This course introduces core finance concepts tailored specifically for law students. Adopting a classical finance approach, it covers topics such as asset pricing, diversification, the Efficient Market Hypothesis, the Capital Asset Pricing Model, derivative pricing, financial intermediation, macroeconomic fundamentals, and capital structures. Additional coverage of mergers & acquisitions, corporate governance/law, and securities regulation where relevant highlights essential intersections with legal practice. By bridging the gap between law and finance, students will gain practical insights into how future clients such as investment bankers, traders, institutional investors, and other financial professionals operate.

If undertaking a Graduate Degree Coursework, then must not have completed any Courses beginning with FIN3701 at a grade of at least D/any Courses beginning with LL5554 at a grade of at least D

If undertaking a Graduate Degree Coursework, then must have completed 06 MATHEMATICS at a grade of at least E

This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the legal issues that arise in alternative investments from both a practical and theoretical perspective. The topics that will be covered include, inter alia, private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, equity crowdfunding, fintech and real estate investment trusts (REITs). The course will discuss selected issues in relation to partnership law and corporate law arising from the alternative investments. Certain topics of this course will provide relevant comparisons with alternative investments in Singapore, China, the UK, the EU and the US. It will be of interest to legal professionals in the alternative investment sector.

Tuesdays (3.00pm - 6.00pm)

NIL

NUS Compulsory Core Law Curriculum or equivalent.

The aviation industry enables over US$3.5 trillion in Global Gross Domestic Product supporting over 87.7 million jobs around the world (half of which were in Asia). Core to this industry are its tools of trade, aircraft. The aircraft financing industry (in a typical year) is a US$200-250 billion industry. The Asia Pacific region (coming out of COVID-19) continues to be the region with the most number of new aircraft deliveries over the next 20 years according both Boeing and Airbus. As such the need and demand for the financing of this massive future fleet of aircraft deliveries is going to be considerable.

The financing of aviation assets is a hyper-competitive landscape giving rise to some of the most innovative, creative and complex financing products and methods not seen in the financing of any other asset class.

LL4483/LL5483/LLJ5483/LL6483 Aviation Financing

This course offers a comprehensive introduction to the intricate legal and regulatory landscape shaping China's rapidly evolving banking and financial system. It delves into the core principles and frameworks that underpin this critical sector, equipping students with a robust understanding of its complexities. Students will examine market and regulatory structure of China's financial sector, legal framework governing commercial banks, central bank's role in systemic risk management, challenges posed by shadow banking, and implementation of macroprudential regulation. Engaging with cutting-edge scholarly debates, and real-world cases, students will develop a nuanced perspective on the legal and policy challenges confronting China's financial sector.

Commercial conflict of laws is a significant area of legal scholarship and practice. The chief aim of the course is to examine the foundational principles of commercial conflict of laws in Singapore. First, it identifies and assesses the set of rules based on which Singapore courts decide whether to entertain international commercial disputes. Second, the unit outlines the provisions based on which Singapore courts determine the law governing the parties’ cross-border disputes. Finally, the unit outlines the rules according to which courts in Singapore give effect to foreign judgments.

Not open to anyone who has done:
LL4030V/LL5030V/LL6030V/LLJ5030V; LL4030 / LL5030 /
LL6030 / LLJ5030V International Commercial Litigation;

LL4049V/LL5049V/LL6049V/LLJ5049V;
LL4049/LL5049/LL6049/LL5049 Principles of Conflict of Laws;

LL4205V/LL5205V/LL6205V/ LLJ5205V; LL4205/LL5205/
LL6205/LLJ5205 Maritime Conflict of Laws;

LL4382V/LL5382V/LL6382V/LLJ5382V; LL4382/LL5382/
LL6382/LLJ5382 Private International Law

LL4454/LL5454/LL6454/LLJ5454 Commercial Conflict of Laws at NUS Law, or a substantially similar course elsewhere

This course will focus in detail on the instances in which resort to conflict of laws is necessary in the international arbitration context. The objective of this course is to allow participants to realise on how many occasions both State courts and arbitrators will need to apply a conflict of laws analysis despite the claim that conflict of laws issues are not relevant in the international commercial arbitration context. Participants will first be taught to identify what conflict of laws rules may apply and will then be given hypothetical cases and will be asked to critically examine whether a solution can be found that does not require a conflict of laws approach.

The objective of this course is to introduce students to the legal principles that form the foundation of construction law and to the common practical problems that arise in this field. Topics will include: (a) general principles of construction law, including completion, variations, defects, retention and certification; (b) basic provisions of construction contracts; (c) claims procedure & dispute resolution, including adjudication proceedings; and (d) relevant provisions of standard form building contracts. This course will be of interest to students interested in construction practice or being exposed to a practical approach to resolving construction-related issues that arise in the local industry.

Insolvency law is relevant to virtually all aspects of commercial activity. This course consists of three major components of insolvent winding up, rescue and cross-border insolvency. For insolvent winding up, the topics include the initiation and effects of insolvent winding up, assets of the insolvent company, disclaimer, pari passu principle, proof of debts, set-off, avoidance provisions and improper trading. The topics for rescue include informal workout, receivership, judicial management and scheme of arrangement. The part on cross-border insolvency is mainly concerned with examining Singapore’s enactment of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency.

Cautionary note for students from Civil Law Jurisdictions: a background knowledge of common law subjects is assumed, including contract, tort, equity, and company law

NUS Compulsory Core Law Curriculum or common law equivalent.

The settlement of disputes arising from foreign direct investment attracts global interest and attention. Foreign investors often arbitrate their disputes with host States via an arbitration clause contained in a contract. Additionally, investment treaties also empower foreign investors to bring claims in arbitration against host State. The distinct body of law that grew into international investment law, has become one of the most prominent and rapidly evolving branches of international law. The aim of this course is to study the key developments that have taken place in the area. It deals with questions of applicable law, jurisdiction, substantive obligations, as well as award challenge and enforcement, in both investment contract arbitration and investment treaty arbitration.

This course provides an overview of Korean corporate law, tracing its civil law origins and its adaptation of U.S. governance mechanisms post-Asian Financial Crisis. Through case studies— from control succession within family generations to control contests over K-pop companies —we analyze key legal issues and resulting reforms. The course emphasizes Korea's evolving legal framework, focusing on mitigating agency costs from controlling family shareholders (chaebol) and the interaction of corporate and public law.

Class Participation - 20%
Essays - 80%

NUS Compulsory Core Law Curriculum or common law equivalent

This course deals with the principles and doctrines underpinning the formation and validity of insurance policies. It seeks to help students critically analyse and appreciate the concepts of risk management, the protection of commercial businesses assets as well as the protection of individuals against unforeseen contingencies and losses that may arise.

The topics include nature of general insurance contracts, formation of insurance contracts, peculiar insurance doctrines (such as non-disclosure, warranties and subrogation), claims procedure, doctrine of indemnity and measuring your losses; additionally, the role of Artificial Intelligence in disrupting and interfacing with orthodox insurance principles will also be considered. The techniques of successfully claiming under the policy and contesting the insurer's wrongful denial of claims will be covered ― including the critical analysis of theoretical underpinnings of the important insurance doctrines, the over-arching themes and underlying tensions in the entire sphere of insurance law.

This course will provide a practitioner's perspective on the bread and butter of any transactional practice: mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of non-listed, private companies. It will deal with the structuring of an M&A transaction (the what and why) and provide an overview of the legal basis underlying aspects of documentation (the why and how of documentation).

Many new graduates seem to be unable to see the wood for the trees. They arrive as trainees, with a reasonable grounding in the law, but an inability to apply it to real life situations. The practicalities elude them and they seem to want to follow templates without much understanding of the transaction. This course will attempt to give them a working knowledge of the issues to be considered in structuring a transaction. It will also cover the main features of standard documentation (bearing in mind that there is a discernible industry-standard set of documentation in common law countries) to explain why documents are drafted the way they are.

The course is taught interactively with an emphasis on class discussion and collaborative problem solving. PLEASE BE WARNED: First, this is a fast paced class that requires active participation, drawing on concepts taught in the first 2 years of law school. Secondly, content is heavy and the final exam challenging.

Wednesdays (9.00am - 12.00pm)

Class Attendance - 12%
Group Assignment (at least 2,000 words requiring research, due around mid-sem break) - 20%
Final Exam (2hrs, sit-down open book, question type: MCQ, True/False and short-answer) - 68%

Class Participation - 20%
Take Home Exam (6-Hr) - 80% [Release: Fri, 6 March 2026 (3pm); Due: Fir, 6 March 2026 (9pm)]

NUS Compulsory Core Law Curriculum or equivalent.

The phenomenon of globalization over the last 50 years has been fuelled not just by technological innovation but also legal innovation. However, in 2016, the vote for Brexit in the UK and the election of Mr Donald Trump as the US President, has challenged the movement towards economic integration. Indeed, one of President Trump's first Executive Orders was to cancel the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) that the previous Obama Administration had worked on for 5 years. With the recent re-election of Mr Trump it is likely that there will be an even greater pushback on globalisation and multilateral trade. It may therefore be more important than ever before to understand and appreciate the existing rules so as to promote the rule of law in what may be an increasingly protectionist environment.

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and its successor institution, the World Trade Organization (WTO) have attempted to create a system where the rules for the trade in goods and services are clearer and fairer. The legal innovations found in the GATT and subsequent WTO Agreements have also influenced Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) like the TPP and even International Investment Agreements (IIAs). Even if the Trump Administration hobbles the WTO, the same textual rules will continue to exist in FTAs and IIAs and therefore will need to be understood and applied.

Fundamental to the WTO disciplines is the principle of non-discrimination. The problem often is, however, what constitutes discrimination, whether such discrimination can be justified and whether non-economic factors such as health and the environment or other public policy considerations can modify the rules. This tension in World Trade Law is a theme in both the disciplines for trade in goods and services as well as the agreements on standards like the TBT and SPS as well as even the trade remedies rules such as Safeguards, Subsidies and Anti-Dumping.