As we previously reported, the amendments made to the Singapore Companies Act (Companies Act) are part of Singapore’s efforts to become a hub for the restructuring of troubled companies in Asia.  This is the first in a series of articles that will explore in more detail some of the key changes that Singapore made to its restructuring regime, which now blends aspects of a UK scheme of arrangement with US chapter 11 concepts.  

The Singapore Companies (Amendment) Act 2017 (“Act“)^[1], which came into force on 23 May 2017, introduced significant new legislative tools to rescue distressed companies and significantly enhanced Singapore’s schemes of arrangement and judicial management processes.

The Act also introduced into Singapore law the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross Border Insolvency (“Model Law”) facilitating the recognition of cross border insolvency processes in Singapore.