Where did Singapore go wrong in mitigating defaults?

Many blame it on delayed repayment process.

A recent spate of defaults in the Singapore bond market has triggered calls for a reform of the city state's depository system, which makes it harder for bondholders to enforce their rights than in the global market. Investors have struggled to demand immediate repayment from issuers in default, and many have blamed trustees for seemingly delaying the process.

Holders of Swissco Holdings' S$100 million ($72 million) bonds, on which a S$2.9 million October 16 coupon payment remains unpaid, wrote to the Monetary Authority of Singapore last month to complain that "the notes trustee does not seem to have an established process for noteholder verification that works", according to a letter seen by IFR. The trustee is DB International Trust (Singapore), a unit of Deutsche Bank.

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