Hong Kong Personal Insolvency Manual, 3rd Edition

Since the publication of the Second Edition of The Hong Kong Personal Insolvency Manual in 2010 and the Fourth Edition of its companion volume, The Hong Kong Corporate Insolvency Manual in 2018, there have been significant developments in the personal insolvency law and practice in Hong Kong. This Third Edition of The Hong Kong Personal Insolvency Manual addresses personal insolvency law developments and updates the discussion of case law and legislative enactments. It will be a valuable resource for accounting and legal professionals working in the insolvency field, as well as for bankers, academics and university students.

Extensive expansion of Chapter 1, ‘Introduction to Personal Insolvency in Hong Kong,’ including much more data about Hong Kong personal insolvency law;

• Identification of a dramatic increase in the number of convictions for bankrupts committing offenses under BO, ss 43A, 129 and 134. (Chapter 1);
• Inclusion of many more tables and a few more charts;
• Discussion of legislative updates – eg, the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Ordinance 2016 (1 of 2016) (to address problems relating to the discharge from bankruptcy for absconding debtors) and measures introduced in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic;
• Discussion of Official Receiver’s Office (ORO) Letters to IPs and Circulars – eg, the 2022 ORO Letter to IPs regarding Summary Procedure Order Applications by Provisional Trustees in Bankruptcy Cases and the 2022 ORO Circular regarding Abuse of Bankruptcy Process;
• Examination of how the court handles bankruptcy petitions with reference to the practice directions established by the Hong Kong Judiciary (Chapter 6);
• Discussion of how trustees in bankruptcy administer the finances of the bankruptcy estate under the scrutiny of the ORO (Chapter 7); and
• Exploration of a developing regime of bankruptcy litigation in Hong Kong in which trustees in bankruptcy commence order for sale proceedings against landed properties in Hong Kong originally co-owned by the bankrupt and a solvent co-owner in an attempt to benefit the bankruptcy estate (Chapter 9).