Bermuda's Supreme Court has disallowed the former chairman of a consumer electronics maker from blocking the company's restructuring.

Akai Holdings Ltd, based in Hong Kong but incorporated in Bermuda, collapsed in August 2001 in one of Hong Kong's biggest bankruptcies and has been in liquidation here since 2001. The former chairman, Shanghai-born businessman James Ting, disappeared from Hong Kong after the company failed. Police, liquidators and creditors are looking for Ting, according to the Indian Express. In November of last year, Ting voted his 109.82 million shares against the sale through his US lawyers. Had the vote been allowed to stand, it would have blocked the sale.

But in a statement to the Hong Kong's stock exchange, Akai said that all conditions precedent to the restructuring had been satisfied and the proposal is expected to be completed today. After restructuring, the company will be renamed Hang Ten Group Holdings Ltd. and become a clothing retailer. Akai, previously called Semi-Tech (Global), owed about $1.11 billion when it failed in August 2000. Prior to the collapse, the company had reported an annual loss of $1.73 billion, one of the largest of any company in Hong Kong.

A New York subsidiary of Bermuda-based Arch Capital Ltd. has joined La Reunion Aerienne, a Paris-based aviation insurance pool.

Effective on Wednesday, Arch Insurance Co., a New York-based unit of Arch Capital Ltd. in Hamilton, Bermuda, and Mapfre Industrial S.A. in Madrid, Spain joined the six existing members of the pool, La Reunion said. The addition of Arch and Mapfre will not increase the capacity offered by the pool, a La Reunion spokesman told Business Insurance Magazine. La Reunion currently accounts for between 12 percent and 15 percent of the worldwide insurance market for airlines and aviation manufacturers, he said. Other members of the pool are Continent IARD, Generali France Assurances, Groupama Assurances et Services, Groupama Transport, La Mutuelle du Mans Assurances IARD and Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.

Willis Bermuda Ltd. has donated $2,500 to the Bermuda Foundation for Insurance Studies (BFIS). The Foundation which provides scholarships and mentoring to Bermudian insurance students and young professionals.

Henry Scully, President of Willis said: “We all benefit from the ongoing efforts to ensure that all Bermudians have the opportunity to pursue higher education. As BFIS grows and expands their scholarship studies criteria, which now includes students studying economics and finance as well as insurance and actuarial science, we applaud them for understanding that the needs of the market place in Bermuda are under increasing and continual change.”

BFIS president Mark Lima said: “We appreciate the support of all members of the insurance and financial services community. We thrive on having a broad base of support from our donors both local and overseas.” Willis (Bermuda) Limited is an insurance brokerage placing business into the Bermuda market on behalf of over 13,000 Willis Holdings Ltd. employees in over 90 countries across the globe. Bermuda-registered Willis Holdings Ltd. is the third largest insurance broker in the world.