Latham & Watkins LLP (JD Supra Singapore)

The proposal covers broad admission criteria; conditions for founding shareholders, the management team, and controlling shareholders; and business combination requirements. On 31 March, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) published a consultation paper proposing a primary listing framework for special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) to list on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange...

Amendments to the PDPA significantly change Singapore’s data protection landscape, including mandatory data breach notification and criminal offences for mishandling of personal data. On 1 February 2021, certain sections of the Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2020 (the Act) took effect, implementing the following changes to the Personal Data Protection Act in 2012 (PDPA)...

The guidelines aim to promote the adoption of robust practices for managing technology risks in the financial sector. On 18 January 2021, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (the MAS) issued revised guidelines (the Guidelines) to take into account the fast-changing cyber threat landscape and financial institutions’ increased reliance on cloud technologies, application programming interfaces (

The proposal would require financial institutions to use certain categories of information for non-face-to-face verification before undertaking transactions or requests. In November 2020, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (the MAS) published a consultation paper proposing to issue a Notice on Identity Verification (the Notice) that would require financial institutions to obtain specific...

MAS confirms regulatory approach for best execution and timeline for compliance. On 3 September 2020, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (the MAS) issued a response to feedback about its proposal for holders of a capital markets service license holders, banks, merchant banks, and finance companies that conduct certain regulated activities (Capital Markets Intermediaries) to establish policies

The guidelines aim to strengthen the accountability of senior managers in financial institutions. On 10 September 2020, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (the MAS) issued guidelines (the Guidelines) to strengthen the accountability of individuals who are employed by, or acting for or by arrangement with, financial institutions, and are principally responsible for the day-to-day management of

The Convention, which entered into force this month, should allow courts in the jurisdiction of enforcement to recognize and enforce settlement agreements directly. Settling a dispute via mediation is one of the most time- and cost-effective approaches a party can take to resolve contentious issues. Mediation - a confidential amicable negotiation process facilitated by a third-party...

MAS confirms regulatory approach for derivative contracts on payment tokens. On 15 May 2020, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (the MAS) issued its response to feedback about its proposed regulatory approach for derivative contracts that reference payment tokens as underlying assets (Payment Token Derivatives), confirming that it will regulate Payment Token Derivatives offered to Singapore...

New legislation suspends contractual obligations for the next six months with related disputes subject to a separate dispute resolution system. On 7 April 2020, the Singapore Parliament passed the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act (the Act) offering temporary relief to businesses and individuals who are unable to fulfil their contractual obligations because of COVID-19 and providing temporary...

Upgraded legislation creates an enhanced regulatory framework for the new age of payments, including e-money and digital payment tokens.  After much anticipation, and following consultations with the industry at large, the game-changing Payment Services Act 2019 (PSA) has finally become operational.

MAS hopes to strengthen controls on market abuse with new client identification and record keeping requirements for FIs. Key Points: ..In August 2019, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) proposed four new regulatory requirements for financial institutions (FIs)1 that deal with capital market products. ..The proposed requirements relate to identification (client identification and...

The Singapore Parliament passed on Tuesday a bill to allow third party funding of international commercial arbitration proceedings seated in Singapore. The bill, known as the Civil Law (Amendment) Bill – Third Party Funding for Arbitration and Related Proceedings, reverses a prior ban on third party funding of arbitral proceedings.

The Personal Data Protection Commission (the “Commission’) was established in January 2013 to implement and enforce The Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (“PDPA”). The PDPA fully came into force on 2 July 2014. So far, the Commission has mainly used its investigation and enforcement powers to take action against organisations not adhering to the Do Not Call provisions of the PDPA.

The Straits Times reported on 14 August that Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Commission (the “Commission”) is investigating a complaint from a user that Xiaomi has breached the Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (“PDPA”). This is believed to be the first investigation under the main PDPA rules unrelated to the Do Not Call registry which came into force on 2 July 2014.

With The Islamic Financial Services Board reporting that assets in Islamic finance are expected to reach US$2.8 trillion by 2015 and the continued growth of the global sukuk market, opportunities for investors abound.

The second annual Borrowers & Investors Forum, Southeast Asia was held in late 2013 in Singapore. The forum explored fixed income funding and portfolio opportunities in the region.