TSMP Law Corporation Joint Managing Partner Stefanie Yuen Thio was quoted in a Business Times story published on 27 December 2019 on the SGX RegCo’s desire for higher standards for IPO issue managers and sponsors with special focus on interested party transactions.

She welcomed RegCo’s review, but suggested that the law should also be changed to put more enforcement power in the hands of minority shareholders.

“The regulators keep saying that retail investors should not expect the government to bail them out when corporate failures happen, and that they should arm themselves with more investor knowledge so that they invest in securities of the appropriate risk profile. All that is true. But when things go bad, such as when there are defalcations by top executives, or the board has been derelict in their duties, let’s empower minorities to go after them. They should have access to company information in order to evaluate and take legal action, and the ability to start class action lawsuits,” she said.

For her, the recent consultation paper on scrapping the minimum trading price rule signals an openness of the regulators to do a 180 degree turn when a listing rule is not working or is resulting in unforeseen negative outcomes. “That sends a strong message that the SGX is not afraid to reverse tack when it’s the best thing for the market – a mature and confident signal,” she added.