Statute Details
- Title: Securities and Futures (Exemption of OUE Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust) Regulations 2019
- Act Code: SFA2001-S628-2019
- Legislation Type: Subsidiary legislation (SL)
- Authorising Act: Securities and Futures Act (SFA) (Cap. 289)
- Enacting Authority: Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
- Enacting Power: Powers conferred by section 337(1) of the Securities and Futures Act
- Commencement: 18 September 2019
- Regulation No. / Citation: SL 628/2019
- Status: Current version as at 27 March 2026
- Key Provisions (from extract):
- Regulation 1: Citation and commencement
- Regulation 2: Exemption from winding-up steps after withdrawal of authorisation
What Is This Legislation About?
The Securities and Futures (Exemption of OUE Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust) Regulations 2019 is a narrowly targeted piece of subsidiary legislation. In plain terms, it creates a specific legal exemption for the “responsible person” of OUE Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust (“OUE Hospitality REIT”). The exemption relates to what the responsible person must do after MAS withdraws the REIT’s authorisation.
Under the Securities and Futures Act, certain regulated capital market entities—such as real estate investment trusts—are subject to authorisation and ongoing regulatory oversight. If MAS withdraws authorisation, the Act generally requires the responsible person to take “necessary steps” to wind up the REIT. This Regulations instrument modifies that general rule for the particular case of OUE Hospitality REIT.
Accordingly, the Regulations do not broadly rewrite the REIT regime. Instead, they provide a tailored relief from a specific statutory obligation in a specific scenario: following withdrawal of MAS’s authorisation under the relevant provisions of the SFA.
What Are the Key Provisions?
Regulation 1 (Citation and commencement) is procedural. It identifies the instrument and states when it comes into force. The Regulations are cited as the “Securities and Futures (Exemption of OUE Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust) Regulations 2019” and come into operation on 18 September 2019.
Regulation 2 (Exemption) is the substantive provision. It states that the responsible person for OUE Hospitality REIT is exempt from the requirement under section 295(2) of the Securities and Futures Act to take the necessary steps to wind up the REIT following the withdrawal of the Authority’s authorisation of OUE Hospitality REIT under section 288(7) of the Act.
To understand the legal effect, it is helpful to map the cross-references. The SFA contains a framework for authorising and regulating REITs. MAS may withdraw authorisation under specified circumstances (here, under section 288(7)). Ordinarily, once authorisation is withdrawn, section 295(2) imposes an obligation on the responsible person to take necessary steps to wind up the REIT. Regulation 2 carves out an exemption from that winding-up obligation for this particular REIT.
Practical legal consequence: if MAS withdraws authorisation of OUE Hospitality REIT in the manner contemplated by section 288(7), the responsible person would not be required—by virtue of section 295(2)—to take the necessary steps to wind up the REIT. The exemption is therefore a “survival” or “continuation” relief from the immediate statutory wind-up trigger that would otherwise follow authorisation withdrawal.
Although the extract does not specify the duration or conditions of the exemption, the structure of such instruments in Singapore typically indicates that the exemption is effective as a matter of law once the relevant statutory trigger occurs. For practitioners, the key is to identify the precise statutory event (withdrawal of authorisation under section 288(7)) and the precise statutory obligation from which relief is granted (winding-up steps under section 295(2)). The Regulations are drafted to align those two points.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
This Regulations instrument is extremely concise. It consists of an enacting formula and two operative regulations:
(1) Regulation 1 sets out the citation and commencement date.
(2) Regulation 2 provides the exemption. It is a single-sentence substantive rule that identifies the exempt party (the responsible person for OUE Hospitality REIT) and the exempt obligation (winding-up steps under section 295(2) after withdrawal of authorisation under section 288(7)).
There are no schedules, definitions sections, or additional procedural requirements in the extract. The legal drafting approach is therefore “surgical”: it relies on the existing architecture of the Securities and Futures Act and simply modifies the effect of one statutory requirement for one regulated entity in one scenario.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The Regulations apply to the responsible person for OUE Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust. In the REIT regulatory context, the “responsible person” is the entity (typically the REIT manager or trustee/manager structure as defined under the SFA regime) that has statutory responsibilities for compliance with the REIT framework.
Importantly, the exemption is entity-specific. It does not create a general exemption for all REITs, nor does it apply to other investment vehicles. It is tied to the particular REIT named in the title and regulation text. As a result, other REIT responsible persons would not automatically benefit from the exemption even if they face similar regulatory outcomes, unless a separate exemption is made.
For counsel advising the responsible person, the key question is whether the factual and regulatory trigger aligns with the statutory cross-reference: MAS must have withdrawn authorisation under section 288(7) of the SFA. If the withdrawal occurs under a different provision or under different circumstances, the exemption may not be engaged.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
Even though the Regulations are short, they can be highly consequential in corporate and regulatory planning. The winding-up obligation is a significant step: it affects governance, asset disposition, investor rights, and the timing and mechanics of ending the REIT’s regulated status. By exempting the responsible person from the statutory winding-up requirement after authorisation withdrawal, the Regulations can allow a different pathway—such as a restructuring, orderly transition, or alternative resolution—without the immediate statutory compulsion to wind up.
From a compliance perspective, the Regulations also reduce legal uncertainty. Without an exemption, the responsible person would face a clear statutory duty to take winding-up steps once authorisation is withdrawn. The exemption clarifies that, for this REIT, that duty does not apply in the specified circumstances. This can be critical for board decisions, investor communications, and coordination with MAS.
For enforcement and regulatory oversight, the exemption illustrates how MAS uses its subsidiary legislative powers under the SFA to tailor outcomes to the circumstances of a particular regulated entity. The existence of a specific exemption suggests that MAS considered that the general winding-up requirement was not appropriate—or not the only appropriate—response for OUE Hospitality REIT in the relevant context.
Practitioners should also consider the broader interpretive lesson: when advising on the consequences of authorisation withdrawal, it is not enough to rely solely on the general provisions of the SFA. One must check whether there are any entity-specific exemptions or modifications in subsidiary legislation that alter the default statutory consequences.
Related Legislation
- Securities and Futures Act (Cap. 289) — in particular:
- Section 288(7): withdrawal of MAS’s authorisation of a REIT
- Section 295(2): requirement for the responsible person to take necessary steps to wind up following withdrawal of authorisation
- Section 337(1): MAS’s power to make exemptions via subsidiary legislation
- Futures Act (as referenced in the provided metadata; note that the extract itself is anchored in the Securities and Futures Act framework)
- Legislation Timeline (for version control and amendment history)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Securities and Futures (Exemption of OUE Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust) Regulations 2019 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.