Debated in Parliament on 15 Oct 2025.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Minister for Law (a) what are the top five causes of individual bankruptcies in the past 10 years, including business failure; (b) how is such data collected and categorised; (c) if such data is not available, would the Ministry consider collecting them; and (d) how do we maintain a healthy risk-taking entrepreneurial culture while not indulging those who are financially reckless or irresponsible.
The top five causes of bankruptcy in the past 10 years were business failure, overspending on consumer goods and services, loss of income due to unemployment or retrenchment, liability due to guarantees and low income. This information is self-declared by debtors in their Statement of Affairs (SA), either in their bankruptcy application or upon their being made bankrupt on a creditor's application. When filling up the SA, the debtor selects the most applicable cause of insolvency from a drop-down list.
To foster a vibrant, innovation-led environment for entrepreneurs to thrive, the Government has introduced a comprehensive range of schemes and programmes to support our local startups and encourage innovation. These include mentorships from Accredited Mentor Partners, grants to entrepreneurs, talent support and providing startups with spaces to meet the needs of promising founders and startup enablers and help them grow. To encourage healthy and responsible entrepreneurship, it is important that our entrepreneurs make sound financing decisions and have a stake in the outcome. For example, the Startup SG Founder grant requires a dollar-for-dollar matching by entrepreneurs.
The Ministry of Law also regularly reviews the bankruptcy regime, which strikes a balance between the interests of persons seeking to engage in business activity and financial responsibility.
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