The Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) announced on Monday that a new centre, to be named the Asian Business Law Institute, will launch in January with the aim of facilitating business and trade in Asia by assisting with the convergence of Asian commercial laws. The ABLI will initiate, conduct and facilitate research and produce authoritative texts to guide the convergence of business laws. With no precedent institution, the ABLI has set itself a considerable task.
Myriad legal frameworks
According to Lee Suet-Fern, the chairperson of SAL's steering committee on legal convergence, the institute's work will be 'transformative' for business in Asia. 'Cross border trade and cross-border investments are just continuing to grow and grow', commented Mr Suet-Fern, '...it's really difficult if businesses are having to deal with completely different systems. It's simply much easier if the commercial frameworks converge – identical, of course, would be perfect'.
The upcoming launch of the ABLI follows an assertion made in April by Singaporean Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon that the time had come to bridge the considerable heterogeneity between various Asian legal systems by establishing 'common legal norms and practices that will overcome regional differences and pave the way for freer trade and commerce'. Smoothing out legal and regulatory differences will help not only to facilitate business and trade between Asian economies, but also to overcome the investment challenges currently facing European and American companies looking to do business with Asia.
Business set to boom
With the recently concluded Trans-Pacific Partnership and ASEAN Economic Community, trade and investment activity is only set to grow. It is estimated that by the year 2020, the Asian region will account for around 35 per cent of global trade. The push towards convergence appears well-timed, for as noted by Rajah & Tann partner Paul Tan, the dissolution of barriers to trade and investment is also likely to expose businesses to an expanded set of multi-jurisdictional disputes. Sources: Channel NewsAsia
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