The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, today (May 22) visited the Official Receiver's Office (ORO) to learn about its bankruptcy and winding-up services provided to the public.
 
     Accompanied by the Official Receiver, Ms Phyllis McKenna, Mr Hui visited the Fast Track Cases Unit under the Case Management Division. He was briefed on the procedures for handling debtor-petition bankruptcy cases and the preparation for the Electronic Submission System (ESS).
       
     Mr Hui pointed out that the number of insolvency cases is likely to increase in light of the economic downturn and the rising unemployment rate. The ORO will keep in view the number of new cases received and consider possible measures as appropriate to streamline work procedures while using information technology to enhance efficiency to cope with the increasing caseload.
 
     The ESS is a one-stop portal to receive and time-stamp electronic submissions of documents and forms from various stakeholders, which can improve the ORO's efficiency in handling bankruptcy and winding-up cases. The Government will submit a funding application to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council in due course, Mr Hui said.
 
     Mr Hui later inspected the public enquiry counters to better understand the services for filing bankruptcy and compulsory winding-up petitions, and conducting bankruptcy, individual voluntary arrangement and compulsory winding-up searches.
 
     Before concluding his visit, Mr Hui met with staff of the ORO to learn about their work. He also expressed appreciation for their efforts in providing public services amid the pandemic.

Ends/Friday, May 22, 2020
Issued at HKT 15:06

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