Data on Outcomes of Bankruptcy Applications and Mandating Mediation between Petitioning Creditor and Bankruptcy Respondent
Ministry of LawSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns bankruptcy application outcomes and whether mediation between petitioning creditors and respondents should be mandated. Mr Saktiandi Supaat requested statistics on withdrawn applications, with Minister Edwin Tong Chun Fai reporting that from 2016 to 2022, 17% of applications were withdrawn and 39% did not result in a bankruptcy order. The Minister noted that the Debt Repayment Scheme already facilitates creditor engagement through structured meetings to review proposed repayment plans. He emphasized that any new requirements must be studied for cost-efficiency to ensure the bankruptcy process remains effective for all involved parties. The Ministry will continue to review the regime to balance the interests of debtors and creditors.
Transcript
63 Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Minister for Law (a) for each of the past 10 years, what number and percentage of bankruptcy applications (i) were withdrawn by the petitioning creditor, (ii) were terminated for want of prosecution or (iii) did not culminate in a bankruptcy order for any other reason; and (b) whether the Ministry has considered mandating mediation between the petitioning creditor and the bankruptcy respondent.
Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai: The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) does not capture data on bankruptcy applications that were terminated for want of prosecution.
For the period from 2016 to 2022, 3,741 bankruptcy applications were withdrawn by the petitioning creditor. This was about 17% of all bankruptcy applications made during this period.
For the period from 2016 to 2022, 8,455 bankruptcy applications did not culminate in a bankruptcy order. This was about 39% of all bankruptcy applications made during this period.
The bankruptcy regime already provides a structured process for engagement between the petitioning creditor and the debtor. As part of the assessment process for the Debt Repayment Scheme, a meeting of creditors will be scheduled to allow the debtor and his creditors to express their views or pose questions to the debtor's proposed debt repayment plan before the plan is approved.
Any proposal to mandate a new requirement in the bankruptcy process needs to be studied carefully to ensure that the administration of bankruptcies remains cost-efficient. MinLaw will continue to review the bankruptcy regime and make adjustments as necessary to balance the interests of debtors and creditors.