Stefan Lo on The Stillborn Statutory Corporate Rescue Procedure in Hong Kong: Lost Opportunities and Future Possibilities (JICL)

"The Stillborn Statutory Corporate Rescue Procedure in Hong Kong: Lost Opportunities and Future Possibilities"
Stefan Lo
Journal of International and Comparative Law, Vol 12 Issue 2, pp. 263-298
Published online: December 2025

Abstract: The process for reform of corporate restructuring laws in Hong Kong to facilitate the rehabilitation of companies in financial distress has been a difficult and protracted one. Since the late 1990s, the Hong Kong government has attempted, unsuccessfully, on a number of occasions to enact a statutory corporate rescue procedure to address gaps and problems in the existing law. The most recent attempt had led to a draft Companies (Corporate Rescue) Bill that was close to finalisation in 2020–2021, but the Bill was in the end not introduced into the legislature due to opposition from some stakeholders (such as the labour sector and small businesses) on aspects of the proposed procedure. The reform process is now stalled. It is argued in this article that the perceived difficulties were to a large extent already addressed by the draft Bill and that it is imperative for the Hong Kong government to re-start the reform process to enact reforms which are long overdue and which are vital for development and maintenance of Hong Kong’s status as an international centre of commerce and finance.