MPs raise concerns over info sharing, investor confidence

16 MPs speak for four hours on Bill to halt Allianz's planned offer for Income Insurance

- Kang Wan Chern

The information-sharing process between different agencies was among the key issues raised as MPs debated the move to halt German insurer Allianz's planned offer for Singapore's Income Insurance.

Whether the move affects the Republic's attractiveness as a business destination was also surfaced by MPs during the debate on an urgent Bill to amend the Insurance Act on Oct 16.

A total of 16 MPs spoke for about four hours before the Bill was passed. All seven Workers' Party MPs present abstained.

The proposed deal drew public outcry when it was announced in July. It was then raised in Parliament on Aug 6.

But the Government decided to halt the deal on Oct 14 after the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) provided new information to the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) after the August sitting.

This included Allianz's plans to return $1.85 billion in cash to shareholders within three years after the deal is completed.

The sequence of events prompted several MPs to question why the MAS did not disclose this information earlier, with PAP backbencher Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar GRC) asking if the capital extraction exercise could have been shared during the August sitting.

"It is comforting to know that we continue to have good officers in the MAS who are alert and can pick out issues beyond their scope. However, could this information been shared earlier with the House when the topic was heavily debated in Parliament back in August?" she said.