Originally from Handbook on Third-Party Funding in International Arbitration, Second Edition

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PART I.  THE THIRD-PARTY FUNDING LANDSCAPE

1.  The TPF market in Singapore

1.1.  Please shortly describe the TPF market in your Jurisdiction.

Being a key dispute resolution centre in the Southeast Asian region that handles a significant volume of commercial litigation and arbitration, it stands to reason that Singapore is a perfect beachhead for funders to build a robust business. This sentiment was formally reciprocated in 2017, with Singapore being one of the first jurisdictions in Asia to permit TPF in international arbitration and related court and mediation proceedings. This development was met with a positive response from both funders and the business, legal, and arbitration communities, and has led to more funders establishing an active presence in Singapore. This has also led to local and international firms as well as specialist litigation boutiques actively seeking to recommend TPF to their clients where appropriate.

The positive reception to the introduction of TPF, coupled with Singapore’s goal to continue modernising its commercial dispute landscape, prompted the Ministry of Law to conduct a second round of public consultation in 2018, with responders supporting the extension of the TPF framework to more categories of proceedings. In 2021, the scope of the relevant TPF regulations was extended to include domestic arbitration proceedings, domestic arbitration court-related proceedings, proceedings before the Singapore International Commercial Court (“SICC”), appeal proceedings from the SICC, and mediation proceedings. These changes have been touted as benefitting Singapore’s legal community by strengthening the country’s position as an international commercial dispute resolution hub.