Introduction
Introduction
Can a foreign order or judgment be immediately enforced in Hong Kong? Generally, the answer is no. Depending on where the judgment comes from, either it must first pass registration under the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Ordinance, or if not caught by that ordinance, there is also a common law regime for other judgments.
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.
In this update, we highlight a selection of key Court decisions which focus on cross-border recognition and assistance, restructuring and schemes of arrangement, the winding-up of foreign companies in Hong Kong and other insolvency-related issues.
In Re Lamtex Holdings Limited1, the Hong Kong Companies Court recently ordered the winding-up of a Bermuda-incorporated Hong Kong-listed company.
A recent pair of decisions of the Hong Kong Companies Court (the “Court”) has immense potential significance for debtor companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (“HKEx”) and their Hong Kong creditors.
Facts
Re Lamtex Holdings Ltd [2021] HKCFI 622 and Re Ping An Securities Group (Holdings) Ltd [2021] HKCFI 651 both involved a familiar factual scenario:
Through a trio of decisions, Mr Justice Harris has opened a new and commendable era for Hong Kong’s cross-border insolvency regime. The position under this new era is in brief thus:
First, the Hong Kong court is likely to use the debtor’s centre of main interests (“COMI”) as a yardstick to determine eligibility for recognition and assistance.
In Li Yiqing v Lamtex Holdings Ltd [2021] HKCFI 622, the Companies Court considered whether to put a Bermuda-incorporated company into immediate liquidation in Hong Kong or to adjourn the local winding-up petition to allow restructuring to proceed with the involvement of joint provisional liquidators appointed in Bermuda.
Companies planning to resist a winding up petition and seek an adjournment on the ground of progressing a restructuring plan are reminded to produce timely and sufficient evidence in support of their application for an adjournment, in particular evidence of creditors’ support, provides the Hong Kong Companies Court (Court) in Re Founder Information (Hong Kong) Limited [2021] HKCFI 311.