existing insolvency and winding-up provisions. These will remain in their current form and be retitled as the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance.
Hong Kong Court refuses to grant an antisuit injunction to stay a winding-up petition where an arbitration agreement existed
19 August 2020
The Hong Kong Court of First Instance has dismissed an application by a British Virgin Islands (BVI) company (C) for an interim anti-suit injunction against proceedings commenced by a Cayman Islands company (D) for the winding-up of the BVI company in the High Court of the BVI.
Two guidance notes of relevance to the insurance industry were issued recently.
In a recent judgment, the Hong Kong Court reiterated the principles outlined in Kam Leung Sui Kwan v. Kam Kwan Lai [2015] 18 HKCFAR 501 (Yung Kee), the case concerning the famous roastgoose restaurant in the heart of Hong Kong's Central district, when determining whether to exercise its discretion to wind up a foreign-incorporated company. In this case, the court also refused to grant a stay of the petition in favor of arbitration.
Florida escape
The Hong Kong court has sanctioned a scheme of arrangement for a Hong Kong-listed, Bermuda-incorporated fertilizer manufacturer based in the mainland. In doing so, the Honorable Mr Justice Harris also warned holders of U.S. denominated debt that where they use offshore schemes of arrangement, they run the risk of individual creditors presenting winding-up petitions in Hong Kong. The view has however been queried in recent U.S. authority.
The Singapore High Court has recently granted recognition to Hong Kong liquidation proceedings and liquidators for the first time under Singapore's enactment of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Model Law on Cross Border Insolvency (the model law).
The Hong Kong court has confirmed that – going forward – the court is ready to recognize and assist a foreign insolvency process conducted in the company’s center of main interests (COMI) and that it will no longer be necessary for the foreign insolvency process to be carried out in a company’s place of incorporation. The judgment sets out a practical roadmap for the future of cross-border insolvency in Hong Kong, where listed companies that use complex holding company structures find themselves in difficulty.
Does an arbitration agreement protect a
debtor from the threat of liquidation?
27 July 2020