Recent Developments in Singapore on Company Law and Regulation: Review of the Singapore Companies Act

Abstract

The Singapore Companies Act was first enacted in 1967. Since then, the Companies Act has undergone several rounds of amendments. The last comprehensive review was conducted by the Company Legislation and Regulatory Framework Committee in 1999, which led to many key changes made to the Companies Act. In October 2007, THE Ministry of Finance appointed a Steering Committee to undertake a comprehensive review of the Singapore Companies Act. The Steering Committee obtained the views from a large number of stakeholders, and considered the laws and practices in Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, UK and US. The final report was submitted to MOF in April 2011, with 217 recommendations. A public consultation followed and on 3 October 2012, almost five years after the appointment of the Steering Committee, Ministry of Finance published its response. Most of the recommendations (192) are accepted in full, some recommendations (17) are accepted with modifications and the remaining (8) have not been accepted at this time. The note discusses some of the more controversial recommendations as well as the key changes that will be made to the Companies Act.