Amendment to Part V of the Cayman Companies Act Comes into Effect on 31 August 2022

The commencement order for the Companies Amendment Act, 2021 was published in the Cayman Islands Legislation Gazette on 29 July 2022.

Pursuant to the commencement order, the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2021 comes into force on 31 August 2022.

The legislation applies to a company, and any other entity or partnership, that is liable to be wound up under the provisions of Part V of the Companies Act (2022 Revision). Its two main objectives are to separate restructuring from the winding-up regime; and to improve access to both the restructuring and winding-up regimes.

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Restructuring regime: Separation and access

Prior to the amendment, a company that wanted to restructure first needed to apply to the Court to wind up (in other words, liquidate) the company, which may have given the impression that the company was going out of business rather than restructuring. The winding-up application also could have triggered wind-up covenants in finance documents.

The Act also improves access to the restructuring regime by no longer requiring a shareholder resolution, or an express power in the company’s articles of association, before company directors can apply for a restructuring.

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Access to the winding-up regime

For all companies existing before the Act’s commencement, the Act equalises access to the winding-up regime by enabling all existing companies to add, in their articles of association, a provision that no longer requires a shareholder resolution or express power to allow company directors to apply for a winding-up.

For companies incorporated after the Act’s commencement, the Act improves access to the winding-up regime by no longer requiring a shareholder resolution, or an express power to be added in the company’s articles of association, before company directors can apply for a winding-up. However, a company still may choose to include these provisions in their articles of association, to govern the process that company directors are to follow for winding-up.

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To support the Act, the Insolvency Rules Committee, chaired by the Chief Justice, the Hon. Anthony Smellie, QC, has prepared amendments to the Companies Winding Up Rules, 2018. These amendments, which do not need Parliamentary process, are intended to come into force simultaneously with the Act.

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For more details, please find refer to the links below:
Companies(Amendment) Act, 2021
Companies(Amendment) Act, 2021 (Commencement) Order, 2022

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Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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PORTCULLIS GROUP
www.portcullis.co

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開曼群島公司法第五篇修正法自2022年8月31日起施行

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2021年公司修正法啟動令已於2022年7月29日公布於開曼群島立法公報上。

依據上述啟動令，2021年公司(修正)法(下稱「本法」)自2022年8月31日起施行。本法適用的對象，乃依公司法第五篇條款(2022年修改條款)應清盤的公司及任何其他實體或合夥企業。其兩項主要目標在於分割重組制與清盤制，並改善進行重組制與清盤制的途徑。

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重組制：分割及途徑

在法律修正前，擬重組的公司首先必須向法院聲請清盤(換言之，亦即清算)公司，此舉會造成該公司即將停止營業而非重組的印象。而且，清盤聲請亦可能觸發金融文件中公司清盤條款的適用。

本法亦改善進行重組制的途徑，因為在公司董事聲請重組前，無須再提出股東決議書或公司章程中的明文授權。

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清盤制的途徑

對於本法啟動前即已存在的公司，本法為其均等化了清盤制的途徑，因為本法允許所有既存公司的公司章程增加一項條款，規定在公司董事聲請公司清盤時無需股東決議書或明文授權。

對於在本法啟動後始設立的公司，本法亦改善進行清盤制的途徑，因為在公司董事聲請公司清盤前無需股東決議書，或公司章程可加入明文授權的條款。然而，公司仍可選擇在其公司章程中加入此類條款，以便規範公司董事在聲請清盤時應遵守的程序。

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為支援本法，由王室法律顧問首席法官Anthony Smellie擔任主席的破產規則委員會，已擬定「2018年公司清盤規則」的修正條款。這些修正條款無須經過國會程序，預計將與本法同時施行。

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欲取得更多資訊者，請參下列連結：
2021年公司(修正)法
2021年公司(修正)法、2022年(啟動)令

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感謝 貴公司對此事的關注。

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保得利集團
www.portcullis.co