HONG KONG SAR, CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Eric H. H. Chow, Michael Cheng, Stephanie Wong and June Wong, C L Chow and Macksion Chan
C L Chow and Macksion Chan 21/F, Tesbury Centre 28 Queen’s Road East Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2877 3318 Fax: +852 2877 2620 Email: clchow@clcmc.com.hk Web: www.clcmc.com.hk
1. Identifying Assets in the Jurisdiction 1.1 Options to Identify Another Party’s Asset Position Effective enforcement in Hong Kong begins with a clear picture of what the other party owns and where it is held. This groundwork matters not only for enforcing a Hong Kong judgment (see 2. Domestic Judgments ), but also for deciding whether to register or sue on a foreign judgment (see 3. Foreign Judgments ), whether to enforce an arbitral award (see 4. Arbitral Awards ), and whether insolvency proceedings would recover more than individual enforcement steps. The main tools divide into five groups: • searches of public registers; • orders compelling the debtor to disclose assets; • freezing orders; • orders against third parties who hold information; and • private intelligence gathering. Each differs in cost, speed and reach, and in practice they are combined rather than used in isolation. Searches of Public Registers A party’s asset position can be mapped in part through public searches at the relevant Hong Kong govern - ment departments: • the Companies Registry – for company and direc - torship searches; • the Inland Revenue Department – for business registration searches; • the Land Registry – for land search; and • the Trade Marks Registry – for trade-mark searches.
Insolvency records are similarly open to public search. Litigation history, by contrast, is less accessible from public records and is usually established through the commercial intelligence and investigator enquiries described as follows. Orders Compelling the Debtor to Disclose Assets A judgment creditor holding a monetary judgment need not rely on public searches alone. Where a judgment for a specified sum remains wholly or part - ly unsatisfied, the judgment creditor may apply for oral examination of the judgment debtor, who may be ordered to attend court, answer questions about assets, income, liabilities and recent disposals, and produce documents such as bank statements. Two procedures are available, under Order 48 and Order 49B of the Rules of the High Court, Cap 4A (RHC), and the judgment creditor must elect between them. Order 49B offering a stronger procedure against individual debtors, including wider disclosure powers and, in appropriate cases, measures to secure attend - ance. Order 48 has one advantage: where the judg - ment debtor is a body corporate, the judgment credi - tor may apply to examine any of its officers The court may also, in a suitable case, restrain a judgment debtor from leaving Hong Kong pending examination or payment, under Section 21B of the High Court Ordinance, Cap 4 (HCO) and Order 44A of the RHC. Freezing Orders The court may grant a freezing injunction after judg - ment, in aid of execution. It is more ready to do so at that stage, since the judgment creditor is by then enti -
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