Singapore’s insolvency and restructuring regime, in the eyes of practitioners

FIVE years ago, Singapore’s insolvency laws were changed to put the Republic on the map as a hub for international or Asian restructurings. Today, it is timely to take stock of how far the move has succeeded in its objective.

The Companies Act was amended in 2017, followed by the passing into law of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act in 2018.

Among the changes were new features of the scheme of arrangement regime, modelled on the debtor-friendly US Chapter 11 “debtor in possession” model – notably, an expanded jurisdiction for foreign companies to use Singapore schemes of arrangement and enhanced moratorium, including automatic stay.