As announced this week, the UAE Cabinet has approved a further amendment (Amendment Law) to Federal Law No 9 of 2016 (the Corporate Bankruptcy Law). The Amendment Law follows the previous amendment of the Corporate Bankruptcy Law in 2019 (pursuant to Federal Law No 23 of 2019).
The Amendment Law is yet to published in the official gazette, and therefore its effective date is yet to be confirmed. However, in this alert we look at the anticipated content of the Amendment Law.
Primary Change – Emergency Financial Crisis
Insolvency Law No. 9 of 2019 enters into force from January 2020, which is the year of economic and social betting on development and aspiration for a happier and more stable country.
What is the role of the insolvency law in this context?
The UAE Cabinet issued Resolution (“Resolution”) no. 4 of 2018 Forming the Financial Restructuring Committee (“FRC”) pursuant to UAE Federal Law No. 9 of 2016 (“Bankruptcy Law”).
In this article, we will highlight the important developments brought by the Resolution, especially in respect of Financial Restructuring of Financial Institutions and the introduction of bankruptcy searches to the UAE.
The proposed changes to the Saudi Arabian bankruptcy regime will provide the judiciary the right to obligate creditors to accept a settlement proposed by the debtor (the “new Law”).
The Ministry of Commerce and Investment is currently in the latter stages of reforming the Kingdom’s bankruptcy laws and regulations. The new Law is intended to replace certain sections in the Commercial Court Law and the Bankruptcy Protecting Settlement Law dealing with bankruptcy.
Global FDSI Briefing
Welcome to our latest quarterly briefing on legal developments across our global network. I hope you find the articles insightful and thought provoking. Highlights this quarter include recent developments in Italian derivatives case law, an overview of the amendments made to Spain’s insolvency regulation and the UK’s FCA issuing first warning notices against individuals.
If you have any questions or would like further information please do not hesitate to contact me, or one of our global key contacts.
[Matthew Allen]
Matthew Allen
Executive Summary
Where multiple Cayman Islands entities in the same corporate structure become subject to insolvency proceedings (e.g. Cayman Islands master/ feeder fund structures), the Cayman Islands Courts will typically seek to appoint the same liquidators at each level where such entities share similarities in circumstances. Doing so typically aligns with the Overriding Objective of the Court to deal with matters economically and efficiently, and in the context of a liquidation, helps protect the interests of stakeholders in the liquidation.
Global Perspectives on Insolvency, Restructuring & Dispute Resolution
As primarily offshore lawyers, we speak on a daily basis with onshore counsel, banks, asset managers, trustees, corporates, insolvency practitioners and individuals around the world. Those conversations give our Global Insolvency & Dispute Resolution Practice Group a unique perspective on the different market trends and their regional impact in 2022.
On 26 April 2022, Chief Justice Smellie QC in Re Premier Assurance Group SPC Ltd. (in Official Liquidation) sanctioned a decision by the joint official liquidators (“JOLs”) of Premier Assurance Group SPC Ltd (in Official Liquidation) (the “Company”) to return (or procure the return of) certain payments held by or on behalf of the Company referable to one of its segregated portfolios, Premier Assurance Segregated Portfolio (“PASP”), to the respective payors on the basis that such sums were paid by mistake.
In a judgment rendered on 10 October 2021, the Dubai Court of First Instance had concluded that current and former directors and managers of Marka were personally liable towards creditors of the company merely on the basis that the assets of the company were not sufficient to pay at least 20% of its debts. The 20% threshold was set in onshore Federal Decree Law No. (9) of 2016 on Bankruptcy (the Bankruptcy Law) as it then was, and the Court determined that liability applied to current and former directors and managers without distinction where the threshold is not met.
On 29 March 2016, Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of the UAE Banks Federation (UBF), announced a new “rescue initiative” in relation to SME debt in the United Arab Emirates, under which UBF member banks might impose a 90-day “standstill” on use of judicial means to enforce the payment of SME debts.