In Man Diesel & Turbo SE v I.M. Skaugen Marine Services Pte Ltd [2018] SGHC 132, the Singapore High Court considered whether it should adjourn proceedings to enforce an arbitral award pending the determination of proceedings challenging the award in Denmark, being the seat of the arbitration. It is understood that this is the first time the Singapore Court has elaborated on the test to be applied when dealing with an application for adjournment and a cross-application for security.
The Court rejected the defendant’s adjournment application, and upheld the order granting leave for the immediate enforcement of the arbitral award. This decision illustrates that, in appropriate cases, the Singapore Courts are willing to assist in the enforcement of arbitral awards, notwithstanding that the award is being challenged in the seat of arbitration. This decision also offers practical guidance as to some of the factors the Singapore Courts may consider relevant to their analysis, such as the merits of the setting aside challenge and the likely consequences of any further delays in enforcement.
Click here to read our client update.
The Singapore Exchange ("SGX") has given the go-ahead for the listing of issuers with dual class share ("DCS") structures. This follows two earlier consultations in February 2017 and March 2018, where public feedback was sought on the proposed framework for DCS structures, and the safeguards that ought to apply.
Issuers who wish to list with a DCS structure must meet the Mainboard listing criteria under Chapter 2 of the SGX-ST Listing Rules (Mainboard), and other additional requirements under the DCS listing framework. There will also be safeguards to prevent entrenchment risks and expropriation risks. Measures will also be introduced to improve investor education, as well as to enhance clarity of DCS structures for investors.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore ("MAS") has issued revised regulatory requirements which set out the revised reporting standards for banks in Singapore. These changes will take effect on 1 October 2020. This is in line with MAS’ objectives to collect data in machine-readable format and to reduce duplicate data submissions by financial institutions ("FIs"). These changes are pursuant to a public consultation held in February 2017.
The key changes to the regulatory requirements include: (i) collecting more granular data of banks' assets and liabilities by currency, country and industry; (ii) rationalising the collection of data on RMB business activities and deposit rates; and (iii) removing the Domestic Banking Unit and Asian Currency Unit, and for banks to report their regulatory returns in Singapore dollar and foreign currency instead.
The Intellectual Property (Border Enforcement) Bill ("Bill"), introduced in Parliament on 17 May 2018, was passed on 9 July 2018. The Bill seeks to amend the Copyright Act, Trade Marks Act, Registered Designs Act and Geographical Indications Act (collectively, the "Intellectual Property Acts" ("IP Acts") to: (i) implement Singapore's obligations under the European Union – Singapore Free Trade Agreement ("EUSFTA") to improve border enforcement measures against goods infringing intellectual property rights; (ii) provide new powers for Singapore Customs to obtain and provide information relating to the goods they seize; and (iii) standardise the terms and provisions relating to border enforcement across the IP Acts.
On 27 April 2018, the Personal Data Protection Commission ("PDPC") released its public consultation paper to seek feedback on managing unsolicited commercial messages (i.e. telemarketing and spam messages), and the provision of enhanced practical guidance to support innovation in the digital economy.
PDPC had proposed to merge the Do Not Call ("DNC") provisions of the Personal Data Protection Act 2012 ("PDPA") and the Spam Control Act ("SCA") into a single legislation ("New Act") to govern unsolicited commercial messages. This is to address the gap in the current legislation whereby, amongst other things, text messages sent via instant messaging ("IM") identifiers (e.g. through Facebook and WeChat) are not covered by the DNC provisions and the SCA.
PDPC had also proposed the introduction of Enhanced Practical Guidance ("EPG") in the PDPA to address complex compliance queries that cannot be addressed by PDPC's general guidance and existing published resources.
