THE total number of liquidations recorded for the three months up to May 1999 shows an increase of 25,1% in a release by Statistics South Africa on Thursday. The number rose from 864 to 1081 compared with the same period of a year ago. Liquidations also saw an increase of 7,6% compared with the previous three months. The increase of 25,1% in the total number of liquidations can mainly be attributed to an increase in voluntary liquidations (+45,4%), which in turn is due to a sharp increase in voluntary liquidations of close corporations. The total number of insolvencies recorded for the three months up to April 1999 increased by 14,5% (from 1 014 to 1 161) compared with the corresponding period of a year ago, but is 6,8% lower than the previous three months.