Legal transplantation of UK style takeover regulation in Singapore

Wai Yee WAN, Singapore Management University

Abstract

In 1974, Singapore adopted the UK City Code of Takeovers and Mergers (City Code), even though it did not have the equivalent of the business community to the City of London. The concentrated ownership structure of Singapore listed firms differs significantly from the Berle and Means ownership model found in the UK firms, even today. This chapter gives an account of the evolution of takeover regulation and explains the reasons for the transplantation, and with certain limited exceptions, maintenance of, UK model of takeover regulation, from the perspectives of the supply side of rule production, that is, the blockholders and regulators.