ACCA/ICPAS Executive Power Lunch: Companies Amalgamation

The amalgamation procedures under sections 215A-J Companies Act (Cap 50) came into effect on 30 June 2006 and is modelled on New Zealand legislation. These new procedures permit two or more Singapore companies to be amalgamated as one and does not require the sanction of the Singapore High Court. It provides a new method for the practice of mergers and acquisition and corporate re-structuring in Singapore. The discussion will involve a comparison of the new rules with other existing methods of merger of businesses, in particular with the old rules of amalgamation under section 210-212 Companies Act. This will be followed by a detailed discussion of the requirements for short-form and standard form amalgamation under the new rules. The discussion will end by looking at some of the tax problems and other practical issues accompanying this new procedures.