Foo Mee Har on Significant Investments Review Bill

As the global economic and political landscape becomes increasingly volatile, it is timely to further tighten oversight of critical entities that are crucial to the proper functioning of the economy, said MP Foo Mee Har. Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday (Jan 9), she said the Significant Investments Review Bill will align Singapore with numerous countries globally that have strengthened their investment management legislation. She stressed the need to balance preserving an appropriate level of regulatory discretion to address national interests and national security challenges, whilst ensuring an acceptable level of certainty and predictability to investors. She highlighted three crucial aspects - predictability, transparency and administrative efficiency - as key to effective implementation. It is of utmost importance that the provisions in the Bill adopt a balanced rules-based approach with a predictable screening process and minimum bureaucracy. The Bill should also be aligned with international best practices and standards, focus on high-risk entities and never over-extend its regime. Ms Foo noted that Singapore boasts an exemplary track record of administrative efficiency. She hopes the Government will maintain this standard of efficiency in the implementation of the Bill.