Whether or not business is good in Singapore really depends on which sector you’re in.
If you’re in private banking, family offices or wealth management, there’s no better place to be than in Singapore, as a lawyer friend put it.
The economy expanded 5% last year on the back of foreign direct investment and safe haven capital inflows. Singapore’s 6% growth in the first quarter of 2026 also beat expectations, though officials flagged downside risks amid the Middle East conflict.
International asset managers including Sixth Street Partners, Global Infrastructure Partners, Pentagreen Capital and IFM Investors have been building their private credit teams in the city-state, Bloomberg reported.
Singapore’s all-out efforts to boost its equities are also starting to pay off, as the total value of companies listed on the Singapore Exchange reportedly climbed to around USD 644 billion, overtaking Indonesia as Southeast Asia’s largest stock market.
In the restructuring and insolvency (R&I) space, there are a couple of interesting cases, such as the restructuring of a Singapore-incorporated alcohol distributor as well as the application to wind up a fintech company. Cinema chain Cathay Cineplexes – which was run by Singapore-listed mm2 Asia – also ceased its operations last year.
Some liquidations are ongoing, but they tend to be smaller tickets in the F&B sector that are nowhere near the scale of Singapore oil trader Hin Leong’s collapse six years ago, according to several R&I practitioners.
Companies to Watch
🔸 Keppel
Keppel announced on 27 April 2026 that its subsidiary, Corredance, had launched arbitration proceedings at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre against its joint venture partners in Vietnam.
The Singapore company is seeking declarations that three entities related to their 2016 investment agreement are fully liable for additional land use fees of around USD 261 million that were imposed by the authorities on the project company, Empire City, according to Keppel’s stock exchange filing.
Keppel’s Corredance has a 40% equity interest in the project company, which was established to build and operate residential and mixed-use developments on certain land plots in Ho Chi Minh City.
The Land Bill Shock: What Keppel’s Empire City Arbitration Means for Investors in Vietnam Real Estate by Vilasia Law Firm
🔸 UCars
Singapore car portal UCars was wound up more than a year after it was revealed to be SGD 4 million (USD 3.1 million) in debt, The Business Times reported. The appointed liquidator is Seah Chee Wei of Rock Stevenson.
People to Watch
🔸 Quantuma’s Asia Office Buyout
Quantuma offices in Asia (Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Vietnam) and the Caribbean (BVI) were the subject of a management buyout, led by the senior leadership team in its Singapore office, according to the advisory firm’s LinkedIn post.
🔸 Jacqueline Chan Named R&I Lawyer of the Year at Legal 500 Southeast Asia Awards
Milbank Partner Jacqueline Chan was named Restructuring and Insolvency Lawyer of the Year at the Legal 500 Southeast Asia Awards 2026.
Acrostics Asia is an independent credit intelligence provider that connects the dots across Asian sovereigns, private credit and restructurings.