Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) has announced today that it has set up a working group of industry professionals and investors to review the retail bonds regulatory framework.
The group will discuss matters such as the admission criteria for retail bond listings, the continuing obligations of issuers of such bonds, and ways to protect bondholder interest in the event of a default or restructuring.
We are reviewing the retail bonds framework following recent developments and feedback from the market. The possibility of tightening the admission criteria including requiring a minimum level of subscription by institutional investors and a credit rating are among matters to be discussed,” said Michael Tang, Head of Listing Policy and Product Admission.
The working group will also provide views on how individual investors can be better served when bonds they hold are in distress. We want to hear suggestions on how to fund trustees acting for bondholders and ways to help bondholders organise themselves,” Mr Tang added.
The working group comprises representatives from Perpetual (Asia) Limited, Allen & Gledhill, DBS Bank, and more, and is expected to present its recommendations and views to SGX RegCo by mid- 2020 after which a public consultation will likely take place by the end of the year.