本所最近为百慕大最高法院委任的稀镁科技集团（简称“公司”）联合临时清盘人，就公司软性临时清盘常规申请提供法律服务。

在百慕达注册成立，于中国香港联交所上市，并在中国大陆设有营运附属公司。

根据惯例，香港商事法庭会在符合某些标准的情况下认可外国破产管理人员。在香港，藉由请求函申请支持认可与协助已很普遍，更多会以书面提交的方式处理，并以符合香港法院认可和协助命令标准格式的形式起草命令。

在本案申请中，有些方面与标准命令略有不同（如请求书中有关段落所示），并现特别指出如下：

1. 临时清盘人的某些权力仅在公司同意下方可行使（香港认可令第 2(k)、2(m) 及 2(n) 段）。
2. 临时清盘人被授予在某些交易中接收预备材料和征求其意见的权力（香港认可令第 2(q) 段）—— 这是一项新的权力，并未见于标准命令。

虽然香港商事法庭已采用标准命令，而香港的临时清盘人所寻求的权力应与之一致，但可能会存在要求采用略有不同的条款，以便按个案情况更好适用，促进重组的情况。

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 has introduced a new standalone moratorium procedure for companies.¹ The moratorium is part of a package of significant legislative reforms contained in the Act, intended to enhance the UK’s restructuring rescue culture. These were originally consulted on between 2016 and 2018 and were fast-tracked to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overview

In a pair of private exchange offers consummated in May 2020, airport operating companies owned by Corporacin Amrica Airports S.A. (NYSE: CAAP) in Argentina and Uruguay were able to restructure their existing debt securities in order to withstand the substantial revenue declines associated with the drop-off in air travel as a result of the coronavirus pandemic ("COVID-19").

The Bottom Line

The Third Circuit, in Artesanias Hacienda Real S.A. de C.V. v. N. Mill Capital, LLC (In re Wilton Armetale, Inc.), 968 F.3d 273 (3d Cir. 2020), issued a decision with potential implications for creditors who wish to pursue causes of action after a bankruptcy trustee refuses to act on such claims. The Third Circuit held that if a bankruptcy trustee clearly abandons a cause of action, the right of creditors to pursue that cause of action “spring[s] back to life.”

What Happened?

On 23 April 2020, the UK Government announced that the use of statutory demands and winding-up petitions would be restricted to ‘safeguard the UK high street against aggressive debt recovery actions' during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Supreme Court has recently released a decision on directors' duties, which should serve as a timely reminder to all directors of their duties under the Companies Act in circumstances of insolvency. Continuing to trade while insolvent will be a breach of your duties, even if you believe that overall creditors may be better off or the extent of losses will be reduced. It is however welcome confirmation for liquidators that the Courts will enforce the provisions of the Companies Act based on the clear wording of these sections.

In brief

Although the Sunbird scheme of arrangement was approved by the relevant creditors, sanction was refused by Mr. Justice Snowdon, who highlighted:

• a ‘paucity of information provided by the company as part of the scheme process’, and
• a failure to engage with creditors ‘whom the directors clearly felt were irrelevant or would be an obstacle to their plans’.

He remarked that the company’s approach 'fell a considerable distance short of what was required for a fair process'.

On August 26, 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that the Bankruptcy Code does not require subordination agreements to be strictly enforced in order for a court to confirm a cramdown plan, so long as the plan does not discriminate unfairly.

The United Kingdom Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has announced that certain temporary measures put in place under the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA), which became law on 26 June 2020, will be extended.

Statutory Demands and Winding-Up Petitions