Hong Kong Ordinances

BANKRUPTCY ORDINANCE - SECT 6

Grounds of creditor's petition

(Past version on 30/06/1997).

(1) A creditor's petition must be in respect of one or more debts owed by the
debtor, and the petitioning creditor or each of the petitioning creditors must
be a person to whom the debt or (as the case may be) at least one of the debts
is owed.

(2) Subject to sections 6A to 6C, a creditor's petition may be presented to
the court in respect of a debt or debts if, but only if, at the time the
petition is presented- <* Note - Exp. X-Ref.: Sections 6A, 
 6B, 6C *>

   (a)  the amount of the debt, or the aggregate amount of the debts, is equal
        to or exceeds $10000 or a prescribed amount;

   (b)  the debt, or each of the debts, is for a liquidated sum payable to the
        petitioning creditor, or one or more of the petitioning creditors,
        either immediately or at some certain, future time, and is unsecured;

   (c)  the debt, or each of the debts, is a debt which the debtor appears
        either to be unable to pay or to have no reasonable prospect of being
        able to pay; and

   (d)  there is no outstanding application to set aside a statutory demand
        served under section 6A in respect of the debt or any of the debts.

(3) A debt is not to be regarded for the purposes of subsection (2) as a debt
for a liquidated sum by reason only that the amount of the debt is specified
in a criminal bankruptcy order.

(4) Notwithstanding subsection (2)(c) and (d), a creditor's petition may be
presented if there are reasonable grounds for believing that the debtor
intends to depart, or has departed, from Hong Kong and the debtor knows or
ought reasonably to know that his departure would result in defeat or delay
for his creditors, and this subsection applies irrespective of the reason for
his departure.

(5) The Financial Secretary may, by regulation, prescribe an amount greater
than $10000 for the purposes of subsection (2)(a). (Replaced 76 of 1996 s. 4)