Most Recent Articles
Hong Kong Update: Supervising clients’ investments – Can“high-level supervisory role” of trustees be limited?
Reading Time: 4 minutesIn certain banking arrangements in which investments are made in relation to a trust, a fiduciary relationship may arise when the bank or its affiliates act as a corporate trustee of a trust or a director of a company customer. A party may be regarded as a fiduciary if it owes an obligation to act […]
The Court of Appeal clarifies the nature and standard of proof of Market Misconduct Tribunal proceedings in Hong Kong
Reading Time: 4 minutesIn Securities and Futures Commission v Cheng Chak Ngok and Another (CACV 95/2017, 10 September 2018), the Securities and Futures Commission (the “SFC”) appealed against the decision of the Market Misconduct Tribunal (the “MMT”) that Mr Cheng Chak Ngok (“Mr Cheng”) had not engaged in insider dealing in the shares of China Gas Holdings Limited (“China Gas”). […]
SMU Lexicon: Reservations about the Value of Reserved Elections
Reading Time: 19 minutesIntroduction At a press conference on 9 August 1965, moments after Singapore gained independence, then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew proclaimed, “This is not a Malay nation; this is not a Chinese nation; this is not an Indian nation. Everybody will have his place.”[1] This statement set the stage for Singapore’s development as a multiracial […]
SMU Lexicon: Recognising the duty to cooperate in international commercial contracts
Reading Time: 15 minutesIntroduction The duty of contracting parties to cooperate in the performance of commercial contracts is at once both intuitive and utterly foreign. On the one hand, all commercial relationships require a degree of trust, and a party may reasonably expect that the other is committed to working together to carry out their bargain.[1] This applies […]
Thailand Tax Alert: New Law on Transfer Pricing
Reading Time: 2 minutesOn 22 November 2018, the Thai Revenue Department (TRD) took another significant step towards tightening its transfer pricing compliance and enforcement regime with the release of “the Additional Revision of the Thai Revenue Code No.47 (TRC47)”. Over the past five years, based on the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) initiatives of the OECD, many jurisdictions […]
Living Organ Donation in Singapore
Reading Time: 6 minutesWhat do you need to know if you want to donate your organ? Compared to other countries, Singapore has a fairly low combined organ transplant rate Last year, the Ministry of Health revealed that the national public education campaign on organ donation, “Live On” – which was first launched in 2008 – appeared to have […]
Myanmar Legal Alert: The Myanmar Companies Law, Changes Related Party Transaction Landscape
Reading Time: 6 minutesThe Myanmar Companies Law (“MCL”), with a view to promote corporate governance and transparency has defined related parties and come up with compliance requirements for related party transactions which is one of the distinct features of the new law. The changes which have been introduced to the MCL affects the general financing between related parties […]
The Court of Final Appeal’s ruling on the right to dependent visas for same-sex couples in Hong Kong
Reading Time: 4 minutesIntroduction In our October 2017 newsletter, we discussed the judgment of the Court of Appeal (the “CA”) in QT v Director of Immigration CACV 117/2016, where the decision of the Court of First Instance (the “CFI”) was reversed and the CA held that the Director of Immigration’s refusal to grant dependant visa to an expatriate in a same-sex […]
Sale of Food in Singapore – What do you know?
Reading Time: 8 minutesIn March 2018, an outbreak of Cantaloupe-listeria bacteria affected many rock melons imported into Singapore from Australia, and this resulted in a recall of the affected Australian rock melons. It was surprising that these affected rock melons had bypassed the rigorous system of agricultural checks in Australia, which had been commended by Singapore in August […]
Philippine Legal Alert: National Privacy Commission Rules of Procedure – Advisory Opinions & Guidelines on Compliance Checks
Reading Time: 2 minutesADVISORY OPINIONS The National Privacy Commission (“NPC”) issued NPC Circular No. 18-01 dated 10 September 2018 which provides the rules of procedure on requests for advisory opinions on matters relating to data privacy or data protection. The Circular mandates that requests for advisory opinions be commenced by a letter request addressed to the Privacy Commissioner and Chairman. […]
Employment Claims Tribunals to hear wrongful dismissal and salary-related claims from April 2019
Reading Time: 6 minutesThe story In 60 Seconds Proposed amendments to the Employment Act (“EA“) include the enhancement of the existing employment dispute resolution framework. This includes empowering the Employment Claims Tribunal (“ECT“) to adjudicate wrongful dismissal claims, in addition to salary-related disputes, with effect from 1 April 2019. Read with other tabled changes to the EA, the […]
Changes to the Employment Act (2018 and beyond): What you need to know
Reading Time: 5 minutesThe Employment Act (EA) is Singapore’s main labour law which provides the basic terms and working conditions for all employee. On 5th March this year, the Ministry of Manpower announced plans to expand the fundamental coverage of the EA. This was a response to a fast-changing workforce where the number of PMETs (professionals, managers, executives […]
Personal
SMU Lexicon: A Non-parent’s Maintenance Obligation
Reading Time: 7 minutesIntroduction Imagine you marry someone with a child from a prior relationship. Initially, you do not mind caring for this child. Then, your marriage sours and you no longer want anything to do with your spouse or the child. However, can your initial conduct of caring for the child unknowingly saddle you with a legal […]
Business
Singapore’s latest push as a restructuring and insolvency hub – Amendments to SICC rules
Reading Time: 3 minutesSingapore has earned a budding reputation as a hub for debt restructuring and insolvency in Asia, with its transparent legal system and judicial expertise. This growth can also be attributed to enduring efforts to innovate and reform. To enhance Singapore as a forum of choice in international restructuring and insolvency proceedings, the Rules of Court […]
Most Common and Confusing Legal Words (Legalese) Explained Simply 
Pornography: How Legal is it in Singapore? 
What’s the difference between advocates, solicitors, barristers, counsels, notaries, lawyers and att... 
What constitutes acceptance of a contract? 
Can WhatsApp messages be used in court in Singapore? -
A Summary of “The Rule Of Law” by Tom Bingham: Part 1 
Breaking your rental lease early in Singapore - Hard-selling of beauty services and treatments gone wrong? Here’s how you can get your refund.
“Traditional” vs. “Design and Build” Contracts: What’s the Difference? 
A Guide to Sub-Contracts in the Building and Construction Industry
