Bankruptcy Regime to be Administered by Private Trustees in Bankruptcy

As part of the reform of Singapore’s bankruptcy and insolvency laws, the personal bankruptcy regime has been moving towards administration by Private Trustees in Bankruptcy (“PTIBs“) instead of by the Official Assignee (“OA“). The Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution (Amendment) Bill (“Bill“), which was passed in Parliament on 9 January 2023, introduces amendments to mandate that all bankruptcy cases be administered by PTIBs, except those which the OA decides to administer for public interest reasons. To support the shift, the Bill also introduces amendments to improve operational flexibility in determining PTIBs’ remuneration.

The Bill also contains miscellaneous amendments that seek to: (a) enhance protection of persons dealing with bankrupts in commercial transactions; and (b) extend the Simplified Insolvency Programme for a further two years to 28 January 2026.

This Update highlights the key features of the Bill and the main amendments which will be effected.