Commercial certainty in uncertain times: Singapore’s role as a restructuring hub

EXPERIENCE necessarily influences one’s approach to evaluating risk. I have been involved in restructuring work in one capacity or another for a very long time, and I understand how business cycles can fundamentally alter perceptions of risk.

As the US bankruptcy judge presiding over the Lehman Brothers cases, I saw first-hand how the shock of a single failure of a significant financial institution can reverberate through global markets, politics, regulation and finance.

Those of us who experienced Lehman will never forget its core lesson: When estate fiduciaries and courts in different countries work at cross purposes in resolving claims against a distressed global enterprise, the “enterprise value” evaporates for everyone. Cross-border cooperation is essential to maximise recoveries and minimise value destruction.