RE HI-TECH WEALTH GROUP LTD
- Citation
- RE HI-TECH WEALTH GROUP LTD
- Status
- Judgment
- Jurisdiction
- Hong Kong
- Court
- Court of First Instance
- Decision
- 29 October 2007
- Posture
- Winding Up Petition / Hearing/judgment — Final Winding Up Order Made
- Case number
- HCCW358/2007
- Language
- English
More details
- Court
- Court of First Instance
- Decision
- 29 October 2007
- Posture
- Winding Up Petition / Hearing/judgment — Final Winding Up Order Made
- Case number
- HCCW358/2007
- Language
- English
On this page
Professional case brief
Research organized from the available case record
01
Holding and result
The petitioning debt was undisputed, substantial and due; neither the company nor the opposing creditor could present any concrete or viable settlement proposal; consequently the petitioner was entitled ex debito justitiae to a winding-up order and the petition should not be adjourned.
Court disposition
Winding-up order made against Hi-Tech Wealth Group Limited
Orders
- Winding-up order made against Hi-Tech Wealth Group Limited
- Petitioner’s costs to be paid out of the Company’s assets
02
Material facts
Parties
Hiddenite International Finance Limited
Petitioner Counsel: Ms Linda Chan (Wilkinson & Grist)Hi-Tech Wealth Group Limited
Respondent (company) Counsel: Mr Wilson Hui (Li & Partners)Rising Investment Development Limited
Opposing Creditor Counsel: Mr Jonathan Chang (Oldham Li & Nie)Star Cluster Incorporated
Contributory (notice of Intention to Appear)Amounts and remedies
- Petitioning Debt Demanded by Petitioner: HKD 100,000,000
- Redemption Money (usd): USD 29,473,449
- Redemption Money Approximate Equivalent (hkd): HKD 229,900,000
- Rising's Claimed Debt: USD 31,800,000
03
Procedural history
Posture
Winding Up Petition / Hearing/judgment — Final Winding Up Order Made
04
Questions and positions
Legal issues
- 01
Whether the company should be wound up for failing to pay an undisputed debt
- 02
Whether the petitioning debt is due and payable under the articles (redemption event)
- 03
Whether the court should adjourn the petition to allow settlement negotiations
- 04
Entitlement of a creditor to a winding-up order ex debito justitiae
Party arguments
- Applicant
- Petitioner holds 110 convertible preferential shares and served redemption notice; redemption money became a debt on the redemption event; demand for HK$100 million was not met; provisional liquidators appointed; seeks immediate winding-up order.
- Respondent
- Company and Rising sought a 7 day adjournment to produce a settlement proposal; neither could say what a viable proposal would be; Rising claims to be a creditor for US$31.8 million; no dispute as to the petitioning debt but requested time to negotiate.
05
Court’s reasoning
Legal principles
- 01
Companies Ordinance/established insolvency principles and case law
A creditor entitled ex debito justitiae to a winding-up order where a liquid debt is due and unpaid
- 02
Judicial discretion/case law
Court may refuse adjournment where no reasonable prospects of settlement or concrete proposals are shown
06
Ratio, limits and disposition
Ratio decidendi
The petitioning debt was undisputed, substantial and due; neither the company nor the opposing creditor could present any concrete or viable settlement proposal; consequently the petitioner was entitled ex debito justitiae to a winding-up order and the petition should not be adjourned.
Obiter and limits
- No prejudice to the company in making the winding-up order as it had ceased business for years
- Provisional liquidators should be able to investigate the affairs of the company without further delay
- Creditors did not respond to enquiries from the provisional liquidators
Court disposition
Winding-up order made against Hi-Tech Wealth Group Limited
- Winding-up order made against Hi-Tech Wealth Group Limited
- Petitioner’s costs to be paid out of the Company’s assets
Source and reliance status
Court of First Instance · 29 October 2007
This page organises the available record for research. Confirm quotations, current status, and subsequent treatment against the official source before relying on the case.
Judgment reading view
Judgment text
The complete available source text.
Court of First Instance
Judgment· 29 October 2007
bjbj WIPmi W gP inance, Cap. 32 ____ Before: Hon Kwan J in Court Date of Hearing: 29 October 2007 Date of Judgment: 29 October 2007 ___
J U D G M E N T ___ This is a petition presented by Hiddenite International Finance Limited to wind up Hi-Tech Wealth Group Limited ( the Company ). The petitioner is a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands as a special purpose vehicle formed and used by GEMS Fund II. According to the petition, the Company is indebted to the petitioner of HK$100 million, being part of the redemption money payable by the Company to the petitioner as holder of 110 million convertible preferential shares upon redemption of these shares. Pursuant to article 3.2.4(a) of the articles of association of the Company adopted by a special resolution on 21 June 2002, the petitioner is entitled to require all the convertible preferential shares be redeemed on the 5th anniversary of the date of adoption of the articles of association, namely on 21 June 2007 ( the redemption event ), upon giving 10 business days written notice to the Company. Pursuant to article 3.2.4(e), on the date of the redemption event, the redemption money shall become a debt due and payable by the Company to the petitioner, whether or not the Company has enough profits available for distribution or other requisite funds to pay the redemption money. On 1 June 2007, the petitioner through its solicitors issued a notice of redemption to the Company, requiring all the convertible preferential shares to be redeemed
and demanding the Company to pay the redemption money in full to the petitioner by 5 p.m. on 21 June 2007. The redemption money amounted to US$29,473,449.00, equivalent to about HK$229.9 million. On 22 June 2007, the petitioner served a demand on the Company under section 178(1)(a) of the Companies Ordinance, Cap. 32, demanding payment of HK$100 million being part of the redemption money payable. As the demand was not met, the petition was presented on 9 August 2007. Provisional liquidators were appointed on the ex parte application of the petitioner on the same day. A notice of intention to appear on the petition and to oppose it was filed on 14 August 2007 by Star Cluster Incorporated, claiming to be a contributory of the Company. This entity has not appeared at the hearing today. The petition is opposed by the Company and by Rising Investment Development Limited ( Rising ). Rising claims to be a creditor of the Company to the tune of US$31.8 million. Rising has appeared by Mr Jonathan Chang of counsel. No notice of intention to appear at the hearing has been filed by Rising as yet and Mr Chang informed the court that he only received his instructions today and he appeared on a limited basis. The petitioning debt is not in dispute, as confirmed by Mr Wilson Hui who appeared for the Company. Both the Company and Rising sought an adjournment of 7 days. I understand from Ms
Linda Chan for the petitioner that there had been negotiations between the petitioner and the Company and that Rising did not participate in the negotiations. No acceptable proposal was forthcoming from the Company so the petitioner seeks an order to wind up the Company today. Mr Hui informed the court that the purpose of the adjournment for a week was to enable the Company to put forward a new or improved proposal for settlement to the petitioner. He is unable to tell the court what such new proposal might be. As for Mr Chang, he informed the court that there is at the moment no proposal forthcoming from Rising and he is unable to assist the court as to the viability of any proposal that might be put forward. I bear in mind that the petition was presented in August 2007, and that the provisional liquidators had written to the creditors disclosed in the statement of affairs submitted on 3 September 2007, making enquiries about their debts and no response was received from any of the creditors including Rising. I am not prepared to adjourn the petition when neither the Company nor Rising is able to tell the court of any concrete proposal that might be put forward on their side. There is no dispute of the petitioning debt, which is a very substantial amount. The petitioner is entitled ex debito justitiae to a winding-up order. No purpose would be served in delaying the matter for
7 days in the absence of any or any reasonable prospects of settlement. The Company should be wound up so that the liquidators can carry out their investigation into the affairs of the Company without further delay. No prejudice would be suffered by the Company as it has ceased business for some years, as admitted by the Company. For the above reasons, I make a winding-up order against the Company. The petitioner s costs are to be paid out of the Company s assets. (S Kwan) Judge of the Court of First Instance High Court Ms Linda Chan, instructed by Messrs Wilkinson & Grist, for the Petitioner Mr Wilson Hui, instructed by Messrs Li & Partners, for the Company Mr Jonathan Chang, instructed by Messrs Oldham Li & Nie, for the opposing Credi 1udk 1udk U V i$&`G T![> hccw (for Susan Kwan only).dot setup Microsoft Word 9.0 Judiciary Hong Kong Title Microsoft Word Document MSWordDoc Word.Document.8
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