Hong Kong: A Checklist To Recovering Monies Transferred As A Result Of Email Wire Fraud

Remote working arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic have left businesses increasingly exposed to business email compromise attacks. Businesses whose monies are stolen by scammers must act quickly to recover the funds. Where the funds have been received in a bank account in Hong Kong, court proceedings should be immediately started to freeze the account and to gain further information to enable follow-up action to be taken if the funds have...

Directors Of Insolvent Companies: Managing the Risk of a Disqualification Order

Directors of Hong Kong companies operate in an environment of personal liability – a liability that is brought into sharp focus where companies face financial difficulties. This liability may take not only the form of criminal or civil liability but also the form of a disqualification order, meaning an order to bar that director from being involved in the management of a company in the future. In this article, we explore the basis for a...

Personal Liability of Directors: Covid-19 and Trading in the Insolvency Zone

The coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic continues to amplify the damage to a Hong Kong economy already battered by political unrest and an evolving reset in the relationship between the U.S. and China. As Hong Kong companies come under increasing cashflow pressure, directors should be aware that if their companies approach insolvency, their duties are increasingly owed to the creditors of their companies rather than to the shareholders of their...

Debt Collection Post-Covid-19: Force Majeure, Frustration and Winding-Up in Hong Kong

Businesses who wish to take aggressive action to enforce contractual obligations may consider a statutory demand as a means to pressure a counterparty into performance. A statutory demand may result in the winding-up of the counterparty, resulting in the liquidation and dissolution of that counterparty. However, the counterparty may resist the winding-up, disputing that the obligation is in fact owed. The present coronavirus pandemic may provide...

Surviving the Covid-19 Virus: Debt Restructuring for Businesses Facing a Liquidity...

Hong Kong businesses are undergoing a period of tremendous challenge, with the reset in economic relations between the U.S. and China, the Hong Kong protests and the Covid-19 virus battering the economy. In this environment, even businesses with strong long term prospects may face real short term working capital challenges. In this article, we explore some of the options available to address liquidity deficiencies.