BT : New rules on collective sales from today

Business Times - 15 Jul 2010

New rules on collective sales from today

(SINGAPORE) Amendments to the law governing collective sales - which include tighter rules for repeated attempts at such deals - will take effect from today.

The Ministry of Law gave more details yesterday on how the Land Titles (Strata) (Amendment) Act will apply. For instance, under the new Act, there will be a waiting time of just one hour for the quorum of 30 per cent of share value to be reached at extraordinary general meetings (EGMs). This will apply to all EGMs held on or after the commencement date of the new Act, including those for which notice has been served. Also, the new Act stipulates that once a sales committee (SC) is formed, it will have one year to obtain the first signature for the collective sale agreement (CSA) or face automatic termination.

For existing SCs which have not collected any valid signatures, the one-year period begins on the commencement date of the new Act, regardless of how long they have been in office. For SCs set up after the new Act takes effect, the one-year period begins on the day the SCs are elected at EGMs.

Another key revision to the Act introduces a two-year restriction period after a potential collective sale falls through. Within this period, the first repeated attempt to convene an EGM will require consent from 50 per cent of share value or number of owners. For the second and subsequent repeated attempts, 80 per cent will be needed.

This two-year restriction period will apply to all failed attempts which occur on or after the commencement date of the new Act.

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