In Hong Kong Bankruptcy Case, Rare Golf Club Memberships on Sale

(Bloomberg) -- China Fishery Group Ltd.’s bankruptcy case enters its second anniversary this month with no resolution in sight as a key auction of its fishing assets in Peru stalls. It may have better luck selling its corporate memberships in the famed 129-year old Hong Kong Golf Club.

Membership No. 1024 and 1031 are being put up for sale to maintain the estate, according to a May 29 U.S. court filing. At no less than HK$17 million ($2.2 million) each, it may be a small price and rare chance for the city’s golfers to own a certificate, according to Tony Chan at Everfine Membership Services Ltd.

“There’s a 20-year waiting list at the club for individual applications,” he said by phone on Tuesday. “The club no longer accepts corporate applications.” The golf club has more than 6,000 members, including 2,650 principals, it said it an email reply to Bloomberg News.

The Hong Kong-based group has had to sell vessels and other non-core assets to help pay for its upkeep and fees to a battery of lawyers and financial-restructuring advisers. A planned auction of its Peru anchovy-fishing business has been frozen since November, as a Chapter 11 trustee for its subsidiary pursues a case against lender HSBC Holdings Plc.

Hong Kong Golf Club, formed in 1889 by “thirteen golfing enthusiasts,” has been home to the Hong Kong Open for more than 50 straight years, according to the club’s website.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Yong in Singapore at dyong@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew Monahan at amonahan@bloomberg.net, Chan Tien Hin, Ken McCallum

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