Whether Managing Director or CEO has legal power or authority to borrow money or give security

Blasco, Martinez Gemma v Ee Meng Yen Angela [2020] SGHC 247

Significance: Singapore High Court, per Kannan Ramesh J, held that a managing director or CEO (acting or otherwise) did not, as a general rule, have the power (implied actual authority or apparent / ostensible authority) to borrow money or give security on behalf of the company by reason of his position. This was a context-sensitive issue and regard should be had to all the circumstances of the case: at [38].

The Court considered three main authorities on this point: Biggerstaff v Rowatt’s Wharf, Limited [1896] 2 Ch 93; Hely-Hutchinson v Brayhead Ltd [1968] 1 QB 549; and SPP Ltd v Chew Beng Gim and another [1993] 3 SLR(R) 17.

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