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Public Consultation on Second Part of Draft Companies (Amendment) Bill 2013

23 October 2013

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MOF AND ACRA INVITE PUBLIC FEEDBACK ON ADDITIONAL PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE COMPANIES ACT

  1. As part of the ongoing review of the Companies Act, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) invite the public to provide feedback on the second part of the draft Companies (Amendment) Bill, as well as new areas of the Companies Act under review. The public consultation exercise will run from 23 October to 19 November 2013.

Background

  1. We had sought public feedback on the first part of the draft Companies (Amendment) Bill in May 2013[1]. That draft Bill set out the proposed legislative amendments to the Companies Act which arose from recommendations made by the Steering Committee for the Review of the Companies Act (‘Steering Committee’) and which were accepted by MOF on 3 October 2012[2]. We are currently evaluating the feedback received.

Part Two of the Draft Companies (Amendment) Bill

  1. We would like to seek public feedback on the second part of the draft Companies (Amendment) Bill, which covers legislative amendments relating to:

  2. Legislative amendments relating to foreign companies

  3. From June to October 2011, we conducted a public consultation on 40 recommendations[3] relating to the regulatory framework for foreign companies. After considering the public feedback received, we agree to retain 32 recommendations, modify seven and drop one recommendation. A report setting out a summary of the feedback received and our response is available at Annex A. Of the recommendations to be implemented, two key ones are to:

    The proposed changes are reflected in the draft Bill.

  4. Legislative amendments to other aspects of the Companies Act

  5. We also propose other legislative amendments to simplify filing and regulatory processes, and enhance the ability of the Registrar of Companies to hold non-compliant companies, directors and company secretaries more accountable. Changes are also proposed to update and clarify existing provisions. Some key changes include:

  6. Highlights of key proposed changes relating to foreign companies and other aspects of the Companies Act are at Annex B. A table setting out all the changes in part two of the Companies (Amendment) Bill is at Annex C. The second part of the draft Companies (Amendment) Bill is at Annex D. Both parts of the draft Bill will eventually be consolidated into a single document.

New Areas under Review

  1. We would also like to seek public feedback on three new areas (details are at Annex E):

Public Consultation Details

  1. The public can access the consultation documents on MOF’s website (www.mof.gov.sg), ACRA’s website (www.acra.gov.sg) and the REACH consultation portal (www.reach.gov.sg). Written comments can be submitted to:

    Ministry of Finance
    Economic Programmes Directorate
    100 High Street
    #10-01, The Treasury
    Singapore 179464

    Fax: 6337 4134
    Email: mof_pccompaniesact@mof.gov.sg (preferred mode)

  2. We will publish a summary of the comments received together with our responses by early 2014. The summary will not disclose the identity of respondents, and will not separately address or acknowledge every comment received.

Documents for Download

Annex A: Summary of the feedback received from the public consultation on foreign companies and our response (pdf doc[resource:153:92280]word doc)

Annex B: Highlights of key proposed changes relating to foreign companies and other aspects of the Companies Act (pdf doc[resource:153:92280]word doc)

Annex C: Table of proposed changes in part two of the draft Companies (Amendment) Bill (pdf doc[resource:153:92280]word doc)

Annex D: Part two of the draft Companies (Amendment) Bill (pdf doc)

Annex E: New areas under review (pdf doc[resource:153:92280]word doc)

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[1] The first part of the draft Bill is available at PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON DRAFT ACRA (AMENDMENT) BILL 2013.

[2] A copy of the report setting out MOF’s responses to the Steering Committee’s recommendations can be downloaded at Annex A.

[3] The recommendations had been developed by ACRA with input from a working group that was appointed by the Steering Committee to study company administration issues, including the regulation of foreign companies in Singapore.

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