The Ministry of Law Singapore (MinLaw) has launched a public consultation seeking feedback on the International Arbitration Act 1994 (IAA) and Singapore's international arbitration regime. The consultation, running until 2 May 2025, follows a commissioned study by the Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy (SIDRA) and focuses on setting aside applications and post-award scenarios. The review aims to update the IAA, which incorporates the UNCITRAL Model Law, to maintain Singapore's position as an international arbitration hub.

Singapore's Ministry of Law (MinLaw) announced that ten Singaporean and Chinese dispute resolution organisations signed a Joint Declaration on Co-operation in Promoting International Commercial Dispute Resolution. The declaration commits the parties to deepening co-operation in advancing international commercial dispute resolution mechanisms and promotes increased accessibility to dispute resolution options for businesses.

Singapore Courts has released a joint statement with Bahrain to announce the establishment of a new Bahrain International Commercial Court (BICC) and a designated body which will hear appeals from the BICC in Singapore. The Bilateral Treaty was signed at a virtual ceremony by Singapore’s Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law, Shanmugam SC, and Bahrain’s Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Waqf H.E. Nawaf bin Mohamed AlMouada. The Treaty follows another milestone event where the Singapore and Bahrain judiciaries signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation and Memorandum of Guidance as to the Enforcement of Money Judgements in May 2023.

This table summarises all completed investigations by Singapore’s competition authority (the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore—the CCCS) into alleged cartels, anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominant positions since 2018. Note—only investigations that have been made public are included in this table. 2025 Investigations under section 34 of the Competition Act Case name, companies under investigation and industry Issues Developments Remittance services• ZGR Global• Hanshan Restrictive agreement—information exchange • Infringement decision issued—31/07/2025; fines totalling $5.36m imposed Contracting• Trust-Build Engineering & Construction Pte. Ltd• Hunan Fengtian Construction Group Co. Ltd Restrictive agreement—bid rigging • Infringement decision issued—23/05/2025; fines totalling $4.6m imposed Investigations under section 47 of the Competition Act Case name, companies under investigation and industry Issues Developments The CCCS has not yet issued any decisions under section 47 in 2025 2024 Investigations under section 34 of the Competition Act Case name, companies under investigation and industry Issues Developments Remittance services• ZGR Global Pte Ltd• Hanshan Money

Arbitration analysis: In an important decision, the Singapore High Court confirmed that an interim award made by an emergency arbitrator in a foreign seated arbitration was, in principle, enforceable in Singapore. The court held that such an interim award could meet the definition of a ‘foreign award’ under the International Arbitration Act (Ch 143A) (IAA) and therefore could be enforced. However, on this occasion the court refused to enforce the interim award on natural justice grounds after finding that the award debtor had been unable to present its case in the arbitration proceedings. Written by Ben Bury, partner and Julie-Anne Mallis, senior associate at HFW.

Arbitration analysis: In the Singapore High Court, Judith Prakash J considered an application to set aside the court’s previous decision to enforce an arbitral award and order an injunction in respect of certain property. The court considered the test of what did and did not fall within the remit of the arbitration under article 34(2)(a)(iii) of the UNCITRAL Model Law but, on the facts, dismissed the applications.

Arbitration analysis: Following on from the Singapore Court of Appeal’s decision in International Research Corp PLC v Lufthansa Systems Asia Pacific Pte Ltd [2014] 1 SLR 130, the Singapore International Commercial Court (‘SICC’) considered multi-tier jurisdictional clauses in the context of jurisdictional challenges for non-compliance with steps leading up to arbitration. In CZQ v CZS, the SICC confirmed that in order for compliance with amicable settlement clauses (and other steps leading up to arbitration) to operate as conditions precedent to the commencement of arbitration, clear words must be used in the dispute resolution provisions signaling the parties’ intent that such steps operate as conditions precedent. Written by Nathaniel Lai, independent advocate and Counsel at Duxton Hill Chambers.

Arbitration analysis; The Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) dismissed an EU Member State's application to set aside an Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) award, comprehensively rejecting the ‘intra-EU objection’—that investor-State arbitration between European Union (EU) parties is invalid following the decisions of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) in Slovak Republic v Achmea BV (Achmea) and Republic of Moldova v Komstroy (Komstroy). The court held that EU law principles of autonomy and primacy operate only within the EU legal order, not on the broader international plane, and do not bind tribunals or courts seated outside the EU. The court further held that Article 26 ECT is governed by international law and remains valid for intra-EU disputes in non-EU seated arbitrations. This decision provides crucial clarity for practitioners advising on enforcement of intra-EU investment awards outside the EU, reinforcing that strategic seat selection can effectively circumvent intra-EU objections. It also confirms that investment treaties with their own definitions of ‘investment’ need not satisfy the Salini criteria (from Salini Costruttori S.p.A. v Kingdom of Morocco, ICSID Case No ARB/00/4), and reaffirms Singapore's narrow approach to public policy challenges. Written by Colin Liew, director, Head of International Litigation at Providence Law Asia LLC.

Law360, London: A Singapore court has denied Spain's application on the basis of sovereign immunity to escape litigation to enforce a €290m arbitral award issued to renewable energy investor NextEra, saying the country agreed to arbitrate the dispute when it joined the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (ICSID Convention).

Arbitration analysis: Shaun Lee, counsel at Bird & Bird ATMD, examines the Singapore High Court’s decision in BVU v BVX that an arbitration award would not be set aside on the basis of public policy or fraud simply because the successful party had failed to call certain witnesses or to disclose certain internal documents. The court also refused to countenance the use of subpoenas by the unsuccessful party to obtain documents as a means to relitigate the merits of the dispute.

NOTE—to see whether merger notification thresholds in Singapore and throughout the world are met, see further: Where to Notify. 1. Have there been any recent developments regarding the Singapore merger control regime and are there any updates/developments expected in the coming year? Are there any other ‘hot’ merger control issues in Singapore? The merger regime under the Competition Act 2004 (Competition Act 2004) came into force in 2007. Since the start of the regime, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (which, as of 25 September 2025, has been rebranded as the CCS) has received over 110 merger notifications, of which the CCS has progressed (or publicly considered progressing) to a Phase 2 review for complex mergers for 22 of these notifications (ie around one in every five mergers reviewed move to a Phase 2 review); six were granted conditional clearance subject to commitments, and eight were withdrawn by the merging parties as of May 2024. The CCS’s merger notification regime is a risk-based voluntary regime, in which merging parties are required to conduct a self-assessment

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Department for Business and Trade have announced that Singapore has formally approved the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), making it the second member to do so following Japan's approval in 2023. The accession will enhance the UK-Singapore bilateral relationship, providing opportunities to strengthen participation in supply chains, diversify trade, boost investment into the UK and Singapore's economies and collaborate on shared priorities. The UK has now introduced the Trade CPTPP Bill in parliament to bring the deal into force. The Bill is expected to come into force in the second half of 2024 once the UK and CPTPP Parties have finished their legislative processes.