Hong Kong saw 1,334 bankruptcy petitions in last December, up 84.5 percent over the same month of the year before, the Official Receiver's Office of Hong Kong government said Friday.

Bankruptcy orders rose 94.3 percent in December on a year earlier, to 1,193. The month also saw 55 compulsory winding-up petitions and 45 winding-up orders, up 83.3 percent and 18.4 percent on a year earlier.

The total number of bankruptcy petitions last year rose 6.43 percent to 11,620, while bankruptcy orders dropped 2.57 percent, to 10,779.

There were 624 compulsory winding-up petitions and 468 winding-up orders in 2008, up 7 percent and 2.9 percent respectively on a year earlier.

(Xinhua News Agency January 17, 2009)