The IRDA (together with its 48 pieces of subsidiary legislation) was implemented on 30 July 2020. Thisimplementation marks the culmination of a series of phased reforms for the insolvency and restructuringregime in Singapore, which began in 2013.

In this regard, the IRDA seeks to:

(a) consolidate personal and corporate insolvency laws (previously separately governed under theBankruptcy Act and the Companies Act respectively) into a single piece of legislation;

(b) enhance the current insolvency and debt restructuring frameworks; and

(c) establish a new licensing and regulatory regime for insolvency practitioners.

We set out some key features of the IRDA relating to personal and corporate insolvency, and examinewhat these features mean for the relevant stakeholders (i.e. creditors, debtors, and businesses).

On the international front, the IRDA is intended to enhance Singapore’s effectiveness in facilitatinginternational debt restructuring. In doing so, strengthening Singapore as an international hub for debtrestructuring. On the home front, the IRDA would be beneficial for troubled businesses, by flatteningthe insolvency curve and incentivising out of court restructurings.

Whether by design or by coincidence, businesses and individuals alike look set to rely on, and benefitfrom, the full measure of Singapore's reformed insolvency and restructuring regime.

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