The Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill will be reintroduced at the Legislative Council (LegCo) on Oct. 13 so the Official Receiver's Office can outsource bankruptcy cases to insolvency practitioners.

The bill aims to set up an outsourcing regime similar to the one in the Companies Ordinance for company liquidation cases.

It gives the Official Receiver the authority to appoint directly an insolvency practitioner to administer a summary bankruptcy case (where the value of the bankrupt's estate unlikely exceeds 200,000 HK dollars (25,641 US dollars) without the need to convene a creditors' meeting.

The Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau said outsourcing bankruptcy cases can enhance efficiency in dealing with heavy caseloads.

Insolvency practitioners in the legal and accountancy sectors appointed to provide trusteeship service for the bankrupts' estates will be subject to the control of the court and the Official Receiver under the Bankruptcy Ordinance to be amended, and they will be remunerated from the assets of the bankrupts' estates.

The bill was first introduced last December, but was not scrutinized due to limited time.

The third term of the LegCo held its first meeting Wednesday.

Source: Xinhua