Written answer by Minister for Law, K Shanmugam, to Parliamentary Question on bankruptcy

09 JUL 2012

9 Jul 2012 Posted in Parliamentary speeches and responses

Mr Laurence Lien, Nominated MP

Question
To ask the Minister for Law (a) what is the breakdown by causes of the number of new bankrupts for the last five years; (b) whether the number of undischarged bankrupts has been increasing over the last 12 months; and (c) if so, whether this rising trend is a cause for concern.

Written Answer

  1. Over the past five years, from 2007 to 2011, there have been 10,213 new bankrupts. Based on the bankrupts’ declarations, some of the more common causes include business failure, unemployment, income not matching expenditure, and liability as a guarantor.

  2. The total number of undischarged bankrupts stood at 24,754 in May 2012. This is a slight increase of 1.7% compared to a year earlier and can be attributed to the number of new cases exceeding the number of discharges in the same period.

  3. However, there is no rising trend in the number of new bankrupts. In fact, over the past five years, the number of new bankrupts has been on a decreasing trend, from 2,766 in 2007 to 1,527 in 2011. Nevertheless, we will continue to monitor this closely.

Last updated on 23 Nov 2012