FOUNDER GROUP (HONG KONG) LIMITED (IN LIQUIDATION) v SINGAPORE JHC CO., PTE. LTD.

Q: Which legislation does [2023] SGCA 40 consider?

The judgment refers to Arbitration Act (Cap 10), Companies Act (Cap 50), Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act, and Restructuring and Dissolution Act. The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

[2023] SGCA 40 Court of Appeal 28 November 2023 CA/CA 41/2022 54 min read

20 cases cited (16 SG, 4 foreign) Cited by 3 cases

Outcome

Appeal allowed

we allowed the appeal and ordered that JHC be wound up.

Source: [2023] SGCA 40, Court of Appeal, decided 28 November 2023. Read directly from the judgment.

Key facts

Court	Court of Appeal
Decided	28 November 2023
Judges	Kannan Ramesh, Steven Chong, Sundaresh Menon
Charges / claim	Insolvency Law, Arbitration
Outcome	Appeal allowed
Counsel	Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP, Shook Lin & Bok LLP, Cheng Wai Yuen Mark, Chu Shao Wei Jeremy, Daniel Tan Shi Min, Edwin Yang Yingrong, Hoang Linh Trang, Sarjit Singh Gill, Tan Chuan Thye, Tan Tian Hui, Timothy Ang Wei Kiat

Source: [2023] SGCA 40, Court of Appeal, decided 28 November 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Insolvency Law — Winding up — Standing Arbitration — Agreement — Separability Insolvency Law — Winding up — Disputed debt Insolvency Law — Winding up — Contingent creditor

Practice Areas

Insolvency Law Arbitration

Judges (3)

Kannan Ramesh Coram Steven Chong Coram Sundaresh Menon Delivered

Counsel (11)

Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP Firm Shook Lin & Bok LLP Firm Cheng Wai Yuen Mark Counsel Respondent Chu Shao Wei Jeremy Counsel Appellant Daniel Tan Shi Min Counsel Appellant Edwin Yang Yingrong Counsel Appellant Hoang Linh Trang Counsel Appellant Sarjit Singh Gill Counsel Appellant Tan Chuan Thye Counsel Respondent Tan Tian Hui Counsel Respondent Timothy Ang Wei Kiat Counsel Respondent

Parties (2)

Founder Group (Hong Kong) Limited (in liquidation) Appellant Singapore JHC Co Pte Ltd Respondent

Case Significance

Founder Group (Hong Kong) Ltd (in liquidation) v Singapore JHC Co Pte Ltd [2023] SGCA 40 is a decision of the Court of Appeal delivered by Sundaresh Menon CJ on 28 November 2023, sitting with Steven Chong JCA and Kannan Ramesh JAD. The appeal arose from Founder Group's failed application to wind up Singapore JHC on a claimed debt of around US$47.43m. The court addressed the standing of a creditor whose debt is disputed and subject to a valid arbitration agreement, alongside the separability of arbitration agreements and the position of a contingent creditor. The judgment engages four statutes, including the Arbitration Act and the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act, and has been cited 20 times.

[2023] SGCA 40 explained

FOUNDER GROUP (HONG KONG) LIMITED (IN LIQUIDATION) v SINGAPORE JHC CO., PTE. LTD. ([2023] SGCA 40) is a Singapore judgment decided by the Court of Appeal on 28 November 2023. It is categorised under Insolvency Law and Arbitration. Within this corpus it has since been cited by 3 other reported Singapore judgments, a measure of how often later decisions have referred to it. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.

What is [2023] SGCA 40 about?

FOUNDER GROUP (HONG KONG) LIMITED (IN LIQUIDATION) v SINGAPORE JHC CO., PTE. LTD. ([2023] SGCA 40) is a Court of Appeal decision from 2023. Its published catchwords are “Insolvency Law — Winding up — Standing”, “Arbitration — Agreement — Separability”, “Insolvency Law — Winding up — Disputed debt”, and “Insolvency Law — Winding up — Contingent creditor”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

Which legislation does [2023] SGCA 40 consider?

The judgment refers to Arbitration Act (Cap 10), Companies Act (Cap 50), Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act, and Restructuring and Dissolution Act. The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

What earlier Singapore cases does [2023] SGCA 40 cite?

Among the in-corpus authorities it refers to are [2023] SGHC 159. The complete list of cases cited, and of later cases that cite this decision, is shown on this page.

How influential is [2023] SGCA 40?

Within this corpus, [2023] SGCA 40 has been cited by 3 later reported Singapore judgments. That count reflects references from other decisions held in this corpus only and is a conservative lower bound on how often the case has actually been cited.

What was Founder Group (Hong Kong) Ltd v Singapore JHC Co [2023] SGCA 40 about?

It was a Court of Appeal decision on 28 November 2023 concerning whether Founder Group, claiming a debt of about US$47.43m, had standing to wind up Singapore JHC when that debt was disputed and covered by an arbitration agreement.

Which judges decided Founder Group v Singapore JHC [2023] SGCA 40?

The Court of Appeal panel comprised Sundaresh Menon CJ, who delivered the judgment, together with Steven Chong JCA and Kannan Ramesh JAD, in Civil Appeal No 41 of 2022 decided on 28 November 2023.

Statutes Cited

Arbitration Act (Cap 10) Cases on this Act →

Companies Act (Cap 50) Cases on this Act →

s 210

Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act Cases on this Act →

Restructuring and Dissolution Act Cases on this Act →

Cases Cited (20)

SG (2)

[2020] SGHC 205 [2023] SGHC 159

SLR (14)

[1991] 2 SLR(R) 567 [2007] 2 SLR(R) 268 [2008] 2 SLR(R) 491 [2010] 3 SLR 542 [2012] 2 SLR 189 [2016] 1 SLR 373 [2016] 2 SLR 118 [2016] 2 SLR 871 [2017] 3 SLR 357 [2018] 2 SLR 1207 [2020] 1 SLR 1158 [2020] 1 SLR 1296 [2021] 2 SLR 478 [2023] 1 SLR 349

UK (4)

[1895] 1 Ch 267 [1962] 1 WLR 555 [1968] 1 WLR 1091 [2007] 4 All ER 951