The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore ("ACRA") has announced that the legislative amendments to the Companies Act ("CA") will be implemented in two phases. ACRA had previously indicated that all the amendments would come into effect in the second quarter of 2015.
The first phase of implementation on 1 July 2015 will see about 40% of the over 200 amendments take effect. The rest of the amendments are expected to come into effect in the second phase, in the first quarter of 2016.
Click here to read more details about the implementation.
It is commonly understood that an arbitration agreement has certain formalities, such as the requirement of being in writing. However, recent amendments have extended what it means for an arbitration agreement to be 'in writing'. The scope of this provision was examined in the recent case of AQZ v ARA [2015] SGHC 49.
Please click here to read more about this case.
The Singapore Exchange ("SGX") has begun a consultation exercise on "comply or explain" sustainability reporting with its listed companies. Results of this exercise will be used to develop a new listing rule and to revise the existing Guide to Sustainability Reporting for Listed Companies ("Guide").
The consultation exercise began in May 2015 with a survey of listed companies and a series of focus group engagements. Subsequently, SGX will reach out to institutional investors and sustainability professionals. Finally, SGX will seek the views of all stakeholders via a public consultation on the proposed Listing Rule and reviewed Guide.
The survey for listed companies will be available on the SGX website by the end of this week. It is anticipated that the proposed Listing Rule and reviewed Guide will be submitted for regulatory approvals by end 2015, with implementation targeted for FY2017.
