XN000022-1996-12-18 — Page 25

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Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill 1996 (committee stage)

Following is a speech by the Secretary for Financial Services, Mr Rafael Hui, in moving committee stage amendment to the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill 1996, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Mr Chairman,

I move that new clauses 47A and 75A as set out in the paper circulated to Members be read the second time.

The new clause 47A amends section 87 of the Ordinance to provide for the fee that may be charged by the trustee or the Official Receiver for supplying a creditor with the list of creditors and debts due, to be prescribed in subsidiary legislation rather than being specified in the principal Ordinance as it now is.

The new clause 75A makes a consequential amendment to the Companies Ordinance. It is consequential to clause 36 of the Bill which repeals sections 47 to 51 of the Bankruptcy Ordinance, dealing with "fraudulent preferences", and replaces them with new provisions on "transactions at an undervalue" and "unfair preferences", which are concepts that are defined under the relevant sections of the Bill.

The concept of "fraudulent preferences" is also employed in sections 266 and 266A of the Companies Ordinance and account therefore needs to be taken of the changes brought about by this Bill. The proposed section 266B deems a "fraudulent preference" to be an "unfair preference", as provided for under section 50 of the Bankruptcy Ordinance, in the case of a company being wound up after the commencement of the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Ordinance 1996. For a winding-up commenced before this date, the present provisions of the Companies Ordinance will continue to apply.

Mr Chairman, I beg to move.

End