Hong Kong court orders winding up of Jimmy Lai’s Next Digital media group, parent company of Apple Daily
- High Court makes order after government petitioned to close the 40-year-old company on public interest grounds
- No objection to the order from Next Digital, parent company of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper
Master Jack Wong Kin-tong of the High Court made the order on Wednesday against the parent company of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, with Kenny Tam King-ching and Man King-shing of Kenny Tam & Co staying on as provisional liquidators.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po had petitioned to bring the 40-year-old firm to an end on the grounds of public interest in September and secured the appointment of two provisional liquidators to safeguard company assets the following month.
But the appointed liquidators, Sammy Koo Chi-sum and Clifford Tsui Chi-chiu of Ernst & Young Transactions, subsequently resigned, prompting the new appointments of Tam and Man last month.
During the brief hearing, senior government counsel Aaron Lam Cheuk-lun said a Registrar’s certificate was obtained earlier this week and all the paperwork was in order. “We respectfully ask for the winding-up order to be granted,” Lam said.
The company did not send any representatives to the hearing and there was no objection to the order.
Lai had previously revealed his wishes to wind up the company, in an application to the High Court for a licence to exercise his voting rights. But that application was eventually put on hold by a court ruling on September 17.
