The compendium covers the regulations in 16 APAC jurisdictions
Corporate restructuring and insolvency laws in Asia have received the spotlight in a compendium of reports released by the Asian Business Law Institute (ABLI) and the International Insolvency Institute (III).
Entitled Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency in Asia 2020, the compendium covers the regulations in 16 APAC jurisdictions, including the member countries of the ASEAN and six of its major trading partners—Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan and South Korea.
The ABLI said in a media release that the compendium would be the first to provide a detailed breakdown of the newly reformed restructuring and insolvency laws in Laos and Myanmar, which are “fast-growing emerging ASEAN nations that are increasingly on the radar of global investors.”
“With ever-growing cross-border trade and more and more businesses operating in multiple countries, the prospects of multi-jurisdictional restructuring and insolvency workouts are also increasing. Fragmentation in restructuring and insolvency rules results in time and cost inefficiencies that are significant but can be avoided,” the institute said.
The reports are written by restructuring experts from each jurisdiction, and are geared towards “all stakeholders involved in Asian restructurings, including judges, practitioners, legislators and policy-makers,” the ABLI said. It is also set to benefit lawyers who work on cross-border business restructuring and insolvency issues.
The institute said that the compendium is part of its mission to “provide practical guidance on, and promote convergence of, business laws in Asia.” It would also be the first time all 10 ASEAN member countries are involved in “a comprehensive study of business reorganisation and insolvency rules.”
Moreover, the compendium is the output of phase one of the Asian Principles of Business Restructuring project, and it will be the foundation for phase two, which will look to “streamline the rules of insolvency and restructuring across Asia to produce the Asian principles for business restructuring,” the ABLI said.
“Asia has an incredibly diverse mix of jurisdictions throughout the region, and navigating the legal implications can be confusing for debtors and creditors alike,” III President Debra Grassgreen said. “The International Insolvency Institute is a very proud to have worked with the Asian Business Law Institute on the publication of Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency in Asia 2020.”
The compendium was released in April.
