Clifford Chance

IBORs and the Transition to Risk Free Rates in the Singapore Debt Capital Markets

11 March 2020

The impending end of the London Interbank Offered Rate, "LIBOR", has been a discussion point for financial markets participants ever since the Wheatley Review, and thereafter, a speech by Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 27 July 2017 which famously heralded its demise. Market participants need to prepare for the likelihood that LIBOR will cease to exist by the end of 2021. Even if LIBOR continues to be available into 2022, the FCA may determine that it is no longer representative of its underlying market. Since 2014, the message from international regulators has been clear: with respect to the risks presented by the end of LIBOR, there needs to be a move from LIBOR to near "risk-free rates" (RFRs) which are anchored in active and liquid underlying markets.

This briefing examines the impact of the transition from LIBOR to RFRs with a specific focus on the Singapore and Singapore dollar debt capital markets, and outlines what issuers and their advisers will need to consider as we approach the deadline for the end of LIBOR.

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