Modified Photo by Chensiyuan / licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

Singapore has become the second country, and the first of the world’s leading maritime states and trading hubs, to adopt the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR). Singapore’s Electronic Transactions Act (Amendment) Bill was passed by the Singapore Parliament on 1 February 2021, and grants electronic bills of lading, promissory notes and bills of exchange the same legal status as their paper equivalents. 

Singapore has a long history of being at the forefront of digital enablement and the adoption of the Model Law shows the government’s commitment to the facilitation of trade digitization. It paves the way for other nations to follow suit, providing certainty for corporates and banks as they transition to more efficient, transparent and automated trade processes.