In Re Lamtex Holdings Limited¹, the Hong Kong Companies Court recently ordered the winding-up of a Bermuda-incorporated Hong Kong-listed company.

The recently enacted Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) contains important temporary amendments to Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, including several that impact both landlords and tenants under commercial real estate leases.

Small-business debtors can seek an additional extension of time to pay rent

In the European Union, the European Insolvency Regulation (EIR) determines the jurisdiction for a debtor's insolvency proceedings, the law applicable to those proceedings and provides for mandatory recognition of the proceedings in other EU member states.

The government restrictions on enforcement options for Lenders have been regularly extended due to the ongoing pandemic. Below is a table of what options are available to Lenders as at 22 March 2021 to enforce their security and recover liabilities owing from their borrowers.

Amplifying JCAM Commercial Real Estate Property XV Ltd v Davis Haulage Ltd [2018] EWCA CIV 276 the court has again considered repeated Notices of Intention to Appoint (NOITA) and the effect on the interim moratorium.

Background

This case involved the Company filing 4 successive NOITAs although only two of them were the subject of these proceedings (NOITA 1 and NOITA 2).

The Company owned a Property which was subject to a legal mortgage and QFC. The secured loan was in default and the Company was seeking to delay enforcement whilst it refinanced.

In February 2020, just prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (Subchapter V) took effect.[1] Subchapter V amends Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code to allow certain individuals and businesses with debts of less than $2,725,625 to file a streamlined Chapter 11 case with the goal to make small business bankruptcies faster and cheaper.[2]

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:

On March 22nd, the CEO of Interjet (ABC aerolíneas, S.A. de C.V.) announced the imminent filing before a Mexican court of a petition in bankruptcy in the reorganization stage. Interjet is one of the top 5 airlines in Mexico.

The bankruptcy of an airline is the same as any other bankruptcy except for the following.

The debtor that, under a concession title, provides a federal, state, or municipal public service, may be adjudicated in bankruptcy.[1] Airlines fall within the said provision, because air transportation is a federal public service in Mexico.

A recent decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council reaffirms its position that only in rare cases will it be appropriate to interfere with concurrent findings of fact of two lower tribunals.¹ The Privy Council found Byers and others v Chen Ningning to be one such case on the basis that an error in findings of fact as to the Respondent’s status as a director had been made by the first instance trial judge and upheld by the Court of Appeal.

Introduction

The recent Gategroup decision has put a focus on recognition of UK insolvency tools, as the industry grapples with uncertainties as to EU-wide treatment as an outsider. We consider whether it matters that there may not be any uniform recognition treatment for Restructuring Plans, and whether that offers parties opportunity as well as uncertainty.

1. Overview