In late October, Mr. Roy Leung, Managing Partner of Sit, Fung, Kwong & Shum (SFKS), attended the “Commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Promulgation of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law of the People’s Republic of China and the 17th China Bankruptcy Law Forum” in Beijing. For the second consecutive year, Mr. Leung was the only Hong Kong lawyer attending the Forum.

The China Bankruptcy Law Forum is the largest industry exchange platform for enterprise restructuring and liquidation in Mainland China. Held over two days, the Forum was jointly organised by the Renmin University of China Law School, the Bankruptcy Law Research Center of Renmin University of China, the Beijing Bankruptcy Court and the Beijing Bankruptcy Law Society. It brought together nearly 1,000 experts and scholars in restructuring and liquidation from provinces and cities across the country and received over 1,400 essays. This year's themes focused on the amendment of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law, which is expected to be promulgated next year; the legislative progress of personal bankruptcy law and the effectiveness of its pilot schemes; and the enterprise rescue measures adopted by different provinces and cities, and reviews of their effectiveness.

This year’s sub-forums covered a diverse range of themes, including “Bankruptcy Proceedings and the Business Environment,” “Asset Disposal and Digital Assets,” “The Spectrum of Rights and Safeguards for Their Exercise,” “Distress Rescue and Substantive Consolidation,” “The Enforcement-Bankruptcy Interface and the Criminal-Bankruptcy Intersection,” “Personal Bankruptcy and Micro and Small Enterprises,” “Real Estate Enterprise Bankruptcy and Government-Court Coordination,” “Financial Institutions and Cross-Border Bankruptcy,” “Out-of-Court Restructuring and Diversified Dispute Resolution,” and “Supervision of the Performance of Duties and Accountability.” More than 200 experts discussed specific issues in-depth.

Mr. Leung spoke at the “Financial Institutions and Cross-Border Bankruptcy” sub-forum, where he shared cases and experience from Hong Kong and the Mainland on mutual recognition of and assistance in cross-border insolvency and liquidation, with a view to promote cross-border enforcement of enterprise insolvency and liquidation between the two jurisdictions.

SFKS has extensive experience in mutual recognition of and assistance in cross-border restructuring and liquidation, including representing PRC insolvency administrators in the first two Hong Kong cases in which liquidators appointed by PRC courts were recognized and assisted at common law. In addition, the firm has handled a large number of contentious winding-up petitions and bankruptcy proceedings, proceedings for the appointment and representation of liquidators, provisional liquidators and receivers, and cases involving substantial debts. It also provides practical legal advice on liquidation and schemes of arrangement.

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