Singapore Law Blog

The Honourable the Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong announced the official commencement of a new legal news service, the Singapore Law Watch (“SLW”), at the Opening of the Legal Year on Saturday, 5 January 2008.

The Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong announced at the Opening Of the Legal Year 2008 the appointment of six new Senior Counsels - Mr Sundaresh Menon, Mr Hri Kumar Nair, Mr Thio Shen Yi, Mr Cavinder Bull, Mr Lee Eng Beng and Prof Jeffrey Dan Pinsler.

Singapore's agreement with Estonia for the avoidance of double taxation comes into effect on 27 December 2007. The agreement will specify clearly the taxing rights of each country on all types of income earned from 1 January 2008.

Singapore and India yesterday signed the Protocol to amend the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) to further liberalise the tariff concessions for Singapore’s exports to India under CECA. The revised tariff concessions will take effect from 15 January 2008.

Singapore Exchange (SGX) is inviting public comment on two proposals to enhance its enforcement framework for the derivatives market. The proposals will allow the Exchange to provide a wider range of measures to deal effectively with rule violations under the Futures Trading Rules and Derivatives Clearing Rules.

eLawyer is a legal portal serving the legal industry in Malaysia. The portal intends to make a difference to the legal industry in Malaysia through technology.

Last year, MAS and the Ministry of Law ("MinLaw") conducted a joint public consultation on the proposed changes to the unsecured credit rules for financial institutions and the proposed application of these rules to moneylenders with appropriate modifications. MAS had also conducted another consultation this year on the exemption for financial institutions from the maximum credit limit when granting credit to individuals with greater financial means. Pursuant to the feedback received, MAS and MinLaw have proceeded to draft respective rules applicable to unsecured lending by financial institutions regulated under MAS and moneylenders under MinLaw.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today released Basel II rules in Singapore. The rules will come into effect on 1 January 2008.

Following the announcement by Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) on 26 November 2007, the rules for Catalist, SGX’s sponsor-supervised listing platform for fast growing companies, will take effect on Monday, 17 December 2007. On the same day, SGX’s second board, SESDAQ, will be renamed Catalist.

And Court of Appeal lets her off with 2 months' jail due to "confused" circumstances.

Singapore and Oman signed an Investment Guarantee Agreement today, during the official visit to Singapore of the Oman Deputy Prime Minister, His Highness Sayyid Fahad Mahmood Al-Said. The agreement demonstrates the growing bilateral relations between the two countries. It will also give investors from both Singapore and Oman greater confidence and protection when investing in the other country. Both countries hope that the agreement will spur an increase in the volume of bilateral investments.

Under the Companies Act, shares repurchased by a company may be held in treasury instead of being cancelled. The company may subsequently dispose of such shares by, amongst others, (i) selling them for cash; (ii) transferring them for the purposes of or pursuant to an employee’s share scheme; or (iii) transferring them as consideration for the acquisition of shares or assets of another company.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has released a consultation paper on the proposed fee structure that will apply to all representatives conducting regulated activities under the Securities and Futures Act (SFA) and the Financial Advisers Act (FAA). The proposed fee structure is intended for implementation when the notification framework for representatives[1] comes into effect in 2008.

Singapore Exchange (SGX) today announced a “Watch-list” for listed companies on SGX Mainboard following a public consultation in May this year. The new “Watch-List” and rule changes will take effect on 1 March 2008.

The Committee to comprehensively review the entire legal services sector and to propose measures to enhance Singapore's position as an international centre for the provision of legal services submitted its report and recommendations in September this year. The Government has accepted in principle the recommendations of the Committee.

In a rare decision, the Strata Titles Board (STB) threw out the collective sale application of Finland Gardens in Siglap after it failed to meet statutory requirements.

Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) today unveiled Catalist, its sponsor-supervised listing platform for fast growing local and international companies. Catalist is the transformed SESDAQ, SGX's current second board, following an extensive study of other market models, and a public consultation in May 2007.

The hearing concerns Singapore's and Malaysia's dispute over Pedra Branca, or Pulau Batu Puteh. It took place at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. The dispute arose when Malaysia published its new map in 1979 of its territories which included Pedra Branca. Singapore disagreed claiming that it owns the island.

Singapore signed the Open Skies Agreement (OSA) with the United Kingdom (UK) in London today. The landmark agreement was signed by Singapore’s Ministe r for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Raymond Lim and United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Transport, Rt Hon Ruth Kelly MP.

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) will be implementing the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive (ACD) in Singapore from 1 January 2008. Cosmetic products, which are currently regulated under the Medicines Act, will be the second category of health products following medical devices to be regulated under the Health Products Act (HPA).

Heralding the next milestone in Singapore’s broadcasting landscape, the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) is conducting a public consultation from today till 4 January 2008 to seek feedback on the Authority’s proposed policy and regulatory framework for mobile TV services.

Legal IT for the unprofessional!

The text of the Second Reading Speech by Minister Of State For Finance And Transport, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua on The Income Tax (Amendment No. 2) Bill 2007 is below.

The Minister for National Development will introduce the Housing and Development (Amendment) Bill 2007 in Parliament today.

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) released a public consultation paper on 18 July 2007 to seek feedback from the public on the implementation details for the following Budget 2007 changes to promote philanthropy: