CHINA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Greg Hallahan, Amanda Rasmussen and Kristine Kwok, Secretariat
In Australia, a reverse shareholder check across all states and territories can be conducted, and in Sin - gapore, the same check can be conducted as long as an individual’s ID number (either Singapore ID or foreign passport ID) can be supplied. In all other key jurisdictions, reverse shareholder checks are not possible, but deep web searches and public record aggregators can generate lists of corporate affiliations and likely equity holdings, which is helpful for plan - ning next investigative steps or preparing court order applications. As is the case in mainland China, listed companies in most of the key jurisdictions are required to disclose shareholders with more than 5% holding, except for the London Stock Exchange, which requires disclo - sure of more than 3% equity, and the Toronto Stock Exchange, which requires disclosure of more than 10% equity only. Intellectual property The key jurisdictions’ intellectual property offices usu - ally publish patent information about 18 months after filing, including the assignee (owner), inventors, title, technical specifications, legal scope, drawings and status (pending, granted or abandoned) of registered patents. Trade mark information is usually published one to three months after registration, depending on the jurisdiction, and includes applicant name (and address in most cases). Checks for encumbrances and other creditors It is possible to assess whether Chinese debtors are also indebted overseas, as well as to obtain informa- tion about other secured and unsecured creditors in each of the key jurisdictions, via: • bankruptcy and insolvency registers; • enforcement orders issued by courts at multiple levels; and • property liens and mortgages, which usually include the name of the lender, amount owing, date issued and length of the loan. In the United States, it is also possible to view Uniform Commercial Code filings, used by creditors to provide public notice of their security interest in a debtor’s per - sonal property – and which also establish the credi -
tor’s priority by date of filing in the event of a default or bankruptcy. Role of offshore checks The 2016 release of the Panama Papers and subse - quent tranches of information about offshore compa - nies, followed by regulations since 2019 to increase the transparency of public records in offshore jurisdic - tions, help to provide a more complete understanding of Chinese asset portfolios. For example, although lawyers must be engaged to compel disclosure of Cayman Islands company shareholders, a list of directors can now be retrieved directly from the Cayman Islands’ corporate registry, allowing for better suppositions about a company’s controllers. This has proved helpful as companies with operations in China often register their parent entity in Human intelligence gathered from discreet interviews with well-placed local sources can provide leads to new research avenues that might otherwise remain undiscovered. For example, former employees may be able to provide insight on a corporate target’s financial status, and associates of an individual cred - itor can often offer commentary on travel patterns, overseas interests (children studying, holiday homes, collections of value, etc) that allow for new leads to be pursued in the public record. Potential for enforcement Recent cases demonstrate that overseas courts are successfully navigating reciprocal recognition of judg - ments and arbitral awards: • in December 2025, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance enforced a mainland judgment for RMB162 million (USD23.6 million) on behalf of a Chinese subsidiary of a South Korean heavy equip - ment and engine manufacturer against an indi - vidual fraudster; • in November 2024, the Singapore High Court recognised and enforced a USD18 million civil monetary judgment from Guangdong against a Singapore citizen; the Cayman Islands. Human intelligence
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