Written reply to Parliamentary Question on protection for Singapore companies against short sellers

In a recent parliamentary sitting, the Prime Minister of Singapore was asked the following – as quoted:
(a) how are Singapore companies protected against short-selling companies like Hindenburg Report which earn money by betting on stocks falling especially when such reports may not be true? and
(b) what safeguards do Singapore investment companies have against such short sellers undermining their assets?
In its response, Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister and Minister in charge of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) provided the following brief answer on behalf of the Prime Minister. According to Mr. Shanmugaratnam, it is of utmost importance that affected companies take immediate action upon such reports and clarify – in a clear, transparent, and accurate manner – any rumors or statements in research reports or short-seller reports that are untruthful or misleading. In addition, affected companies may seek to request a temporary trading halt until the matter is resolved.
Furthermore, the Minister notes that MAS is primarily responsible for the protection of market integrity and investors, not for the protection of asset management firms or fund managers per se. However, MAS will – together with the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) – closely look at this particular event and the communications made in this matter. In this context, the SGX may seek further information from the company or may order „an independent review“, if so needed to determine the matter of facts and to determine whether or not the claims in the short-seller report are truthful.
MAS expects asset managers to have adequate portfolio management procedures in place to manage any such risks, including (stop-loss) limits on positions. Lastly, MAS expects asset managers to „actively monitor their investment portfolios to enable them to respond expediently to adverse and sudden changes in market conditions“.