SINGAPORE is a popular venue for capital raising. Latest statistics show that the Singapore Exchange attracted 733 new bond listings to-date in 2019 with amount issued totalling just over S$336 billion. A significant portion of these listings were by Asian issuers comprising sovereigns, financial institutions and corporates from the Asean countries, China and India, among others. This is in line with the Singapore government's objective of attracting Asian issuers to raise international capital in Singapore.

As more Asian issuers look to Singapore as a platform for bond issuance and listing, it is timely for such issuers to also consider the use of Singapore law to govern such issuances.

WHY GOVERNING LAW MATTERS