This project will examine the law relating to security over personal property in selected countries in Asia in the context of broader international developments. The state of the law in individual Asian countries will be assessed with a view to reform.

The ability to obtain financing is crucial for successful business enterprise that fuels economic growth, which is a concern of all nations, rich and poor. An important requirement for the grant of credit by banks and other lenders is the provision of security by the borrower, which the lender can sell to obtain payment in the event of the borrower’s default. Clear and coherent legal rules that balance the interests of the various parties involved are needed to facilitate the grant of credit and the taking of security. An increasing number of countries have taken steps to modernise their secured transactions law by enacting comprehensive personal property security statutes. There have also been international efforts, such as the drafting of a model law on secured transactions by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and technical assistance given to developing countries by the World Bank. However, the state of the law of secured transactions in many countries remains under-explored and unsatisfactory. The need for academic research is particular pressing in Asia. Little is known regionally, let alone internationally, about the secured transaction laws of Asian countries. In some of the countries, even at the national level, there are not many specialists who work in the area of secured transactions law. This project will enable researchers to share and obtain information about the law of secured transactions in countries in Asia. It will also give them an opportunity to consider the issues faced, and solutions adopted, by other countries that have undertaken legal reform, to assess the suitability of these solutions for adoption in particular other jurisdictions in Asia. This is probably the first time that a large-scale symposium is being held to understand and analyse the secured transaction laws of Asia and see to how the law in individual countries can be improved to facilitate business activity and economic development. This symposium and the resulting publication will make a valuable contribution in this respect.

Secured Transactions Symposium (26-27 July 2018)

The Centre for Banking & Finance Law (CBFL) and the EW Barker Centre for Law & Business (EWBCLB) of the National University of Singapore (NUS) co-hosted a symposium with the Commercial Law Centre (CLC), Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford held at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore from 26 to 27 July 2018. This was convened by CBFL’s Director, Associate Professor Dora Neo, and CLC’s Director, Professor Louise Gullifer. The symposium examined secured transactions law reform in Asia with in-depth studies of selected Asian jurisdictions and discussed the broader context of law reform in other jurisdictions internationally. It also considered general issues such as the connection between secured transactions and insolvency.

Symposium participants were drawn from a variety of jurisdictions around the world, including Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam.

CBFL-EWBCLB-CLC Book Launch, “Secured Transactions Law in Asia:Principles, Perspectives and Reform”
8 July 2021, 4.30pm to 6.30pm (SGT) via Zoom

NUS Law School’s Centre for Banking & Finance Law (CBFL) and EW Barker Centre for Law & Business (EWBCLB), together with the Commercial Law Centre of Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford (CLC), collectively hosted a virtual launch for the book, Secured Transactions Law in Asia: Principles, Perspectives and Reform, on 8 July 2021. Co-edited by Professor Louise Gullifer QC of the University of Cambridge and Associate Professor Dora Neo, Director of CBFL at NUS Law, the compilation includes both general topics and principles of secured transactions law, as well as specific studies about secured transactions law in thirteen Asian jurisdictions.

The event opened with speeches by Professor Simon Chesterman (Dean, NUS Law) and Professor Mindy Chen-Wishart (Dean, Faculty of Law, Oxford). This was followed by a summary of the substance and structure of the book, and an introduction to the contributors of the various chapters by the co-editors, Professor Louise Gullifer QC and Associate Professor Dora Neo.