近年市场竞争及经营环境不确定性持续增加的情况下，不少企业有可能面临营运及财务困难，导致债务违约的情况有上升的趋势。如果债务人资不抵债，债权人有权利用破产清盘的程序接管债务人的资产并尽量实现回收最大化。根据香港*破产管理署公布的统计数字，在2019年1月至10月期间，强制公司清盘案及破产案呈请的数字达到7,062宗。我们藉此介绍近期香港法院就破产清盘颁发的两个重要判决。

1. 仲裁协议的存在是否会影响破产清盘程序的开展？

香港上诉法院近期在But Ka Chon v Interactive Brokers LLC [2019] HKCA 873一案中，考虑了债权相关的合同中约定有仲裁条款管辖的情况下，债权人利用法院破产清盘程序的权利会否受限。由于很多的商业协议均载有仲裁条款，法院的判决对债权人的权利及可采取的救济手段有重要意义。

在该案中，上诉人（证券公司客户，即债务人）与被上诉人（证券公司，即债权人）签订的客户协议约定双方之间的争议以仲裁解决。由于上诉人没有偿还保证金账户的欠款，债权人在香港法院申请上诉人破产。上诉人以双方已经约定仲裁为其中一个理由，请求上诉法院撤销债权人发出的法定偿债书。

With growing competition and global market uncertainties in recent years, businesses may experience operational and financial challenges, resulting in debt defaults. A creditor is entitled to petition for the bankruptcy and liquidate the debtor’s assets in order to try to achieve a maximum recovery. Statistics published by the Official Receiver’s Office noted 7,062 petitions for compulsory liquidation and bankruptcy between January and October 2019. In this client alert, we discuss two significant and recent judgments in respect of insolvency law given by the Hong Kong* courts.

In the wake of the global financial crisis, Hong Kong’s key financial regulators, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Insurance Authority (IA), have jointly issued a consultation paper (Paper) that outlines proposals for establishing a resolution regime for significant financial institutions (FIs) that are in crisis or likely to collapse.

Foreign companies are frequently used to hold assets or other investments in Hong Kong. Some of these foreign companies are not registered under Part XI of the Companies Ordinance (“CO”) (“Unregistered Companies”). There are various reasons for not registering foreign companies in Hong Kong, including confidentiality and tax benefits. However, there may be some drawbacks to this approach.

Proposed changes in Italian law mean that it should become easier to create certain types of security in Italy and to recover debt. The relevant law is Decree-law no. 59/2016 (“Urgent provisions on insolvency and executive procedures’’) which came into force on 4 May 2016 and which should be converted into binding law by early July.

The main changes introduced by the Decree are as follows:

In a recent landmark judgment dated 21 February 2016 the Dubai Court of First Instance decided in favour of a foreign shareholder, against a local Emirati, in a winding up petition. This is contrary to the long established protectionist trend employed by Courts in the United Arab Emirates. What is even more surprising is that the Court, in reaching its decision, has adopted a purposive approach, rather than simply applying the black letter of the law, as has traditionally been the case.

Case Details

With COVID-19 causing ever increasing financial uncertainty around the globe, we thought it an apt time to provide you with a summary of the various corporate insolvency procedures in the UK applicable to companies facing financial difficulties. Taking each in turn, we will discuss administration, administrative receivership, company voluntary arrangements, schemes of arrangement and liquidation. We will also touch briefly on directors’ duties, rules relating to asset distribution on insolvency and transactions that may be set aside on insolvency or ‘reviewable’ transactions.

随着新冠肺炎疫情在全球范围内持续引发财务不确定性，我们认为是时候简要介绍英国法适用于陷入财务困境的公司的各种公司破产程序。下文将依次讨论管理程序 (administration)、接管程序 (administrative receivership)、公司自愿安排 (company voluntary arrangement)、债务偿还安排 (schemes of arrangement) 和破产清算 (liquidation)。此外，还将简述董事职责、有关破产中资产分配的规则以及在破产中可撤销或“可审查”的交易。

在本专业概要发文之前，英国商务、能源与产业战略部于2020年3月28日发布公告，旨在帮助处于破产拯救或重整程序中的公司继续开展交易，避免破产。简言之，英国商务大臣宣布：

In our work with international companies supplying goods to the UK, we see a number of common issues arising regularly. In our previous articles we looked at contractual payment protections for our clients. In this third of five articles based on the five elements of the Wu Xing, we take the theme of Water and explain what happens if a customer faces the fluid uncertainties of financial difficulties and descends into the winter of a formal insolvency process.

Water: understand what happens and your rights if your customer enters insolvency.

在与向英国供货的国际公司合作的过程中，我们发现了一些常见问题。在上一篇文章中，我们研究了客户可能面临的破产程序类型。在“五行”系列第四篇文章中，我们围绕“火”元素来说明破产执业者在进入破产程序时拥有的重大权力：调查不当行为，并将资产收回统一偿还债权人。

火：破产执业者对债权人欺诈性交易的重大权力

破产执业者(不论是清算人或管理人)可以向法院申请撤销在公司进入破产程序前进行的特定交易。通过这种方式，可以收回资产或资金，统一向债权人偿付。下列情形属于“先前的”或“可审查”的交易：

1. 公司的资产或财产被低价出售；

2. 公司在进入破产程序前给予某债权人优先权，使其处于比其他债权人更有利的地位；

3. 公司订立了敲诈性信贷交易（交易条款有严重的敲诈性）；

4. 公司设立了无效浮动抵押，即为已发放的贷款或已提供的货物及服务的成本提供担保；

5. 公司订立的交易具有欺诈债权人的明确目的，即：使公司的资产脱离破产执业者和债权人的控制范围。

不同类型的可审查交易有不同的时间要求。例如，低价出售必须发生在公司进入破产程序前的两年内。