THE total number of liquidations continued to climb in the three months to January, rising a massive 59,1% compared with the corresponding period last year. Announcing the increase, Statistics South Africa said that the period shows an increase of 12,8% (from 988 to 1114) compared with the previous three months. The 12,8% increase in the total number of liquidations can mainly be attributed to an increase in voluntary liquidations by companies, which increased sharply by 82,8%, Stats SA said. However, the number of voluntary liquidations of close corporations decreased by 13,0% during the same period. A comparison of the total number of insolvencies for the year 1997 with the total number for 1998 reveals an increase of 20,2% (from 3282 to 3944).