On 6 April 2026, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) issued Practice Direction No. 1 of 2026 on External Private Capital Arrangements in Accounting Entities. This is the first time ACRA has issued formal regulatory guidance specifically addressing private equity (PE), venture capital (VC), and family office investment into Singapore's accounting and audit firms. [...]
A statutory derivative action under Section 216A of the Companies Act 1967 is one of the most powerful remedies available under Singapore company law. It allows a complainant to bring court proceedings on behalf of a company — typically to recover assets misappropriated by directors or to pursue claims that the company's board has wrongly [...]
Singapore is one of the most e-commerce-friendly jurisdictions in Asia — a stable legal system, high digital penetration, excellent logistics infrastructure, and no capital gains tax. But running an e-commerce business in Singapore comes with a specific set of tax and compliance obligations that many founders underestimate, particularly around GST, corporate tax, cross-border sales, and [...]
Singapore offers one of the world's most generous ecosystems of government grants for businesses. The challenge most business owners face is not finding a grant — it is figuring out how to use multiple grants together without violating the rules. Done correctly, grant stacking can dramatically reduce the net cost of business transformation, technology adoption, [...]
Drag-along rights are one of the most commercially important clauses in any Singapore shareholders' agreement — and one of the most frequently misunderstood. For majority shareholders and investors, they are an essential tool to ensure that a company sale can proceed without being held hostage by a dissenting minority. For minority shareholders, they are a [...]
The Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025 (CALA 2025) is Singapore's most significant overhaul of director accountability in more than a decade. Its first tranche of provisions commenced on 6 May 2026, and the changes are both immediate and material. Maximum fines for director breaches have quadrupled. New automatic disqualification grounds have been added. [...]
Singapore's audit exemption framework has been under formal review since early 2026 — and the outcome could meaningfully affect thousands of small and medium-sized companies across the island. ACRA opened targeted industry consultations in March 2026, with the feedback period closing on 17 April 2026. As of the date of publication, ACRA has not yet [...]
Share buybacks are a well-established corporate tool in Singapore, allowing companies to return surplus capital to shareholders, manage share capital, and create treasury shares for future employee incentive plans. But not all share buybacks are the same — and the Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025 (CALA 2025), which commenced on 6 May 2026, [...]
In February 2026, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) announced that it is reviewing Singapore's audit exemption framework — the first such review since the thresholds were set in 2015. Targeted industry consultations closed on 17 April 2026, and ACRA is expected to publish its response in the second half of 2026. But the [...]
The Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025 (CALA 2025) commenced its first tranche of changes on 6 May 2026. For Singapore company directors, the message is clear: the era of passive or perfunctory board involvement is over. Director fines have quadrupled. Disqualification grounds have expanded. Audit accountability has sharpened. And corporate service providers must [...]