The Law and Home Affairs Minister also said his role and influence in the government's decision to block the deal has been "overestimated".
The Law and Home Affairs Minister also said his role and influence in the government's decision to block the deal has been"overestimated".
He added that since NTUC Enterprise - the parent company of NTUC Income - is a private company and that Allianz is a listed company, deals of such commercial sensitivities cannot be disclosed to third parties, except to regulatory bodies, as doing so would be illegal., with concerns over how Allianz, a large multinational company, would not be fully aligned with the original mission of NTUC Income, which is to serve the needs of low-income workers.
“So, the assumption and comments that the government as a whole must have known and blessed the deal, before reversing its decision - these are all conjectures, based on a misunderstanding of what the law is and how a proper system functions, with confidentiality; and ignores the facts that have been set out in Parliament.”Mr Shanmugam on Wednesday also took issue with another misperception - that there was a perceived lack of"coordination" within the government over the deal.
Regulatory bodies like MAS are required to maintain the strictest confidentiality, though there can be situations where the information needs to be disclosed to other agencies. Over the course of assessing the deal, the MAS team realised that this capital reduction plan might be relevant to MCCY and informed the MAS board, which in turn shared the details with MCCY.The minister dismissed the position that MAS should have broadcasted the details to all government agencies, calling it"extreme and untenable".
“On 14 October, just an hour before parliament convened, he reached out to me again, providing detailed explanations on why legislative changes were needed to prevent the Allianz-Income sale. Until then, few believed the deal would be halted.”
Income Insurance Allianz K Shanmugam
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