Clause 21

by deleting the words “clearing arrangements for transactions in securities or futures contracts” in subsection (4)(a) and substituting the words “arrangements for the clearing or settlement of transactions”; and

by inserting, immediately after subsection (5), the following subsections:“(5A) Subject to subsection (5B), the Authority shall not refuse to grant an approval under subsection (4) without giving the applicant an opportunity to be heard.(5B) The Authority may refuse to grant an approval to an applicant under subsection (4) on the ground that it would be contrary to the interests of the investing public to grant the approval on the basis of any of the following circumstances without giving the applicant an opportunity to be heard:

the applicant is in the course of being wound up or otherwise dissolved, whether in Singapore or elsewhere;

a receiver, a receiver and manager or an equivalent person has been appointed, whether in Singapore or elsewhere, in relation to or in respect of any property of the applicant;

the applicant has been convicted, whether in Singapore or elsewhere, of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty or the conviction for which involved a finding that it had acted fraudulently or dishonestly.”.