Law Commons^™

The Future Of The International Financial System: The Emerging Cbdc Network And Its Impact On Regulation, Heng Wang, Simin Gao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Central bank digital currency (CBDC) is a digital form of fiat currency. CBDC has the potential to be a game challenger in the international financial system, bringing increased complexities arising from technology and regulatory considerations, as well as generating greater currency competition. As more states begin exploring CBDC, the interactions between actors may lead to the emergence of a new CBDC network. What shape would the emerging CBDC network take? What would its network effects be? What would be the impact of the CBDC network on the international financial system, or the global financial network? This article explores these questions …

Tax Events In The Life Cycle Of Digital Tokens, Vincent Ooi

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Digital tokens, or crypto assets, are digital financial assets based on distributed ledger technology. They come in a considerable variety of forms and have been used in a large number of different ways. Yet, relatively few tax laws of any jurisdiction mention digital tokens specifically. It is therefore necessary to consider how orthodox tax rules can be applied to transactions involving digital tokens. Given the broad range of forms which digital tokens and transactions involving them can take, this may appear to be a daunting task. A framework providing a rough guide on how to navigate this somewhat new area …

Virtual Worlds, Real Money: Tax Issues In The Metaverse, Vincent Ooi, Daryl Loy

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

When it comes to the tax world, the starting point is that international tax law does not currently give any special status to a meta realm as a distinct jurisdiction. The metaverse is not a term of art recognised by tax law. However, what we are likely to see is a change in business models and behavioural patterns, leading to different kinds of taxable events becoming either more or less prominent. Tax law may not inevitably change but the tax issues of the day will.In this article, we highlight three broad business models that are likely to feature prominently in …

Finding A Rule-Based Solution To The Appellate Body Crisis: Looking Beyond The Multiparty Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement, Henry S. Gao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The WTO dispute settlement system is in crisis due to the persistent blockage of the appointment of Appellate Body members by the United States. This paper reviews the US criticisms against the Appellate Body and argues that its allegations are unfounded and its approach is wrong. To deal with the US blockage, various proposals have been made, with the most popular being the Multiparty Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA) set up by several key Members including the European Union and China. After a thorough analysis of the key features of the MPIA from both theoretical and practical perspectives, this paper …

Adapting Taxation For The Digital Economy In Singapore, Vincent Ooi

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The advent of the digital economy has had profound implications for taxation. Tax systems have been forced to adapt as they become increasingly unsuited for the realities of modern commerce. While Singapore has largely followed international developments, particularly in the area of international taxation, it has often made numerous innovative policy decisions in line with its national interests. The various policy decisions which Singapore has made on taxing the digital economy span both international and domestic tax. In the area of domestic tax, the examples have been further divided by subject matter, like e-commerce, digital tokens, automation, and electronic instruments. …

The Inefficiency Of Quasi-Per Se Rules: Regulating Information Exchange In Eu And U.S. Antitrust Law, Kenneth Khoo, Jerrold Tsin Howe Soh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

It is well understood that the exchange of information between horizontal competitors can violate competition law provisions in both the European Union (EU) and the United States, namely, article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and section 1 of the Sherman Act. However, despite ostensible similarities between EU and U.S. antitrust law concerning interfirm information exchange, substantial differences remain. In this article, we make a normative argument for the U.S. antitrust regime's approach, on the basis that the United States’ approach to information exchange is likely to be more efficient than the relevant approach under …

What Do Chinese Clients Want?, Ji Li, Wei Zhang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The world’s two largest economies are locked in an escalating trade war, and caught in the crossfire are hundreds of Chinese multinational companies (MNCs) that have made substantial U.S. investments. Facing heightened legal risks in a less hospitable environment, the Chinese MNCs increasingly depend on local lawyers. Yet, their purchase of U.S. legal service, a topic of both practical and theoretical importance, has received little attention. To fill the gap, this article empirically investigates how Chinese companies in the United States select their U.S. legal counsel. By analyzing a unique dataset, the article finds that Chinese MNC managers uniformly prioritize …

Singapore Company Law And The Economy: Reciprocal Influence Over 50 Years, Vincent Ooi, Cheng Han Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

A strong reciprocal relationship has existed between Singapore Company Law (SCL) and the economy since Independence in 1965. Swift Parliamentary responses to economic events and successful implementation of Government policies has made it possible to clearly attribute cause and effect to statutory amendments and economic events in turn, proving the reciprocal relationship between the two. The first theme of this article seeks to explain the fundamental characteristics of SCL that have resulted in such an unusually strong reciprocal relationship: (1) Autochthonous nature of SCL; (2) Responsive nature of legislation; and (3) Government control at multiple levels of implementation. The second …

The Dark Side Of Implementing Basel Capital Requirements: Theory, Evidence, And Policy, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez, Nydia Remolina

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Most financial systems around the world have imposed new capital requirements for banks in the past years. This policy seems to be justified on two powerful economic grounds. First, better capitalized banks promote financial stability by reducing banks’ incentives to take risks and increasing banks’ buffers against losses. Second, lack of compliance with a set of rules established by the Basel Committee may harm confidence on a country’s financial system. While acknowledging these potential benefits, this paper makes the often overlooked point that the full implementation of Basel capital requirements may be socially undesirable for poorer countries seeking to develop …

Against Populist Isolationism: New Asian Regionalism And Global South Powers In International Economic Law, Pasha L. Hsieh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article provides the most up-to-date examination of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which is poised to become the world’s largest free trade agreement (FTA). It argues that the 16-country mega-FTA will galvanize the paradigm shift in Asian regionalism and build a normative foundation for the Global South in international economic law. Based on intertwined theoretical and substantive claims, this article opens an inquiry into the assertive legalism of developing nations in the new regional economic order. It further manifests the pivotal force of emerging economies against populist isolationism in the Trump era that undermines the neoliberal foundation of …

Regulatory Reform In China And The Eu: A Law And Economics Perspective, Han-Wei Liu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Edited by Stefan E. Weishaar, Niels Philipsen and Wenming Xu, this volume is an output of collaborative efforts that bring together a group of both established and emerging law and economics scholars from China and the European Union (EU). The volume makes a timely contribution to existing scholarship in several crucial ways. First, although this collection originated from a series of conferences held between 2012 and 2015, many of the debates engaged in by contributors, and in particular the overarching theme of this book, turn on the role of the Chinese government in directing the behaviour of market participants at …

Re-Examining The Law And Economics Of The Business Judgment Rule: Notes For Its Implementation In Non-Us Jurisdictions, Aurelio Gurrea-Martinez

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The business judgment rule, as it has been traditionally understood, seems to be based on three underlying assumptions that make this rule economically desirable. First, directors are subject to a credible threat of being sued for a breach of the duty of care. Second, the primary role of the corporation is to maximise shareholder value. Third, shareholders want the directors to pursue those investment projects with the highest net present value regardless of their volatility. This article challenges these assumptions and argues that the business judgment rule might not be desirable in some jurisdictions outside the United States and even …

The Role And Future Of Sovereign Wealth Funds: A Trade And Investment Perspective, Locknie Hsu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Sovereign wealth funds ("SWFs") have been greeted with bothenthusiasm and suspicion. In one respect, they have been called "white knights," where they step in to inject financing to troubledentities.' In others, they have been called "Trojan horses" and"chameleons."

Weak Law V Strong Ties: An Empirical Study Of Business Investment, Law And Political Connections In China, Wei Zhang, Ji Li

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Based on a large-scale survey of Chinese entrepreneurs, our study explores how institutions (formal and informal) influence investment decisions made by private companies. The study finds that, consistent with the conventional view, a more effective legal system is correlated with short-term general investment, and that the judiciary is important mainly because of its restraint over the state. The role of effective courts, however, diminishes when private entrepreneurs consider making long-term investment. We find a positive association between the entrepreneurs’ political backgrounds and their R&D investment, suggesting that Chinese courts, in spite of decades of reform, are not yet viewed as …

China: Rule-Taker, Rule-Shaker Or Rule-Maker?, Singapore Management University

Research@SMU: Connecting the Dots

Despite its ascent on the world stage, Professor Henry Gao’s research shows that China may prefer to keep a low profile in global organisations.

See his papers:

• Selected issues in TPP negotiations and implications for China
• China's ascent in global trade governance: From rule taker to rule shaker and, maybe rule maker?
• Saving the WTO from the risk of irrelevance

The Potential Collapse Of The Tpp: Implications For Asean, Henry S. Gao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Asia has the most to lose in the event of a collapse of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) given the importance of trade to growth performance for the region’s economies, and that a third of the TPP members are also part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Socio-Economic Aspects Of Geographical Indications Of Origin, Irene Calboli, Daniel Gervais

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.

Balancing Short-Term Concerns, Long-Term Goals, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

To be delivered almost a month later than usual, this year’s Budget will be closely watched for Singapore’s strategy on economic growth, income redistribution, reducing societal inequality and the government’s role in seeking a national consensus on these key issues.

Compliance In The 21st Century: The Exchange Of Tax Information And The Future Of Banking Secrecy In Singapore, Wai Yee Wan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The presentation discusses the future of exchange of tax information and banking secrecy in Singapore

Sovereign Wealth Funds: Investors In Search Of An Identity In The 21st Century, Locknie Hsu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs), as they have come to be known, are a hybrid type of foreign investor. They invest beyond their own borders with an aim to maximize returns as a foreign investor is expected to. At the same time, they are closely associated with governments, by ownership, source of funding, and/or investment objectives. Even as within this group, individual SWFs take various forms and may have divergent investment priorities and risk approaches. There is not even a universal definition of SWFs. As a result, they are often not viewed as typical foreign investors. The association of a SWF …

Saving Sharks By Nudging Change, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Law and an ‘I’m FINished with FINS’ campaign ambassador Eugene Tan welcomed Parliament’s passing of the Animals and Birds (Amendment) Bill. He commented that the Bill, which seeks to enhance the welfare and responsible care of animals, is important as he felt that our treatment of non-human beings, which share the same space we do, speaks equally to what we are as a society as well as our sense of well-being and responsibility to creatures unable to protect themselves. Citing the silent, unfolding phenomenon of the declining popularity of shark’s fin soup in …

International Standards In Flux: A Balkanized Ict Standard-Setting Paradigm And Its Implications For The Wto, Han-Wei Liu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Voluminous studies have documented the rise of international standards and their ramifications for the World Trade Organization (WTO), though most of these studies have focused on environment, food safety, public health, and financial regulations issues. An equally important, yet less explored, area is the information and communications technology (ICT) industry. This article seeks to contribute to the literature by examining the concept of an international standard in the ICT industry and its implications for the WTO.Drawing upon empirical data, this article makes four claims. First, today, the WTO policymakers are facing a ‘balkanized’ standard-setting paradigm in the ICT sector. Global …

Relevance Of The Regulatory State In North/South Intersections, Mark Findlay, Si Wei Lim

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Purpose – What seems like a new social anthropology of global regulation is an endeavour much too grand for this paper, even though it has much merit. To contain the analysis which follows, the discussion of social embeddedness will be restricted to a comparison of markets which retain some local or regional integrity from those which have become largely removed from cultural or communal social bonds. An example is between markets trading in goods and services with a consumer base which is local and subsistence, and markets in derivative products that are inextricably dependent on supranational location. The paper aims …

Reassessing Apec's Role As A Trans-Regional Economic Architecture: Legal And Policy Dimensions, Pasha L. Hsieh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article examines the two-decade evolution of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the future prospects for Asian regionalism. It argues that while APEC retains advantages over competing regional structures, it should undergo reforms to accelerate the Bogor Goals and ensure its complementarity with the World Trade Organization (WTO). The article first analyzes the impact of stake-holding countries’ trade policies on APEC’s structure and development. By assessing APEC’s soft-law mechanism, it explores APEC’s WTO-plus contributions that reinvigorated the International Technology Agreement negotiations and improved supply chain facilitation. APEC’s goal of creating a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) can …

China's Rare Earths Export Quotas: Out Of The China-Raw Materials Gate, But Past The Wto's Finish Line?, Han-Wei Liu, John Maughan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Several recent studies have discussed the ramifications of the China – Raw Materials case for China's rare earths. However, none of these studies has conducted a thorough investigation of China's current export quota regime for rare earths or how it might stand up under WTO rules, assuming that it would be treated the same. This article makes no such assumption, investigating China's export quota regime for rare earths as it stands in early June 2012. The regime is somewhat improved over that applied during the Raw Materials case and could allow a more favourable WTO ruling. However, if General Agreement …

A More Economic And Cross-Jurisdiction Study On Patent Pools, Kung-Chung Liu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper traces the growing acceptance of the more economic approach to IPR and competition law in state practices, and summarizes its characteristics. It then compares how five jurisdictions weigh the IPR licensing agreements against competition law in the context of patent pools, which have become critically effective mechanism for both patent enforcement and the deployment of new technology. It further analyzes the major difference found, namely the abuse of a dominant position by patent pools, and how to look at this difference and even how to harmonize it. It then moves on to study the impact of antitrust violation …

Inward Fdi In Singapore And Its Policy Context, Locknie Hsu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Inward foreign direct investment (IFDI) has long been an important feature of the Singapore economy, and Singapore remains an attractive host to FDI. Apart from a brief decline in 2002, FDI inflows have generally been strong in the decade 2000-2010. They reached a peak in 2007 at US$ 37 billion, just before the global financial and economic crisis of 2008-2009. In 2008, inflows declined sharply to US$ 8.6 billion, before rapidly rebounding to reach US$ 38 billion in 2010. Singapore has moved from an economy primarily involved in manufacturing consumer goods in labor-intensive industries in the 1960s, to one producing …

The Roadmap For A Prospective Us-Asean Fta: Legal And Geopolitical Considerations, Pasha L. Hsieh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article examines the legal framework governing economic relations between the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and outlines a roadmap for a US-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Notwithstanding ASEAN’s emerging centrality in Asian regionalism, America remains the only Pacific power that has not concluded any form of FTA with ASEAN.This article explains that limited progress in Washington’s efforts stemmed from the domestic politics of the US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) approach and the Myanmar dilemma. It further analyses the challenges that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement negotiations have encountered and contends that the …

Investment Treaty Disputes: Ideological Fault Lines And An Evolving Zeitgeist, Locknie Hsu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The zeitgeist of the 21st century in the field of investment treaty arbitrations comprises a rise in the number of such arbitrations and accompanying observations on the unwieldy jurisprudential effects of such a rise. The international investment arbitration community is alive with discussion over these effects, which discussion includes an examination of the value of prior awards as precedents.' The existing regime based on treaty interpretation clearly provides no formal system of precedent and the 'players' (read: arbitrators) change from dispute to dispute as investment arbitration tribunals do not fall within a single, neat judicial hierarchical system. With the number …

The China-Taiwan Ecfa, Geopolitical Dimensions And Wto Law, Pasha L. Hsieh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article examines legal and geopolitical aspects of the China-Taiwan Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA). It begins by analyzing areas in which the two governments’ measures contravene rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In particular, it provides the first detailed examination of the significant implications emerging from the ECFA for cross-straits trade relations and East Asian regionalism. The article also explains how the ECFA was modeled on free trade agreements (FTAs) of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and assesses the impact of the ECFA’s early harvest program. Finally, the article discusses the ECFA’s consistency with WTO requirements for …