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Ministry of Finance (MOF)
Parliamentary Replies

Data on Undischarged Bankrupts Listed as Directors of Live Companies and Official Assignee Notification to ACRA

4 November 2026

Topics

ACRA

Parliamentary Question by Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat:

To ask the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) how many of the 11,642 undischarged bankrupts as at end-August 2026 are listed as directors of live companies; (b) how many of them have obtained permission under section 148 of the Companies Act 1967 to act as a director; and (c) whether the Official Assignee will notify ACRA of each bankruptcy order, as how ICA provides its records to ACRA.

Parliamentary Reply by Second Minister for Finance, Mr Jeffrey Siow:

When a person is made a bankrupt, he is disqualified from acting as a director under s148 of the Companies Act. However, under the law the order of bankruptcy does not automatically terminate an individual’s existing directorships. Disqualified directors are required to inform their companies of their status, and the company may decide if it wishes to withdraw or replace the director. Nevertheless, such individuals who remain as directors are not allowed to manage the companies or take actions in their capacity as directors while they remain an undischarged bankrupt.

As of 31 August 2026, around 1,700 of the 11,642 undischarged bankrupts were listed in the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority’s (ACRA) records as company directors of live companies.

14 of the 11,642 bankrupts had been granted permission by the Official Assignee under section 148 of the Companies Act 1967 to act as company directors, and in all these cases, the permission had lapsed before 31 August 2026.

Bankruptcy orders are transmitted from the Ministry of Law’s Insolvency and Public Trustee’s Office to ACRA through an automated interface. Information on the disqualification status of such directors is reflected in the company’s register of directors maintained by the Registrar of Companies and ACRA’s information products such as the company’s Business Profile and the individual’s People Profile which are publicly accessible.