Timor-Leste approves new Corporate Recovery and Insolvency Code

Law No. 9/2025, of 22 December, approved the Corporate Recovery and Insolvency Code (CREI), establishing, for the first time, a structured insolvency and corporate recovery framework in Timor-Leste, aligned with international standards. The CREI applies to both legal entities and individuals owning companies and establishes a dual system based on either company recovery or asset liquidation, with the aim of satisfying creditors while prioritising business continuity whenever possible. The new regime emphasises recovery, simplification and reduced court intervention, creates the Recovery and Insolvency Office (BRI), and introduces mechanisms such as the Reorganisation and Insolvency Proceedings (PRI), creditor negotiation procedures and a cross-border insolvency regime. The CREI will enter into force 180 days after publication, subject to the approval of supplementary legislation.

Read the full Legal Alert here [available only in Portuguese].

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