Hong Kong court considers grounds for striking out claims of dishonest assistance, knowing receipt and fraudulent trading

The Court of First Instance recently rejected an attempt by Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited (BOCHK) to strike out various claims brought against it by the liquidators of China Medical Technologies (China Medical). The liquidators’ claims related to BOCHK’s handling of funds deposited with it by China Medical’s former officers, which were allegedly obtained … Read more

Hong Kong Court of First Instance refused to issue a letter of request to the judicial authority of mainland China for the purpose of cross-examination

In a recent judgment (Huang Yu Hui v Zheng Shizhi [2021] HKCFI 3362), the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (CFI) refused the defendant’s application to issue a letter of request to the judicial authority of mainland China for the examination of the defendant in a mainland prison. The CFI held that, examination is outside … Read more

To ask or not to ask? That is the question (2)

As discussed in our previous blog post, the decision for provisional liquidators to apply for directions on the distribution of funds can be a difficult one to make. In the Hong Kong Court of Appeal decision Joint And Several Provisional Liquidators Of Hsin Chong Construction Co Ltd (Provisional Liquidators Appointed) v. the Chinese University Of … Read more

SINGAPORE TO ALLOW CONDITIONAL FEE ARRANGEMENTS

On 1 November 2021, a bill to permit Conditional Fee Arrangements (CFA) had its first reading in the Singapore Parliament. If the bill is passed, it will permit law firms and lawyers in Singapore to enter into CFAs with their clients in respect of certain types of disputes (whether relating to proceedings in Singapore or … Read more

Hong Kong Court recognises Mainland reorganisation for the first time

The Hong Kong Court has broken yet more new ground by recognising Mainland reorganisation proceedings for the first time in Re HNA Group Co Limited [2021] HKCFI 2897. Previously, Mainland liquidation proceedings had been recognised by the Hong Kong Court (for the first time in CEFC Shanghai International Group Ltd [2020] HKCFI 965, and later … Read more

HONG KONG: ARE PAID NON-COMPETE PERIODS WORTH THE EXPENSE?

In a recent decision of the Hong Kong High Court[1], a six month non-compete restriction was upheld against an employee. One way that this decision differs from other recent cases was that the employee was entitled to receive his usual salary for the entire non-compete period. In considering the balance of convenience, not only did … Read more

It still counts: Hong Kong Court finds minority shareholding has reasonable possibility to benefit winding-up petitioner

It is well-established that certain core jurisdictional requirements must normally be met before a Hong Kong Court will exercise its discretion to wind up a foreign company (Core Jurisdictional Requirements). These were explained in our previous post: there must be a sufficient connection with Hong Kong, but this does not necessarily have to consist in … Read more