E-meetings order to be revoked Jul 1; MAS, Acra exploring legislation to allow e-meets

FROM Jul 1, 2023, the orders which allowed entities to convene, hold or conduct meetings through electronic means will be revoked, the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) announced on Thursday (Dec 15).

These entities include companies, variable capital companies and business trusts.

However, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said they will be proposing legislative amendments to provide these groups the option to conduct general meetings electronically after the orders are revoked.

Details of the proposed amendments to the Companies Act, the Variable Capital Companies Act and the Business Trusts Act are expected in early 2023.

Acra and MAS said listed entities will still have to observe the Singapore Exchange’s guide in holding general meetings.

The Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) (Alternative Arrangements for Meetings) Orders, or Meetings Orders for short, was introduced in April 2020.

It allowed entities to hold virtual meetings temporarily, even if this was prohibited under the written law or legal instrument which provides for the meeting. 

Companies were thus allowed to continue to convene, hold and conduct meetings, while minimising physical interactions and transmission risks amid the pandemic, said MinLaw.

While the orders were due to expire on Sep 30, MinLaw extended it without specifying an end date in view of the Covid-19 situation then.

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However, as Singapore transitioned towards living with Covid-19, meetings can now take place physically, the ministry said.

Post-announcement, this gives entities six months’ advance notice to resume meeting arrangements in accordance with written law or their governing instruments, it added.