The recent judgment in City Gardens Ltd v DOK82 Ltd [2023] EWHC 1149 (Ch) serves as a useful reminder of the extent of, and principles governing, the English court’s jurisdiction to wind up a company on the basis of inability to pay its debts.

Background

City Gardens Limited (C), and DOK82 Ltd (D), had entered into a “memorandum of understanding” (MoU) in relation to a significant debt owed by D to C.

In the case of Re Guangdong Overseas Construction Corporation [2023] HKCFI 1340, the Honourable Madam Justice Linda Chan recognized and provided assistance to a mainland China appointed administrator over a mainland China company in liquidation despite the administrator's application being outside the scope of the insolvency cooperation mechanism between Hong Kong and mainland China courts. The Hong Kong court affirmed that its jurisdiction to recognize and assist office-holders appointed by a court of another jurisdiction derives from common law.

Introduction

The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (CFA) has recently in Re Guy Kwok-Hung Lam^[1] confirmed that, where a dispute in respect of a petition debt is subject to an exclusive jurisdiction clause (EJC), the Hong Kong court should gen

In the landmark judgment by Linda Chan J in Re Gatecoin Ltd (in liquidation) [2023] HKCFI 914, the Court of First Instance held that cryptocurrencies were property under Hong Kong law capable of being held for distribution to creditors (or beneficiaries if they were trust assets) for the purposes of administrating an insolvent estate. In this article, the authors consider the Court’s ruling and its wider implications for the insolvency regime in Hong Kong, focusing on fraud claims and reviewable transactions in the cryptocurrency context.

香港高等法院于近日作出标志性判决（HCA 1269/2021）（“本案”），肯定了维好协议、流动性资金支持等增信措施的可执行性，支持了某中资离岸债券的信托人向债券的维好提供方申偿的债券本金、利息及其他支出。

特别地，上述债券在本案被告破产重组程序启动前已逾期，本案被告本应根据维好安排进行资金偿付却未履行其在维好安排下的该等偿付义务。

一、案情简介

1.  争议背景:

本案原告为本次债券的信托人，代表债券投资人的利益（“原告”）。本案被告为替本次债券提供维好协议、流动性资金支持等增信措施的境内主体（“被告”）。

As foreshadowed in his decision last month (Nuoxi Capital Ltd & ors v Peking University Founder Group Company Limited[2023] HKCFI 1350 (the “PUFG Case”)), on 15 June 2023, Harris J handed down a second decision on keepwell deeds, this time in relation to US$450,000,000 bonds issued by Tsinghua Unigroup Co., Ltd (“Tsinghua”)’s indirect subsidiary: s

Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal (CFA) recently handed down its judgment in the case of Guy Kwok-Hung Lam v Tor Asia Credit Master Fund LP [2023] HKCFA 9, upholding the Court of Appeal's earlier decision that a creditor's bankruptcy petition presented in Hong Kong should not be allowed to proceed where the petitioned debt is disputed and arises from an agreement with an exclusive jurisdiction clause (EJC) in favour of a foreign court.

In Simplicity & Vogue Retailing (HK) Co., Limited [2023] HKCFI 1443, the Hong Kong Companies Court (the “Court“) made a winding up order against the Company on the basis that it failed to pay security in time. In considering the Company’s opposition grounds, the Court commented that it retains discretion to wind up a company in cases involving an arbitration clause.

In Re Guy Lam Kwok Hung [2023] HKCFA 9, the Court of Final Appeal clarified when a debtor can resist a bankruptcy petition based on an exclusive jurisdiction clause (EJC) in his contract with the petitioner creditor. It is important to appreciate the Court’s reasoning and how it can be applied to various factual scenarios.