Hong Kong rules ATV must close
March 3, 2016
By Chris Forrester
A Hong Kong court has ruled that struggling TV station ATV must close immediately. Earlier this week accountancy firm Deloitte, which is handling ATV’s liquidation, had stated it would have to dismiss ATV’s staff. However, local investor Si Rongbin told the court that he would invest fresh cash into the station in order to keep broadcasting going, at least until the end of March.
The court had ordered that Si Rongbin enter into a dialogue with the liquidators, but by March 3rd no written confirmation was in place and the court determined that staff dismissals must now go ahead.
The Hong Kong government has already stated that ATV’s transmission license would end on April 1st. Deloitte has said that the stations has debts of some HK$350 million ($45m) with staff unpaid.