SINGAPORE, 12 April 2024 — On 2 April 2024, MAS introduced amendments to the Payment Services Act 2019 of Singapore (PS Act) and its subsidiary legislation. Generally, these amendments seek to (1) expand the scope of payment services regulated by MAS which will take effect from 4 April 2024 and (2) impose user protection requirements on digital payment token (DPT) service providers which will take effect from 4 October 2024.
1. Navigating the Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (“ETFs”) Landscape: A Comprehensive Overview
Introduction to Bitcoin ETFs in 2024
On 10 January 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) approved the listing and trading of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs. This followed a case in the U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia where the court held that the SEC’s denial of Grayscale Investments conversion of its Bitcoin trust to an ETF was “arbitrary” and “capricious” given that the SEC had approved a futures-based Bitcoin product. The court found these futures-based ETFs to be materially similar to Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF such that they should have received the same regulatory treatment. The court’s decision was based on two key points: the underlying assets (Bitcoin futures and Bitcoins) being closely related in that they both track spot Bitcoin market prices and the futures and Bitcoin exchanges having the similar controls in place for detecting fraudulent or manipulative market misconduct.
Continue reading “Mainstream Adoption: The Era of Bitcoin ETFs Begins”
Rising pressure to move towards net-zero carbon emissions has resulted in an increasing number of large corporations entering into physical power purchase agreements (PPA) and/or virtual power purchase agreements (VPPA) for renewable energy.
In resource-scarce Singapore, solar energy remains the main source of locally generated renewable energy. Recently, Singapore unveiled one of the world’s largest floating solar panel farms, but due to Singapore’s land constraints, the majority of the solar photovoltaic systems are deployed on building rooftops. Under a PPA arrangement, a corporation with rooftop space enters into a long-term offtake agreement to purchase power from a solar generator at a pre-agreed price based on a specific delivery schedule. This arrangement is commonly referred to as “solar leasing” in Singapore since the project developer will typically lease the rooftop from the corporation to install solar panels.
However, PPAs are often not feasible when dealing with constraints like limited rooftop space or where energy demands are in excess of rooftop energy generation. In such situations, we have seen more corporations turn to VPPAs to meet their sustainability goals.
We set out below a brief overview on VPPAs, including some of the key issues that, in our experience, parties to a contract often encounter.
Continue reading “Virtual Power Purchase Agreements in Singapore”
这几天，全网都在疯传下面这张图。不可否认最近移民突然成了热门话题！
4月11日，我们收到了新加坡金管局一封邮件，内容是关于新加坡家办13O/U计划的门槛大幅提高。大概就是图中戴教授所指的消息了。但是戴教授的表述不太严谨，新加坡家办免税计划并不是投资移民，实际上新加坡的投资移民难度远高于此。
