'Legal convergence needed in Asean for region to soar'

Singapore

COMMON norms and practices developed by the Asian Business Law Institute can ease cross-border trade in Asia and facilitate dialogue between countries, which can lower costs and increase business flows, Minister for Law K Shanmugam has said.

In his closing address at the Singapore Academy of Law conference on legal convergence in Asia, he cited surveys done in the last three years as having concluded that the region's diversity in legal and regulatory regimes was a major barrier holding back investment into Asia and hindering the growth of businesses.