Theoretically, a Russian debtor is able to reorganize. In practice, the law currently does not encourage voluntary restructuring of debt in a way designed to preserve the continued operation of business and jobs. The interests of debtors and creditors are not appropriately balanced at present to achieve the best results. Creditors currently have a strong … Continue Reading
There has been a significant increase in insolvencies in the construction, real estate, retail and wholesale sectors of the Russian economy, according to the statistics in the Competition Development Bulletin “Concentration on the Russian Markets: Trends in the Period of Recession” published in December 2015 by the Analytical Centre of the Government of the Russian Federation. … Continue Reading
Due to the introduction of new tax legislation on 6th April 2016, distributions made to shareholders of companies undergoing Members’ Voluntary Liquidation (MVL) are now treated as income (rather than capital) and are taxed accordingly. The result is that the tax rate on MVL proceeds has shot up to a staggering 28%, as detailed in our previous article. For distributions to … Continue Reading
Promociones Habitat SA, the Spanish residential homebuilder, has completed a €1.45 billion restructuring which was the first refinancing of an existing composition agreement to use the provisions in a debt/equity swap within Spain’s new company rescue laws. In 2008 Promociones Habitat SA (Habitat)applied for voluntary bankruptcy with accumulated liabilities of 2,840 million euros. Two years later, … Continue Reading
It is very much the nature of the job that appointed Office Holders are required to make difficult and challenging decisions on each and every case they take. On some occasions those decisions are well received – on others, not so well. Creditors affected by those decisions can take comfort that the Office Holder is … Continue Reading
The Federal Court of Australia has approved a settlement, effectively resolving one of the most complex corporate insolvencies in Australian history. On 18 December 2015 the Federal Court of Australia approved a settlement relating to inter-company loans and disputed assets between the liquidators of Lehman Brothers Australia Ltd (LBA) and American parent company Lehman Brothers … Continue Reading
China is one of the largest manufacturers and consumers of iron and steel products. The steel industry in China has developed over several decades into the biggest in the world. China accounts for nearly 50% of world steel production. It has been driven by rapid modernization of its economy, construction, infrastructure and manufacturing industries. The Chinese steel … Continue Reading
IBA Insolvency Restructuring International in its Vol 9 No of September 2015 published an article Bankruptcy in Russia: new instruments of protection of creditors’ rights by our two Moscow practitioners Sergey Treshchev and Elena Malevich who analyse opportunities which the creditors have obtained due to the recent amendments in the Russian Insolvency Law. Special rules regulating … Continue Reading
Further to the review of pre-pack administration sales (“pre-packs”) by Teresa Graham CBE last year (the findings of which were published in the “Graham Report” and discussed in one of our earlier blogs, Change in Sight for UK Pre-pack Administration Regulation), the key recommendations have now been implemented in order to improve fairness and transparency … Continue Reading
On 1 October 2015 the Insolvency (Protection of Essential Supplies) Order 2015 (“PESO”) will come into force. PESO aims to strengthen the statutory protection provided to insolvent companies and insolvency practitioners who need to utilise ‘essential supplies’ to continue to trade. Essential Supplies When a business enters an insolvency process they often need continuity of … Continue Reading
A scandal in the world of letters and old manuscripts would not have gone unnoticed and the French case of Aristophil has lead to extensive press coverage; a massive fraud is suspected with thousands of works and hundreds of millions of euros at stake. The concept was appealing: manuscripts full of history, a promise of elevated re-sale … Continue Reading
Significant improvements have been made to creditors’ rights in Russian bankruptcy proceedings by amendments made on January 29, 2015. The Federal Laws No. 432-FZ “On Amending Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation” and No. 482-FZ “On Amending the Federal Law on Insolvency and Administrative Offences Code” (together, the Amending Laws) came into force in Russia. The … Continue Reading