Conference on Comparative Enforcement of Corporate and Securities Laws in Asia

In partnership with the Singapore Academy of Law, SMU’s School of Law and Centre for Cross-Border Commercial Law in Asia (CEBCLA) organised a conference on comparative enforcement of corporate and securities laws in Asia on 17 and 18 July 2014. With a focus on publicly listed entities, the conference aimed to examine the types of regulatory strategies suitable for enforcement in Asian economies, and the challenges thereof.

Leading academics, regulators and practitioners from the field of enforcement of corporate and securities law in Asian economies convened at the conference, which comprised six panel sessions that explored the regulation of securities offerings (including initial public offerings), market misconduct, continuous disclosure obligations, as well as mergers and acquisitions of publicly listed companies. The sessions also covered issues such as shareholders' derivative actions and insolvency litigation, the role of directors as gatekeepers and corporate governance, and the challenges in dealing with related party transactions or transactions with controlling shareholders.

The keynote speakers were Honourable Judicial Commissioner Lee Kim Shin from the Supreme Court of Singapore, and Professor Ian Ramsay of Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne. The Convenor of the conference was SMU’s Associate Professor Wan Wai Yee. Academics from nine leading law schools from Singapore, China, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan presented 17 papers on the regulatory frameworks of securities regulation and corporate governance. Among them were the following faculty members who represented SMU:

• Assistant Professor Denise Wong on the use of the civil process in tackling modern market misconduct
• Associate Professor Wan Wai Yee on the relationship between the Singapore Code on Takeovers and common law
• Associate Professor Pearlie Koh on the statutory derivative action in Singapore
• Assistant Professor Jeremy Leong on the issue of professional fees of insolvency practitioners in Singapore
• Assistant Professor Christopher Chen on the use of the Securities and Futures Investors Protection Centre in Taiwan
• Associate Professor Lee Pey Woan as one of the panellists

An international panel of regulators, eminent practitioners and senior academics were present to provide commentaries to each presentation. A number of central themes ran through the panel sessions. Firstly, various Asian jurisdictions were noted to have similar issues in enforcing corporate law and securities regulation, whether domestically or across borders. Secondly, there was much divergence in respect of how those jurisdictions dealt with such issues. Thirdly, solutions to these issues could be broadened to include the adoption of both public and private enforcement, such as the use of civil penalty measures and quasi-public bodies to bring about litigation. 

Held at the Supreme Court Auditorium, the event marked the first conference organised by CEBCLA, which was set up by SMU’s School of Law in May 2014 to promote rigorous, informed and significant research in commercial law in Asia. The conference elicited lively participation from the 140-strong audience, most of whom were lawyers in private practice, legal service, in-house counsel and regulators. By involving academics and practitioners (including regulators), the event provided an important platform for constructive dialogue to move forward practical solutions.

Back to Research@SMU Issue 16 (Jul 2014)