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Reconsidering the Enforceability of Bare Intention to Arbitrate: KVC Rice Intertrade Co Ltd v Asian Mineral Resources Pte Ltd [2017] SGHC 32

Nicholas Poon

(2017) 29 SAcLJ 540

Abstract:
As arbitration continues to gain popularity as a means of resolving disputes privately, there appears to be an increasing tendency in the courts to recognise, and thereafter, give effect to parties’ supposed bare intention to arbitrate, even if the intention can only be tenuously ascertained. It is hoped that the experience in KVC Rice Intertrade Co Ltd v Asian Mineral Resources Pte Ltd will provoke a reconsideration of the circumstances under which a bare intention to arbitration will be enforced.