Securities and Futures Commission v. Yeung Kui Wong and Others
Read the full judgment text of HCMP 1742/2009 on BabelCite. This High Court CFI judgment was delivered on 8 October 2010.
1. The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) seeks disqualifications orders under section 214 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Ordinance) against the 1 st and 5 th Respondents, who were directors of a company listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (Exchange), Warderly International Limited (“Company”), although trading in the Companies shares is currently suspended.
Cited by 3 cases · Cites 3 cases
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HCMP 1742/2009 IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE MISCELLANEOUS PROCEEDINGS NO. 1742 OF 2009 ____________
____________ BETWEEN
____________ Before: Hon Harris J in Court Date of Hearing: 8 October 2010 Date of Decision: 8 October 2010 Date of Reasons for Decision: 27 October 2010 _________________________________ REASONS FOR DECISION _________________________________ Introduction 1.The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) seeks disqualifications orders under section 214 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Ordinance) against the 1st and 5th Respondents, who were directors of a company listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (Exchange), Warderly International Limited (“Company”), although trading in the Companies shares is currently suspended. 2.The 1st and 5th Respondents have agreed to the disposal of the proceedings against them by way of the summary procedure sanctioned in Re Carecraft Construction Co. Ltd. [1994] 1 WLR 172, as clarified by the English Court of Appeal in Secretary of State for Trade and Industry v Rogers [1996] 1 WLR 1569, and as adopted by this Court in respect of proceedings under section 214 of the Ordinance in Securities and Futures Commission v Yick Chong San [2007] 4 HKLRD 46, Securities and Futures Commission v Shum Ka Sang Charlie and Shen Yi (HCMP 1014/2008, unrep., 22 May 2009) and Securities and Futures Commission v Fung Chiu & Others [2009] 2 HKC 19. 3.The Carecraft procedure involves the submission by the parties to the court of an agreed statement of facts upon which the court is invited to assess what order should be made. In the case of the 1st and 5th Respondents a proposed period of disqualification has been agreed: 5 years and 2 years respectively. 4.In the case of costs the SFC and the 1st and 5th Respondents have agreed that a contribution of HK$125,000 and HK$90,000 respectively to the SFC’s costs of these proceedings should be made. 5.The parties accept, as is well established, that the court in determining what orders to make is not bound by the agreement that the parties have reached. The court must be satisfied on the basis of the agreed facts that the business or affairs of the Company has been conducted in a manner described in section 214(1)(a), (b), (c) or (d) of the Ordinance and decide on the scope and duration of the order: Re Riverhill Holdings Limited [2007] 4 HKLRD 46. In practice the court is likely to be guided by the agreement that the regulator, the SFC, has reached concerning the sanction to be imposed. 6.The parties have agreed in this case that the agreed statement of facts in respect of each of the 1st and 5th Respondents should be appended to this decision. It is not, therefore, necessary for me to recite the relevant facts, which are apparent from the appendices. 7.On 17 March 2010 I heard a similar application in respect of the 3rd and 4th Respondents. I gave my decision on that date. Reasons were handed down on 9 April 2010. In paragraphs 7 to 11 of that decision I set out the relevant considerations in assessing disqualification applications, I shall not repeat them in this decision. Relevant considerations in the present case 8.Mr Anderson Chow S.C. who appeared for the SFC emphasised the following matters in paragraph 22 of his skeleton argument:
9.I accept that these are the major concerns in respect of the 1st and 5th Respondents’ conduct. They put the 1st Respondent at the upper end of the minimum bracket of 2 to 5 years for cases, which are relatively, but not very serious and the 5th Respondent at the lower end. The Order 10.I make an order in the following terms:
Mr Anderson Chow, SC, instructed by Securities and Futures Commission, the Petitioner Mr Wilfred Tsui, instructed by Messrs Li, Wong, Lam & W. I. Cheung, for the 1st and 5th Respondents Appendices STATEMENT - 1ST RESPONDENT
Introduction 1. On 7 September 2009, the Securities and Futures Commission (the “Petitioner”) issued proceedings under Section 214 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (the “Ordinance”) seeking disqualification orders against the Respondents, including the 1st Respondent. 2. Subject to the approval of this Honourable Court, the Petitioner and the 1st Respondent consent to the disposal of these proceedings against the 1st Respondent by way of the carecraft procedure. 3. This Statement is produced in order to provide the Court, for the purposes of disposing of the proceedings by way of the carecraft procedure, with the facts that are not disputed in relation to the allegations relied on by the Petitioner. 4. The Agreed Facts set out in Part A of this Statement are made and agreed between the Petitioner and the 1st Respondent on the basis that the case against the 1st Respondent will be dealt with by the Court by way of the carecraftprocedure. If the Court is of the view that an adjournment for full trial is appropriate, all admissions herein made and all proposals for a disqualification order and agreed costs shall not be referred to or relied on by either party against the other at any adjourned or subsequent hearing without the written consent of both parties concerned. 5. Solely for the purpose of resolving these proceedings by way of the carecraft procedure, and by reference to the Agreed Facts set out in Part A of this Statement, the 1st Respondent accepts that during the relevant period, the business and affairs of Warderly International Holdings Limited (the “Company”), for which the 1st Respondent, as the former Chairman and Managing Director of the Company, was partly responsible, have been conducted in a manner (i) involving misfeasance or misconduct towards the Company, its members or part of its members, and/or (ii) resulting in its members or part of its members not having been given all the information with respect to its business or affairs that they might reasonably expect, within the meaning of section 214(1)(b) and (c) of the Ordinance. 6. Also by reference to the Agreed Facts set out in Part A of this Statement:
7. The Petitioner and 1st Respondent further agree that if, for any reason, the Court is unwilling to dispose of these proceedings by way of the summary procedure, no further reference may be made by any party to this Statement (or to any admission or concession made by the Petitioner or the 1st Respondent herein) during the course of these proceedings. 8. In the event of a disqualification order being made against the 1st Respondent by reference to this Statement, the Petitioner and the 1st Respondent agree that they will jointly apply for a direction that Part A of this Statement be annexed to the Court’s judgment. In the event of any order being made against the 1st Respondent by reference to this Statement the Petitioner further reserves the right to disclose Part A of this Statement to third parties where it appears proper to do so in the public interest, including, but not limited to making use of Part A of the Statement for the purpose of any press release issued in respect of these proceedings and referring to Part A of the Statement for purposes connected with or ancillary to these proceedings and any other proceedings against the 1st Respondent under the Ordinance. 9. The 1st Respondent has adopted a reasonable course of action to conclude these proceedings by way of the Carecraft procedure which saves the time and costs of the Petitioner and the Court. However the 1st Respondent has declined, after being requested by the Petitioner, to assist the Petitioner by agreeing to give evidence in these proceedings against the 2nd and 6th Respondents and in proceedings against persons alleged to have committed offences of insider dealing in the shares of the Company. APPENDIX 1 “Corporation” means a company or other body corporate incorporated either in Hong Kong or elsewhere. “Company” means a company as defined in section 2(1) of the Companies Ordinance, Cap. 32. The expression “company” in the definitions of subsidiary, holding company and affiliate below, shall be read as including a corporation. “Subsidiary” means, with respect to its holding company, a company:- (1) the composition of the board of directors of which is directly or indirectly controlled by the holding company; or (2) more than half of the issued share capital of which is directly or indirectly controlled by the holding company; or (3) which is a subsidiary of a company which is a subsidiary of the holding company; or (4) which is accounted for and consolidated in the holding company's consolidated financial statements. “Holding company” in relation to a company shall be read as a reference to a company of which that last-mentioned company is a subsidiary. “Affiliate” in respect of a company, means any subsidiaries or holding companies of such company or any subsidiaries of any of the holding companies of such company. PART A (AGREED FACTS) – 1ST RESPONDENT A. The Company 1. The Company is an exempted company with limited liability incorporated in the Cayman Islands on 18 March 2002, and was registered in Hong Kong under Part XI of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32) as an overseas company on 6 June 2002. Its shares (Stock Code: 607) were listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (“the Stock Exchange”) on 18 December 2002 and remain so listed as at the date of this Petition. 2. Upon receiving information that the Company had failed to issue any announcement of its deteriorating financial position since at least early 2007 despite the same being price sensitive information which should be made known to its members and/or the general investing public, the Petitioner, being concerned that there was neither an orderly and fair market nor a properly informed market in the Company’s shares, directed the Stock Exchange to suspend all dealings in the shares of the Company from 14 May 2007. The suspension remains effective as at the date of this Petition. 3. The registered office of the Company is situate at Cricket Square, Hutchins Drive, P.O. Box 2681, Grand Cayman KY1-1111, Cayman Islands. Its principal place of business is situate at Unit B, 8th Floor, St. John’s Building, 33 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong. 4. As at 30 April 2009, the authorised share capital of the Company is HK$80,000,000 divided into 8,000,000,000 shares of HK$0.01 each. The amount of the capital paid up or credited as paid up is HK$4,220,000. 5. The objects of the Company are, inter alia, to act and to perform all the functions of a holding company and to coordinate the policy and administration of its subsidiaries, to act as an investment company and for that purpose to acquire and hold upon any terms and, either in the name of the Company or that of any nominee, shares, stock, debentures, debenture stock, annuities, notes, mortgages, bonds, obligations and securities, foreign exchange, foreign currency deposits and commodities, and to hold the same with a view to investment, and to exercise and enforce all rights and powers conferred by or incident to the ownership thereof, and to invest and deal with the moneys of the Company not immediately required upon such securities and in such manner as may be from time to time determined. The Company and its subsidiaries will hereinafter be referred to as the “Group”. B. The Management of the Company 6. So far as the management of the Company is concerned, the Directors (save and except the 6th Respondent) were at all material times executive directors of the Company. 7. At all material times, each of the Directors owed to the Company and to the Group the fiduciary duty to act in good faith and in the best interest of the Company and the Group. Further, each of them owed to the Company and the Group the duty of care at common law to exercise due and reasonable skill, care and diligence in the course of acting as the executive directors of the Company. 8. In order to act as directors of the Company, each of the Directors was required to and did sign a formal declaration and undertaking as per Form B of Appendix 5 to the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on the Stock Exchange (the “Listing Rules”) whereby each of them undertook that they would in the exercise of their powers and duties as directors of the Company comply with and procure the Company to comply with, inter alia, the Listing Rules from time to time in force.
9. Yeung Kui Wong (“KW Yeung”), the 1st Respondent herein, is the founder of the Group of which the Company was and still is the holding company. He was the Chairman and the Managing Director of the Company from 18 April 2002 to 20 March 2007, and was represented in the Company’s Prospectus and Annual Reports for the period from 2003 to 2007 as having over 15 years of experience in the industry of household electrical appliances and being responsible for managing the Group’s overall business, supervising the operations of the Group’s business and maintaining the relationships with the Group’s major customers. 10. KW Yeung was a substantial shareholder of the Company. According to the Company’s Annual Reports for the period from 2003 to 2007, he was the beneficial owner of the issued shares of the Company as follows 266,250,000 (71%) as at 30 April 2003, 230,050,000 (54.52%) as at 30 April 2004, 232,050,000 (54.99%) as at 30 April 2005 and 30 April 2006, and 152,050,000 (36.03%) as at 30 April 2007. KW Yeung ceased to be a shareholder of the Company on 30 April 2008. 11. Godfrey Hung Kwok Wa (“Godfrey Hung”), the 2nd Respondent herein, was an executive director of the Company from 18 April 2002 to 18 September 2009. He was represented in the Company’s Prospectus and Annual Reports for the period from 2003 to 2008 as having extensive experience in the financial industry and being responsible for financial planning and related financial activities of the Group. According to the Company’s Annual Reports for the period from 2003 to 2004, he was the beneficial owner of 15,000,000 (4%) of the issued shares of the Company as at 30 April 2003 and 3.55% as at 30 April 2004. It was further represented that he has been an associate member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants since 1997. 12. John Lai Wing Chuen (“John Lai”), the 3rd Respondent herein, was an executive director of the Company from 18 April 2002 to 10 June 2007. He was represented in the Company’s Prospectus and Annual Reports for the period from 2003 to 2007 as having over 20 years of experience in the industry of household electrical appliances and being responsible for the sales and marketing department of the Group. 13. Ellen Yeung Ying Fong (“Ellen Yeung”), the 4th Respondent herein, is the daughter of KW Yeung and was an executive director of the Company from 28 September 2005 to 15 January 2007. She was represented in the Company’s Annual Report for the year ended 30 April 2006 as being responsible for the overall management and general administration of the Group. 14. Yu Hung Wong (“Yu”), the 5th Respondent herein, was an executive director of the Company from 16 January 2007 to 12 March 2007. He was represented in the Company’s Prospectus and Annual Report 2003 as one of the senior management of the Company and as having over 24 years of management experience in household electrical appliances production and technical and quality control. Prior to his appointment as a director, he was the manager responsible for production operation management of the Group’s factory in the People’s Republic of China (“the PRC”). 15. Hermann Leung Ping Chung (“Hermann Leung”), the 6th Respondent herein, was an alternate non-executive director of the Company from 23 December 2003 to 16 May 2007. He was represented in the Company’s Annual Reports for the period from 2004 to 2006 as having over 20 years of management and executive experience throughout the Asia Pacific region. C. Deteriorating financial position of the Company and/or its subsidiaries in the period from July 2006 to April 2007 (“the Relevant Period”) 16. On 23 August 2006, the Company announced its annual results for the year ended 30 April 2006, which indicated that the Company had been operating with serious financial difficulties:-
17. On 23 January 2007, the Company announced its interim results for the six months ended 31 October 2006, from which no sign of improvement could be discerned:-
18. On 22 October 2008, the Company announced its annual results for the year ended 30 April 2007 which showed that the financial position of the group had further deteriorated:-
19. Investigations by the Petitioner reveal that the Group has had a net deficit in all its bank accounts maintained in Hong Kong, Macau and the PRC throughout the period from December 2006 to April 2007. D. Events in relation to the business or affairs of the Company and/or its subsidiaries which occurred in the Relevant Period but were not disclosed by the Company to its members and/or the general investing public 20. During the Relevant Period, the following events occurred in relation to the business or affairs of the Company and/or its subsidiaries (collectively referred to hereinbelow as “the Events”):-
21. Notwithstanding that the occurrence of the Events in the Relevant Period, whether generally or in the particular adverse circumstances faced by the Company and/or its subsidiaries as stated in paragraphs 16 to 19 above, constituted share price sensitive information, KW Yeung failed or omitted to cause the Company to disclose the same to its members and/or the general investing public. D1. Legal proceedings in Hong Kong and the PRC against KW Yeung, the Company and its subsidiaries for loan repayment 22. At the time when the Company announced its annual and interim results as stated in paragraphs 16 to 18 above, the Company’s subsidiaries had borrowed substantially from a number of banks. Attached hereto at Appendix 1 is a summary of overdue bank debts since July 2006. 23. Upon learning of the Company’s disappointing annual and interim results from its said announcements, the lender banks became seriously concerned with the financial position of the Company, and tightened the banking facilities previously granted to the Company’s subsidiaries and called for repayment of the loans that had become due. 24. The Company and/or its subsidiaries did not have sufficient cash and could not repay the said loans on demand. The management of the Company then negotiated with the lender banks for further credit facilities, rollovers and/or postponement of repayments. 25. In the meantime, where the said negotiations failed, some of the lender banks commenced legal proceedings in Hong Kong and the PRC against KW Yeung, the Company and/or its subsidiaries, the details of which are set out in Appendix 2 attached hereto. D2. Labour strikes 26. Dongguan Kalee Electrical Company Limited (“DGKL”) was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and at all material times operated as a factory in Dongguan, the PRC (“Kalee Factory”). According to the Company’s Annual Report for the year 2006, DGKL was at all material times the only subsidiary within the Group which manufactured household electrical appliances. According to the Annual Report for 2007 the Kalee Factory had ceased operation. 27. As a result of the Group’s failure to pay the wages of its workers at the Kalee Factory on time, labour strikes occurred in September and December 2006, and in February and April 2007 which caused serious disruption to the production at the Kalee Factory and thereby the core business of the Company. D3. Legal proceedings in Hong Kong and/or the PRC against the Company and/or its subsidiaries for invoice payments and payments of statements of account 28. Upon learning of the Company’s disappointing annual and interim results from its said announcements, and the labour strikes, the raw material suppliers demanded payment of outstanding invoices and accounts by the Company and/or its subsidiaries. 29. The Company and/or its subsidiaries did not have sufficient cash and could not repay the raw material suppliers, some of which then commenced legal proceedings in Hong Kong and the PRC against the Company and/or its subsidiaries. Furthermore, some of the raw material suppliers attended the Kalee Factory and made threats to its management staff to force payments. Out of fear for their own safety, a number of its senior staff resigned, which further disrupted the operation and production at the Kalee Factory. 30. With their invoices not settled, the raw material suppliers ceased to supply the Group with raw materials that were essential for the manufacture of household electrical appliances. This seriously disrupted if not paralysed the production at the Kalee Factory, which could not meet half of its purchase orders in January 2007, and the failure rate was over 80% in February and March 2007. As stated in the Company’s Annual Report for the year ended 30 April 2007, production at the Kalee Factory ceased operation due to the inability of DGKL to pay its debts and liabilities. In April 2007, the Kalee Factory was sealed up and closed down by the People’s Court in Dongguan City of Guangdong Province following claims made by DGKL’s creditors. The Kalee Factory together with its plant and equipment were sealed up and the manufacturing operations ceased. DGKL filed for insolvency and a debt structuring proposal was rejected by its creditors. In May 2008 the Dongguan Intermediate People’s Court ordered that DGKL be liquidated and that the debts owed to creditors be settled from the sale of the Kalee Factory, land and plant and machinery. D4. Formation of the Management Committee in November 2006 31. In November 2006, the Management Committee was set up with KW Yeung, Godfrey Hung, John Lai, Hermann Leung and Anthony Kong Kwok Pun (“Anthony Kong”, the financial controller of the company from 18 April 2002 to 1 April 2007) as its members. Its purpose was to assist KW Yeung in solving the financial problems faced by the Group and to ensure better corporate governance. 32. The establishment of the Management Committee fundamentally changed the way in which the Group was managed and operated. Previously, KW Yeung had at all material times been the sole signatory of cheques for the Group’s bank accounts in Hong Kong without limit and he was not required to obtain the approval of the board of directors of the Company to sign cheques. After the Management Committee was formed, any bank withdrawal of over HK$50,000 would require a joint signatory by two members of the Management Committee. D5. Appointment of and a payment of HK$1,000,000 to Baron in October 2006 33. On 19 October 2006, KW Yeung on behalf of the Company appointed Baron as advisers in respect of the Group’s proposed debt restructuring and, if necessary, re-organisation. 34. The duties of Baron under the said appointment were, inter alia, to:-
35. Remuneration for Baron was agreed as follows:-
36. On or about 31 October 2006, the Company paid Baron HK$1,000,000 as part of the said advisory fee. 37. In appointing and paying HK$1,000,000 to Baron on behalf of the Company, KW Yeung had obtained neither the prior approval of the board of directors of the Company nor its subsequent ratification of the appointment and/or payment. 38. After the said appointment, despite repeated requests from Baron, the Company failed to furnish Baron with its company records and arrange a meeting with its finance officers to enable Baron to ascertain the financial position of the Company. 39. On 15 November 2006, Baron advised KW Yeung to announce, inter alia, the following information, concerning the business or affairs of the Group, to the public as soon as practicable:-
40. In giving the above advice, Baron:-
41. Shortly after Baron gave the aforesaid advice, KW Yeung on behalf of the Company terminated the appointment of Baron on 17 November 2006. 42. Notwithstanding the aforesaid advice of Baron, the Company has never announced any of the matters identified by Baron and mentioned in paragraph 39 above. D6. Appointment of Ferrier Hodgson in December 2006 43. On 16 August 2005, Housely Industries Limited (“Housely Industries”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, was granted a term loan of HK$125,000,000 and a revolving credit facility of HK$75,000,000 by a syndicate of lenders, namely, Bayerische Hypo- and Vereinsbank AG (“HVB”), Malayan Banking Berhad and Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited. As security for such loans, the Company and Tacho Company Limited (another wholly owned subsidiary of the Company) acted as guarantors. HVB acted as the coordinating arranger. 44. On 14 November 2006, KW Yeung accompanied by Anthony Kong and Joseph Wan, the Chairman of Baron Asia Limited, met with the representative of HVB. At that meeting, Joseph Wan as financial adviser of the Company informed the representative of HVB that the Company was in desperate need of debt restructuring in light of its distressed financial situation, without which it would definitely go into liquidation with nothing left for the syndicate of lenders and other creditors. 45. Having been so advised, HVB convened an urgent all-bankers meeting on 17 November 2006, which was attended by KW Yeung, Godfrey Hung, Hermann Leung and the representatives from HVB and the syndicate of lenders. At that meeting, Godfrey Hung on behalf of the Company admitted that the working capital available to the Group at the material time was very tight, and pleaded for the continuing support of the syndicate of lenders. 46. The syndicate of lenders at the said all-bankers meeting agreed to support the Company but insisted that the cash flow of the Group be monitored. Upon the recommendation of HVB, the Company appointed Ferrier Hodgson in December 2006 to monitor its cash position and carry out a financial review of the Company and its subsidiaries and related companies. 47. Despite the efforts mentioned above, the financial problems of the Company remained unresolved. Housely Industries defaulted in its interest payments of HK$1,195,668.59 and HK$1,863,352.47 on 29 March 2007 and 27 April 2007 respectively. Demands of repayment were made to Housely Industries, Tacho Company Limited and the Company. Finally, on 7 May 2007, the syndicate of lender banks served statutory demands on all parties liable under the syndicated loan agreement including the Company. D7. Loans from Hermann Leung and third parties to subsidiaries of the Company for which KW Yeung pledged his shares in the Company as security 48. On 17 November 2006 and 11 December 2006, Hermann Leung transferred HK$2,000,000 and HK$1,200,000 respectively to Sharp Venture Holdings Limited (“Sharp Venture”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. These sums represented a joint loan from Hermann Leung and a third party Liu Su Ke to the Company at an interest rate of 5% per month, for which no written agreement had been entered into. 49. On 28 December 2006, Housely Industries and Vision Eagle Limited (“Vision Eagle”) entered into an agreement whereby the latter agreed to grant to the former a term loan of HK$6,000,000 at an interest rate of 5% per month. This again represented a joint loan from Hermann Leung and Liu Su Ke. Liu Su Ke and Hermann Leung each paid a sum of HK$3,000,000 to Housely Industries on 28 December 2006. 50. As security for the HK$6,000,000 term loan granted by Vision Eagle, KW Yeung pledged his 231,800,000 ordinary shares in the Company, held by Imperial Profit Enterprises Limited (“Imperial”) and Primer Capital Investments Limited (“Primer”) as his nominees, to Liu Su Ke on 28 December 2006. 51. Upon the subsequent default in repayment, 30,000,000 of KW Yeung’s shares were transferred to Liu Su Ke, who held and is still holding the same on behalf of Hermann Leung and himself qua lenders in equal shares, on 20 April 2007 in satisfaction of the debt. 52. In February 2007, Godfrey Hung on behalf of the Company approached a third party Derrick Luu for funding. Derrick Luu agreed to lend HK$10,000,000 to the Company and take up its debt in the sum of HK$12,800,000. As a result, on 6 March 2007, Lanakia Investments Limited (“Lanakia”) (a company owned by a friend of Derrick Luu and a nominee for him) granted a HK$22,800,000 loan facility to Housely Industries at an interest rate of 3% per month. A total sum of HK$10,000,000 was advanced by Derrick Luu on divers dates from 15 February 2007 to 4 April 2007. 53. Again, as security for the HK$22,800,000 loan facility granted by Derrick Luu KW Yeung pledged his aforesaid 231,800,000 ordinary shares in the Company to Derrick Luu. 54. Upon the subsequent default in repayment, 50,000,000 of KW Yeung’s shares were transferred to parties nominated by Derrick Luu on 21 March 2007 and 16 April 2007 in satisfaction of the debt. E. Recurrent breaches of the Listing Rules 55. The Listing Rules applicable at the material time provided as follows:-
56. The Company has failed to disclose the Events or any of them to its members, the general investing public and/or the Stock Exchange, and has acted in breach of the Listing Rules.
57. Furthermore, KW Yeung also acted in breach of Rules 3.08(f) and 13.04 of the Listing Rules in failing persistently to ensure compliance by the Company of the Listing Rules in the Relevant Period. F. 1st Respondent’s Liability under sections 214(1)(b) and (c) of the Ordinance 58. During the Relevant Period or part of that period, KW Yeung as the Chairman and Managing Director of the Company was partly responsible for the business or affairs of the Company and/or its subsidiaries, including the following matters:-
59. By reference to the facts and matters mentioned in Sections D and E and paragraph 58 above:-
60. In the premises, the business and affairs of the Company, for which KW Yeung, as the former Chairman and Managing Director of the Company, was partly responsible, have been conducted in a manner (i) involving misfeasance or misconduct towards the Company, its members or part of its members, and/or (ii) resulting in its members or part of its members not having been given all the information with respect to its business or affairs that they might reasonably expect, within the meaning of section 214(1)(b) and (c) of the Securities and Futures Ordinance.
Appendix 2 Legal proceedings commenced in Hong Kong by Bank lenders against Warderly International Holdings Limited (“Warderly”), its subsidiaries and Mr. Yeung Kui Wong
Legal proceedings commenced by in the PRC by Bank lenders against Warderly International Holdings Limited (“Warderly”) and its subsidiaries
STATEMENT – 5TH RESPONDENT
Introduction 1. On 7 September 2009, the Securities and Futures Commission (the “Petitioner”) issued proceedings under Section 214 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (the “Ordinance”) seeking disqualification orders against the Respondents, including the 5th Respondent. 2. Subject to the approval of this Honourable Court, the Petitioner and the 5th Respondent consent to the disposal of these proceedings against the 5th Respondent by way of the carecraft procedure. 3. This Statement is produced in order to provide the Court, for the purposes of disposing of the proceedings by way of the carecraft procedure, with the facts that are not disputed in relation to the allegations relied on by the Petitioner. 4. The Agreed Facts set out in Part A of this Statement are made and agreed between the Petitioner and the 5th Respondent on the basis that the case against the 5th Respondent will be dealt with by the Court by way of the carecraft procedure. If the Court is of the view that an adjournment for full trial is appropriate, all admissions herein made and all proposals for a disqualification order and agreed costs shall not be referred to or relied on by either party against the other at any adjourned or subsequent hearing without the written consent of both parties concerned. 5. Solely for the purpose of resolving these proceedings by way of the carecraft procedure, and by reference to the Agreed Facts set out in Part A of this Statement, the 5th Respondent accepts that during the relevant period, the business and affairs of Warderly International Holdings Limited (the “Company”), for which the 5th Respondent, as a former executive director of the Company, was partly responsible, have been conducted in a manner (i) involving misfeasance or misconduct towards the Company, its members or part of its members, and/or (ii) resulting in its members or part of its members not having been given all the information with respect to its business or affairs that they might reasonably expect, within the meaning of section 214(1)(b) and (c) of the Ordinance. 6. Also by reference to the Agreed Facts set out in Part A of this Statement:
7. The Petitioner and 5th Respondent further agree that if, for any reason, the Court is unwilling to dispose of these proceedings by way of the summary procedure, no further reference may be made by any party to this Statement (or to any admission or concession made by the Petitioner or the 5th Respondent herein) during the course of these proceedings. 8. In the event of a disqualification order being made against the 5th Respondent by reference to this Statement, the Petitioner and the 5th Respondent agree that they will jointly apply for a direction that Part A of this Statement be annexed to the Court’s judgment. In the event of any order being made against the 5th Respondent by reference to this Statement the Petitioner further reserves the right to disclose Part A of this Statement to third parties where it appears proper to do so in the public interest, including, but not limited to making use of Part A of the Statement for the purpose of any press release issued in respect of these proceedings and referring to Part A of the Statement for purposes connected with or ancillary to these proceedings and any other proceedings against the 5th Respondent under the Ordinance. 9. The 5th Respondent has adopted a reasonable course of action to conclude these proceedings by way of the Carecraft procedure which saves the time and costs of the Petitioner and the Court. However the 5th Respondent has declined, after being requested by the Petitioner, to assist the Petitioner by agreeing to give evidence in these proceedings against the 2nd and 6th Respondents. APPENDIX 1 “Corporation” means a company or other body corporate incorporated either in Hong Kong or elsewhere. “Company” means a company as defined in section 2(1) of the Companies Ordinance, Cap. 32. The expression “company” in the definitions of subsidiary, holding company and affiliate below, shall be read as including a corporation. “Subsidiary” means, with respect to its holding company, a company:- (1) the composition of the board of directors of which is directly or indirectly controlled by the holding company; or (2) more than half of the issued share capital of which is directly or indirectly controlled by the holding company; or (3) which is a subsidiary of a company which is a subsidiary of the holding company; or (4) which is accounted for an consolidated in the holding company’s consolidated financial statements. “Holding company” in relation to a company shall be read as a reference to a company of which that last-mentioned company is a subsidiary. “Affiliate” in respect of a company, means any subsidiaries or holding companies of such company or any subsidiaries of any of the holding companies of such company. PART A (AGREED FACTS) – 5TH RESPONDENT A. The Company 1. The Company is an exempted company with limited liability incorporated in the Cayman Islands on 18 March 2002, and was registered in Hong Kong under Part XI of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32) as an overseas company on 6 June 2002. Its shares (Stock Code: 607) were listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (“the Stock Exchange”) on 18December 2002 and remain so listed as at the date of this Petition. 2. Upon receiving information that the Company had failed to issue any announcement of its deteriorating financial position since at least early 2007 despite the same being price sensitive information which should be made known to its members and/or the general investing public, the Petitioner, being concerned that there was neither an orderly and fair market nor a properly informed market in the Company’s shares, directed the Stock Exchange to suspend all dealings in the shares of the Company from 14 May 2007. The suspension remains effective as at the date of this Petition. 3. The registered office of the Company is situate at Cricket Square, Hutchins Drive, P.O. Box 2681, Grand Cayman KY1-1111, Cayman Islands. Its principal place of business is situate at Unit B, 8th Floor, St. John’s Building, 33 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong. 4. As at 30 April 2009, the authorised share capital of the Company is HK$80,000,000 divided into 8,000,000,000 shares of HK$0.01 each. The amount of the capital paid up or credited as paid up is HK$4,220,000. 5. The objects of the Company are, inter alia, to act and to perform all the functions of a holding company and to coordinate the policy and administration of its subsidiaries, to act as an investment company and for that purpose to acquire and hold upon any terms and, either in the name of the Company or that of any nominee, shares, stock, debentures, debenture stock, annuities, notes, mortgages, bonds, obligations and securities, foreign exchange, foreign currency deposits and commodities, and to hold the same with a view to investment, and to exercise and enforce all rights and powers conferred by or incident to the ownership thereof, and to invest and deal with the moneys of the Company not immediately required upon such securities and in such manner as may be from time to time determined. The Company and its subsidiaries will hereinafter be referred to as the “Group”. B. The Management of the Company 6. So far as the management of the Company is concerned, the Directors (save and except the 6th Respondent) were at all material times executive directors of the Company. 7. At all material times, each of the Directors owed to the Company and to the Group the fiduciary duty to act in good faith and in the best interest of the Company and the Group. Further, each of them owed to the Company and the Group the duty of care at common law to exercise due and reasonable skill, care and diligence in the course of acting as the executive directors of the Company. 8. In order to act as directors of the Company, each of the Directors was required to and did sign a formal declaration and undertaking as per Form B of Appendix 5 to the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on the Stock Exchange (the “Listing Rules”) whereby each of them undertook that they would in the exercise of their powers and duties as directors of the Company comply with and procure the Company to comply with, inter alia, the Listing Rules from time to time in force.
9. Yeung Kui Wong (“KW Yeung”), the 1st Respondent herein, is the founder of the Group of which the Company was and still is the holding company. He was the Chairman and the Managing Director of the Company from 18 April 2002 to 20 March 2007, and was represented in the Company’s Prospectus and Annual Reports for the period from 2003 to 2007 as having over 15 years of experience in the industry of household electrical appliances and being responsible for managing the Group’s overall business, supervising the operations of the Group’s business and maintaining the relationships with the Group’s major customers. 10. KW Yeung was a substantial shareholder of the Company. According to the Company’s Annual Reports for the period from 2003 to 2007, he was the beneficial owner of the issued shares of the Company as follows 266,250,000 (71%) as at 30 April 2003, 230,050,000 (54.52%) as at 30 April 2004, 232,050,000 (54.99%) as at 30 April 2005 and 30 April 2006, and 152,050,000 (36.03%) as at 30 April 2007. KW Yeung ceased to be a shareholder of the Company on 30 April 2008. 11. Godfrey Hung Kwok Wa (“Godfrey Hung”), the 2nd Respondent herein, was an executive director of the Company from 18 April 2002 to 18 September 2009. He was represented in the Company’s Prospectus and Annual Reports for the period from 2003 to 2008 as having extensive experience in the financial industry and being responsible for financial planning and related financial activities of the Group. According to the Company’s Annual Reports for the period from 2003 to 2004, he was the beneficial owner of 15,000,000 (4%) of the issued shares of the Company as at 30 April 2003 and 3.55% as at 30 April 2004. It was further represented that he has been an associate member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants since 1997. 12. John Lai Wing Chuen (“John Lai”), the 3rd Respondent herein, was an executive director of the Company from 18 April 2002 to 10 June 2007. He was represented in the Company’s Prospectus and Annual Reports for the period from 2003 to 2007 as having over 20 years of experience in the industry of household electrical appliances and being responsible for the sales and marketing department of the Group. 13. Ellen Yeung Ying Fong (“Ellen Yeung”), the 4th Respondent herein, is the daughter of KW Yeung and was an executive director of the Company from 28 September 2005 to 15 January 2007. She was represented in the Company’s Annual Report for the year ended 30 April 2006 as being responsible for the overall management and general administration of the Group. 14. Yu Hung Wong (“Yu”), the 5th Respondent herein, was an executive director of the Company from 16 January 2007 to 12 March 2007. He was represented in the Company’s Prospectus and Annual Report 2003 as one of the senior management of the Company and as having over 24 years of management experience in household electrical appliances production and technical and quality control. Prior to his appointment as a director, he was the manager responsible for production operation management of the Group’s factory in the People’s Republic of China (“the PRC”). 15. Hermann Leung Ping Chung (“Hermann Leung”), the 6th Respondent herein, was an alternate non-executive director of the Company from 23 December 2003 to 16 May 2007. He was represented in the Company’s Annual Reports for the period from 2004 to 2006 as having over 20 years of management and executive experience throughout the Asia Pacific region. C. Deteriorating financial position of the Company and/or its subsidiaries in the period from July 2006 to April 2007 (“the Relevant Period”) 16. On 23 August 2006, the Company announced its annual results for the year ended 30 April 2006, which indicated that the Company had been operating with serious financial difficulties:-
17. On 23 January 2007, the Company announced its interim results for the six months ended 31 October 2006, from which no sign of improvement could be discerned:-
18. On 22 October 2008, the Company announced its annual results for the year ended 30 April 2007 which showed that the financial position of the group had further deteriorated:-
19. Investigations by the Petitioner reveal that the Group has had a net deficit in all its bank accounts maintained in Hong Kong, Macau and the PRC throughout the period from December 2006 to April 2007. D. Events in relation to the business or affairs of the Company and/or its subsidiaries which occurred in the Relevant Period but were not disclosed by the Company to its members and/or the general investing public 20. During the Relevant Period, the following events occurred in relation to the business or affairs of the Company and/or its subsidiaries (collectively referred to hereinbelow as “the Events”):-
21. Notwithstanding that the occurrence of the Events in the Relevant Period, whether generally or in the particular adverse circumstances faced by the Company and/or its subsidiaries as stated in paragraphs 16 to 19 above, constituted share price sensitive information, Yu failed or omitted to cause the Company to disclose the same to its members and/or the general investing public during the period when he was an executive director of the Company. D1. Legal proceedings in Hong Kong and the PRC against KW Yeung, the Company and its subsidiaries for loan repayment 22. At the time when the Company announced its annual and interim results as stated in paragraphs 16 to 18 above, the Company’s subsidiaries had borrowed substantially from a number of banks. Attached hereto at Appendix 1 is a summary of overdue bank debts since July 2006. 23. Upon learning of the Company’s disappointing annual and interim results from its said announcements, the lender banks became seriously concerned with the financial position of the Company, and tightened the banking facilities previously granted to the Company’s subsidiaries and called for repayment of the loans that had become due. 24. The Company and/or its subsidiaries did not have sufficient cash and could not repay the said loans on demand. The management of the Company then negotiated with the lender banks for further credit facilities, rollovers and/or postponement of repayments. 25. In the meantime, where the said negotiations failed, some of the lender banks commenced legal proceedings in Hong Kong and the PRC against KW Yeung, the Company and/or its subsidiaries, the details of which are set out in Appendix 2 attached hereto. D2. Labour strikes 26. Dongguan Kalee Electrical Company Limited (“DGKL”) was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and at all material times operated as a factory in Dongguan, the PRC (“Kalee Factory”). According to the Company’s Annual Report for the year 2006, DGKL was at all material times the only subsidiary within the Group which manufactured household electrical appliances. According to the Annual Report for 2007 the Kalee Factory had ceased operation. 27. As a result of the Group’s failure to pay the wages of its workers at the Kalee Factory on time, labour strikes occurred in September and December 2006, and in February and April 2007 which caused serious disruption to the production at the Kalee Factory and thereby the core business of the Company. D3. Legal proceedings in Hong Kong and/or the PRC against the Company and/or its subsidiaries for invoice payments and payments of statements of account 28. Upon learning of the Company’s disappointing annual and interim results from its said announcements, and the labour strikes, the raw material suppliers demanded payment of outstanding invoices and accounts by the Company and/or its subsidiaries. 29. The Company and/or its subsidiaries did not have sufficient cash and could not repay the raw material suppliers, some of which then commenced legal proceedings in Hong Kong and the PRC against the Company and/or its subsidiaries. Furthermore, some of the raw material suppliers attended the Kalee Factory and made threats to its management staff to force payments. Out of fear for their own safety, a number of its senior staff resigned, which further disrupted the operation and production at the Kalee Factory. 30. With their invoices not settled, the raw material suppliers ceased to supply the Group with raw materials that were essential for the manufacture of household electrical appliances. This seriously disrupted if not paralysed the production at the Kalee Factory, which could not meet half of its purchase orders in January 2007, and the failure rate was over 80% in February and March 2007. As stated in the Company’s Annual Report for the year ended 30 April 2007, production at the Kalee Factory ceased operation due to the inability of DGKL to pay its debts and liabilities. In April 2007, the Kalee Factory was sealed up and closed down by the People’s Court in Dongguan City of Guangdong Province following claims made by DGKL’s creditors. The Kalee Factory together with its plant and equipment were sealed up and the manufacturing operations ceased. DGKL filed for insolvency and a debt structuring proposal was rejected by its creditors. In May 2008 the Dongguan Intermediate People’s Court ordered that DGKL be liquidated and that the debts owed to creditors be settled from the sale of the Kalee Factory, land and plant and machinery. D4. Formation of the Management Committee in November 2006 31. In November 2006, the Management Committee was set up with KW Yeung, Godfrey Hung, John Lai, Hermann Leung and Anthony Kong Kwok Pun (“Anthony Kong”, the financial controller of the company from 18 April 2002 to 1 April 2007) as its members. Its purpose was to assist KW Yeung in solving the financial problems faced by the Group and to ensure better corporate governance. 32. The establishment of the Management Committee fundamentally changed the way in which the Group was managed and operated. Previously, KW Yeung had at all material times been the sole signatory of cheques for the Group’s bank accounts in Hong Kong without limit and he was not required to obtain the approval of the board of directors of the Company to sign cheques. After the Management Committee was formed, any bank withdrawal of over HK$50,000 would require a joint signatory by two members of the Management Committee. D5. Appointment of and a payment of HK$1,000,000 to Baron in October 2006 33. On 19 October 2006, KW Yeung on behalf of the Company appointed Baron as advisers in respect of the Group’s proposed debt restructuring and, if necessary, re-organisation. 34. The duties of Baron under the said appointment were, inter alia, to:-
35. Remuneration for Baron was agreed as follows:-
36. On or about 31 October 2006, the Company paid Baron HK$1,000,000 as part of the said advisory fee. 37. In appointing and paying HK$1,000,000 to Baron on behalf of the Company, KW Yeung had obtained neither the prior approval of the board of directors of the Company nor its subsequent ratification of the appointment and/or payment. 38. After the said appointment, despite repeated requests from Baron, the Company failed to furnish Baron with its company records and arrange a meeting with its finance officers to enable Baron to ascertain the financial position of the Company. 39. On 15 November 2006, Baron advised KW Yeung to announce, inter alia, the following information, concerning the business or affairs of the Group, to the public as soon as practicable:-
40. In giving the above advice, Baron:-
41. Shortly after Baron gave the aforesaid advice, KW Yeung on behalf of the Company terminated the appointment of Baron on 17 November 2006. 42. Notwithstanding the aforesaid advice of Baron, the Company has never announced any of the matters identified by Baron and mentioned in paragraph 39 above. D6. Appointment of Ferrier Hodgson in December 2006 43. On 16 August 2005, Housely Industries Limited (“Housely Industries”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, was granted a term loan of HK$125,000,000 and a revolving credit facility of HK$75,000,000 by a syndicate of lenders, namely, Bayerische Hypo- and Vereinsbank AG (“HVB”), Malayan Banking Berhad and Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited. As security for such loans, the Company and Tacho Company Limited (another wholly owned subsidiary of the Company) acted as guarantors. HVB acted as the coordinating arranger. 44. On 14 November 2006, KW Yeung accompanied by Anthony Kong and Joseph Wan, the Chairman of Baron Asia Limited, met with the representative of HVB. At that meeting, Joseph Wan as financial adviser of the Company informed the representative of HVB that the Company was in desperate need of debt restructuring in light of its distressed financial situation, without which it would definitely go into liquidation with nothing left for the syndicate of lenders and other creditors. 45. Having been so advised, HVB convened an urgent all-bankers meeting on 17 November 2006, which was attended by KW Yeung, Godfrey Hung, Hermann Leung and the representatives from HVB and the syndicate of lenders. At that meeting, Godfrey Hung on behalf of the Company admitted that the working capital available to the Group at the material time was very tight, and pleaded for the continuing support of the syndicate of lenders. 46. The syndicate of lenders at the said all-bankers meeting agreed to support the Company but insisted that the cash flow of the Group be monitored. Upon the recommendation of HVB, the Company appointed Ferrier Hodgson in December 2006 to monitor its cash position and carry out a financial review of the Company and its subsidiaries and related companies. 47. Despite the efforts mentioned above, the financial problems of the Company remained unresolved. Housely Industries defaulted in its interest payments of HK$1,195,668.59 and HK$1,863,352.47 on 29 March 2007 and 27 April 2007 respectively. Demands of repayment were made to Housely Industries, Tacho Company Limited and the Company. Finally, on 7 May 2007, the syndicate of lender banks served statutory demands on all parties liable under the syndicated loan agreement including the Company. D7. Loans from Hermann Leung and third parties to subsidiaries of the Company for which KW Yeung pledged his shares in the Company as security 48. On 17 November 2006 and 11 December 2006, Hermann Leung transferred HK$2,000,000 and HK$1,200,000 respectively to Sharp Venture Holdings Limited (“Sharp Venture”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. These sums represented a joint loan from Hermann Leung and a third party Liu Su Ke to the Company at an interest rate of 5% per month, for which no written agreement had been entered into. 49. On 28 December 2006, Housely Industries and Vision Eagle Limited (“Vision Eagle”) entered into an agreement whereby the latter agreed to grant to the former a term loan of HK$6,000,000 at an interest rate of 5% per month. This again represented a joint loan from Hermann Leung and Liu Su Ke. Liu Su Ke and Hermann Leung each paid a sum of HK$3,000,000 to Housely Industries on 28 December 2006. 50. As security for the HK$6,000,000 term loan granted by Vision Eagle, KW Yeung pledged his 231,800,000 ordinary shares in the Company, held by Imperial Profit Enterprises Limited (“Imperial”) and Primer Capital Investments Limited (“Primer”) as his nominees, to Liu Su Ke on 28 December 2006. 51. Upon the subsequent default in repayment, 30,000,000 of KW Yeung’s shares were transferred to Liu Su Ke, who held and is still holding the same on behalf of Hermann Leung and himself qua lenders in equal shares, on 20 April 2007 in satisfaction of the debt. 52. In February 2007, Godfrey Hung on behalf of the Company approached a third party Derrick Luu for funding. Derrick Luu agreed to lend HK$10,000,000 to the Company and take up its debt in the sum of HK$12,800,000. As a result, on 6 March 2007, Lanakia Investments Limited (“Lanakia”) (a company owned by a friend of Derrick Luu and a nominee for him) granted a HK$22,800,000 loan facility to Housely Industries at an interest rate of 3% per month. A total sum of HK$10,000,000 was advanced by Derrick Luu on divers dates from 15 February 2007 to 4 April 2007. 53. Again, as security for the HK$22,800,000 loan facility granted by Derrick Luu KW Yeung pledged his aforesaid 231,800,000 ordinary shares in the Company to Derrick Luu. E. Recurrent breaches of the Listing Rules 54. The Listing Rules applicable at the material time provided as follows:-
55. The Company has failed to disclose the Events or any of them to its members, the general investing public and/or the Stock Exchange, and has acted in breach of the Listing Rules.
56. Furthermore, Yu also acted in breach of Rules 3.08(f) and 13.04 of the Listing Rules in failing persistently to ensure compliance by the Company of the Listing Rules in the Relevant Period. F. 5th Respondent’s Liability under sections 214(1)(b) and (c) of the Ordinance 57. During the Relevant Period or part of that period, Yu as one of the executive directors of the Company was partly responsible for the business or affairs of the Company and/or its subsidiaries, including the following matters:-
58. By reference to the facts and matters mentioned in Sections D and E and paragraph 57 above:-
59. In the premises, the business and affairs of the Company, for which Yu, as a former executive director of the Company and/or a member of the senior management of the Company, was partly responsible, have been conducted in a manner (i) involving misfeasance or misconduct towards the Company, its members or part of its members, and/or (ii) resulting in its members or part of its members not having been given all the information with respect to its business or affairs that they might reasonably expect, within the meaning of section 214(1)(b) and (c) of the Securities and Futures Ordinance. Dated
Appendix 2
Legal proceedings commenced in Hong Kong by Bank lenders against Warderly International Holdings Limited (“Warderly”), its subsidiaries and Mr. Yeung Kui Wong
Legal proceedings commenced by in the PRC by Bank lenders against Warderly International Holdings Limited (“Warderly”) and its subsidiaries
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