In a press release on 22 June, 2021 the Ministry of Law of Singapore announced that third-party funding will be permitted for more categories of legal proceedings in Singapore.

The announcement says, from 28 June 2021, the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) will extend the third-party funding (TPF) framework to cover domestic arbitration proceedings, certain proceedings in the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC), and related mediation proceedings. This offers businesses an alternative avenue to fund meritorious claims and further strengthens Singapore’s position as an international commercial dispute resolution hub, which will benefit the legal community there.

Singapore introduced third-party funding back in 2017 for international arbitration and related court and mediation proceedings. The latest change is a response to a 2018 public consultation from the Ministry of Law, as reported by ALB.

According to the 2021 international arbitration survey by the Queen Mary University of London, the city-state recently tied with London as the world’s top arbitration seat. Singapore also allows enforcement of mediated settlement agreements across countries per the Singapore Convention on Mediation signed in 2019.