In brief
On 14 May 2021, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) and the Hong Kong government agreed a framework (“Framework”) for judicial cooperation in corporate insolvency and debt restructuring. Under the Framework:
In Re China Huiyuan Juice Group Limited [2020] HKCFI 2940, Harris J discussed in detail the difficulties which liquidators appointed in Hong Kong over a foreign incorporated holding company may have in obtaining control of operating subsidiaries in the Mainland, if the group’s structure includes intermediate subsidiaries incorporated in the British Virgin Islands (the “BVI”).
The cautious and prudent approach for distressed companies pursuing a Hong Kong scheme of arrangement is to simultaneously pursue a parallel scheme in their home jurisdiction, even if most if not all of its debts are governed by Hong Kong laws. The rationale is to prevent hostile creditors from disrupting the implementation of the scheme in another jurisdiction, thereby better insulating the distressed company.
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
In brief
On 14 May 2021, the Supreme People's Court of the PRC (SPC) and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) signed a Record of Meeting setting out a framework to facilitate the mutual recognition of and assistance to insolvency proceedings between Mainland China and Hong Kong ("Arrangement"). The Record of Meeting is supplemented by the SPC's Opinion and the HKSAR Government's Practical Guide, which together provide the "Framework".
In brief
On 14 May 2021, the Supreme People's Court of the PRC (SPC) and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) signed a Record of Meeting setting out a framework to facilitate the mutual recognition of and assistance to insolvency proceedings between Mainland China and Hong Kong ("Arrangement"). The Record of Meeting is supplemented by the SPC's Opinion and the HKSAR Government's Practical Guide, which together provide the "Framework".
On 1 June 2021, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance handed down another lengthy Judgment in the long-running dispute among certain members of the prominent Lo family.
Hsin Chong Construction Company Limited (in liquidation) v Build King Construction Limited [2021] HKCFA 14 (judgment dated 13 May 2021)
Introduction
A Hong Kong court has severely criticised the provisional liquidators (PLs) appointed by the court in the company’s place of incorporation in the Cayman Islands, for trying to interfere with the rights of creditors in Hong Kong and to bypass the statutory scheme of winding-up in Hong Kong. In GTI Holdings Limited [2022] HKCFI 2598, the Honourable Madam Justice Linda Chan said it was a matter of concern to see that solicitors and counsel engaged by the PLs in Hong Kong "did not bring home to the provisional liquidators their duties owed to the creditors and to this court".