5 Impactful R&I Cases From 2024

Following on from our article last year summarising the key Restructuring and Insolvency cases of 2023, 2024 was another busy year for developments in the industry in Hong Kong.

The Court of Final Appeal ("CFA") handed down a landmark decision in China Life Trustees v China Energy Reserve clarifying the test to establish a Quistclose trust in the context of monies paid for restructuring purposes. The Court of Appeal ("CA") also clarified the applicability of the "Guy Lam approach" in cases involving arbitration clauses and in a companies winding up context.

Additionally, although the case itself did not involve novel legal principles, China Evergrande Group was wound up in January creating very likely the largest ever liquidation in Hong Kong.