Last month, the Singapore Government announced various initiatives to further attract international arbitration work to Singapore. These initiatives include a tax incentive for law firms that handle international arbitration cases in Singapore and an exemption from applying for work permits or employment passes for professionals, including lawyers and arbitrators, entering Singapore to work on such arbitrations.
Singapore has for several years been aggressively promoting itself as a world class centre for the provision of legal services, particularly international arbitration. It has managed to attract, for example, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague to establish a facility in Singapore. Certain other arbitral institutions, such as the ICC Court of Arbitration, have set up offices in Singapore. Singapore views the legal services sector as a key pillar of the economy, complementing its position as a leading banking and financial centre. It has also taken steps to liberalise its legal services sector by allowing foreign firms to practise law in Singapore under a joint venture with a Singapore law firm. The Government also recently announced that it will allow a limited number of foreign law firms to practise Singapore law in commercial areas through Singapore-qualified lawyers employed by them without the need for a local law joint venture partner.
