Not to be outdone by Hong Kong, which last month saw its Law Reform Commission pave the way for third-party funding in arbitration, Singapore today joined countries around the world in endorsing third-party funding.
In fact, Singapore has leapfrogged Hong Kong, and submitted today a bill to Parliament for approval that would permit third-party funding in arbitration and laid the groundwork for further expansions. In doing so, Singapore recognized that third party funding is “a feature in major arbitration centres around the world” and that allowing it would help to “consolidate Singapore’s position as a key seat of arbitration in Asia”.
It’s not surprising that Singapore has taken this step forward–its prior position was out of step. But it says something about how dramatic the impact of litigation finance has become that a significant dispute resolution center now is willing to say publicly that it needs to have third party funding available to be a major player in global arbitration.
