Singapore and Indonesia Sign Three MOUs to Facilitate Cross-Border Electricity Trade, Carbon Capture and Storage, and Sustainable Industrial Zone
On 13 June 2025, Singapore and Indonesia signed three Memoranda of Understanding (“MOUs“) on Cross-Border Electricity Trade (“CBET“), Carbon Capture and Storage (“CCS“), and Sustainable Industrial Zone (“SIZ“). These documents are part of a continuing shift toward regional energy integration and present substantial opportunities for energy and infrastructure sector participants.
A summary of each document is outlined below.
- CBET MOU: This builds on the past MOUs on energy cooperation between Singapore and Indonesia. Both countries aim to facilitate the necessary policies, regulatory frameworks and business arrangements for CBET within 12 months of the signing of the MOU.
- CCS MOU: A joint Working Group will be set up to study components of a legally-binding government-to-government (“G2G“) agreement on CCS. The G2G agreement will be necessary to enable cross-border CCS projects to be implemented.
- SIZ MOU: A joint Taskforce will study the development of potential industries within the SIZ in Bintan, Batam and Karimun (BBK). This MOU underscores both countries’ commitment to providing regulatory clarity for renewable energy initiatives, paving the way for further investment opportunities in Indonesia.
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ACIP Shares AML/CFT Best Practices for Financial Institutions on Establishing Customers' Sources of Wealth and Addressing Wealth Management Risks
The AML/CFT Industry Partnership (ACIP), a private public partnership to collaboratively identify, assess and mitigate money laundering (ML) and terrorism financing (TF) risks facing Singapore, has published the following best practices papers:
- “Best Practices on Source of Wealth Due Diligence” shares best practices and guiding case studies for financial institutions (“FIs“) on conducting due diligence on their customers’ sources of wealth (“SOW“). These include the following best practices:
- adopt a tiered approach to SOW risk identification and corroboration for: (i) private banking and wealth management; (ii) retail banking; and (iii) corporate banking;
- execute risk mitigating measures and corroborate SOW, including the following SOW: (i) inheritances and gifts; (ii) business ownership; (iii) investment gains; (iv) sale of goods that are difficult to value; and (v) employment income;
- conduct ongoing monitoring of customers’ SOW; and
- ensure sufficient senior management oversight, including over: (i) risk appetite; (ii) escalation; (iii) governance; and (iv) risk mitigating measures.
- “Best Practices in Relation to Risks in Wealth Management” shares best practices and guiding case studies for FIs on addressing the following six risk areas in their dealings with wealth management customers:
- the use of wealth management structures, including complex structures and family offices;
- macroeconomic developments and events, with corresponding risks such as shifting client demographics, exposure to new risk typologies, and increased risks of clients shifting assets to take advantage of differing requirements across jurisdictions;
- the increase in non-face-to-face (NFTF) onboarding arising from the increased digitalisation of FIs’ processes, in comparison with traditional face-to-face (FTF) onboarding;
- risks arising from a client’s nationality and residence, e.g. the holding of golden passport citizenships, or indicators of multiple nationalities;
- engagements of external asset managers (EAMs) or Financial Intermediaries (FIMs), which make it more challenging to detect red flags in the end-client relationships; and
- the ongoing monitoring challenges posed by changes in the client profile across the client lifecycle (e.g. ongoing transactional and static data interactions by clients during the lifecycle).
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Boosting Singapore Equities Markets: Proposals for Streamlining Prospectus Requirements and Broadening Investor Outreach Channels, and a More Disclosure-Based Regime
On 15 May 2025, the Singapore Exchange Regulation (“SGX RegCo“) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS“) issued two consultation papers titled “Streamlining of Prospectus Requirements and Broadening of Investor Outreach Channels“ and “Shifting to More Disclosure- Based Regime“, respectively. Proposals in the Consultation Papers flesh out the recommendations by the Equities Market Review Group (“Review Group“), which was established by MAS on 2 August 2024 to recommend measures to enhance the development of Singapore’s equities market. Both consultations ended on 14 June 2025.
MAS proposes changes in three broad areas:
- Streamline the prospectus disclosure requirements for primary listings, to focus on core requirements for informed decision-making, while aligning with international standards.
- Simplify the process for secondary listings by proposing a new set of prospectus disclosure requirements for offers of shares undertaken by issuers who have or are seeking a primary listing on certain overseas exchanges and are seeking a secondary listing on SGX.
- Policy proposals to provide more flexibility and scope for engaging investors in the IPO (initial public offering).
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This development follows from the first set of measures announced by the Review Group on 21 February 2025 which recommend for a more pro-enterprise approach to regulation, alongside measures to strengthen investor confidence. A summary of these measures is covered in our earlier Legal Update here.
SIC Consults on Changes to Singapore Code on Take-Overs and Mergers to Enhance Shareholders' Protection
The Securities Industry Council (“SIC“) conducted a consultation exercise on its proposals in the “Consultation Paper on Revision of the Singapore Code on Take-overs and Mergers” (“Consultation Paper“) that was issued on 5 May 2025. The consultation exercise ended on 5 June 2025.
Taking into account market developments and evolving international practices in other jurisdictions (notably, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom (“UK“)) since the Singapore Code on Take-overs and Mergers (“Code“) was last revised in 2019, the proposed amendments to the Code seek to enhance the regulation of take-overs and mergers in Singapore. The key proposals in the Consultation Paper included the following:
- prohibiting deal protection measures save in limited circumstances;
- improving certainty and timeliness in mergers and acquisitions (“M&A“) effected via schemes of arrangement;
- codifying certain practices for an offeror who has made a holding announcement;
- subsequent offer to be delayed for offeror who made “no increase” or “no extension” statements;
- enhancing disclosure of information to offerors; and
- clarifying information required for shareholders’ meetings approving frustrating actions.
The SIC’s proposals represent a welcome development in seeking to address market developments and evolving international practices in the public markets M&A space.
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Recognition of China Bankruptcy Reorganisation Proceedings under Singapore's Insolvency Regime
Singapore has established a role as a regional restructuring and insolvency hub, buoyed by a strong framework for the recognition and support of foreign proceedings. A closely-watched issue in this regard is the relationship between the insolvency and restructuring regimes of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC“) and Singapore, in light of the strong economic ties between Singapore and cross-border businesses operating from PRC and as there had been few opportunities for the Singapore courts to consider the recognition of proceedings commenced under PRC insolvency law.
In Re King & Wood Mallesons and other matters [2025] SGHC 67, the Singapore High Court issued its reported judgment for one of the first few applications for recognition and reliefs under the UNCITRAL Model Law of Cross-Border Insolvency, as adopted in Singapore by way of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (“IRDA“), in respect of insolvency proceedings commenced under Chinese insolvency law. Here, the Court granted orders recognising the PRC bankruptcy reorganisation proceedings as a “foreign main proceeding”, finding that the proceedings fulfilled the requirements under the IRDA. The Court also recognised the reorganisation administrators and granted them relief to seek information and documents relating to the companies’ property, including inquiring with the directors of the companies’ subsidiaries on the affairs and business of the subsidiaries.
The applicant administrators were represented by Sim Kwan Kiat, Ho Zi Wei, and Foung Han Peow from the Restructuring & Insolvency Practice. Ho Zi Wei successfully argued the matter before the Singapore High Court.
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MinLaw Consults on Revisions to Singapore's International Arbitration Regime, Amidst UK's Arbitration Act 2025 and India's Draft Bill
The latest edition of the Queen Mary University of London and White & Case International Arbitration Survey 2025 continued to validate Singapore’s position as a leading seat for international arbitration, sharing the title of the most popular seat with London.
A key plank of Singapore’s success is its nimbleness and efforts to keep pace with change and adopt global best practices and innovations. In this vein, Singapore’s Ministry of Law (“MinLaw“) commissioned the Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy (“SIDRA“) to conduct a study on Singapore’s international arbitration regime and the International Arbitration Act 1994 (“IAA“), leading to its report on key findings (“SIDRA Report“). Rajah & Tann was proud to have been involved in this process, with Kelvin Poon, SC (Deputy Managing Partner; Head, International Arbitration Practice) involved in the industry focus group and Louis Lau (Associate, International Arbitration Practice) as a co-author.
On 21 March 2025, MinLaw launched a public consultation titled “Public Consultation on the International Arbitration Act 1994 of Singapore” (“Consultation“) which builds on the key findings and proposals of the SIDRA Report. The Consultation seeks feedback on proposed amendments to the IAA on issues including (i) general matters such as a possible right of appeal on questions of law; (ii) matters relating to setting aside applications, such as costs and a possible requirement for leave to appeal; and (iii) matters relating to the tribunal, such as summary disposal powers.
Singapore’s prospective finetuning of the IAA comes at a time when other jurisdictions are likewise amending or preparing to amend their own arbitration regimes. On 18 February 2025, the Arbitration Act 2025 (“2025 Act“) received royal assent in the UK. Meanwhile, India held a public consultation on the draft Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2024 (“Draft Bill“), which concluded on 3 November 2024.
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Please note that whilst the information in this Update is correct to the best of our knowledge and belief at the time of writing, it is only intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter and should not be treated as a substitute for specific professional advice
