SIAC Annual Report 2025: Key Statistics, Trends, And Takeaways For International Arbitration Practitioners

SIAC 2025 Dispute Values: USD 14.53 Billion in Total Claims

• The total sum in dispute for new case filings with SIAC in 2025 reached USD 14.53 billion (SGD 18.66 billion), with an average value of USD 24.70 million (SGD 31.73 million) per case. The highest sum in dispute for a single administered case was USD 3.93 billion (SGD 5.05 billion).
• If ad hoc appointments are excluded, the average value of cases was higher at USD 32.18 million (SGD 41.33 million).

• The average value year-on-year can fluctuate according to the presence or absence of mega-claims and the mix of case types, but the amounts in dispute in 2025 support the general upward trend. 

Sectors in Dispute: Trade, Commercial, and Corporate Disputes Lead SIAC's 2025 Caseload

• Trade disputes dominated SIAC's caseload in 2025, totalling 346 cases (39%), followed by commercial (177 cases, 20%), corporate (90 cases, 10%), maritime/shipping (85 cases, 10%), and construction/infrastructure/engineering (82 cases, 9%). This distribution mirrors trends from previous years, where trade, commercial, and corporate disputes have consistently comprised the bulk of cases. The bar chart below also shows that the distribution has remained broadly stable year-on-year.
• Beyond these core categories, SIAC also has closely trailing volumes of cases in areas such as banking and financial services, blockchain and cryptocurrency, agriculture, education, employment, IP/IT, and real estate.

Sector representation in SIAC Caseload 2021-2025

Procedural Innovations: SIAC Rules 2025 and Dispute Resolution Timelines

• The SIAC Rules 2025 came into force on 1 January 2025, introducing the Streamlined Procedure, Preliminary Determination, and the Protective Preliminary Order. Details on the SIAC Rules 2025 are set out in our article “7^th Edition of the SIAC Rules published and to take effect in 2025” and key updates in the table below. 
   

  Factor	Streamlined Procedure	Expedited Procedure
  Case value (SGD)	1 million	10 million
  Time from constitution of Tribunal	3 months	6 months
  Number of arbitrators	Sole arbitrator	Sole arbitrator (or panel of 3 at the Tribunal’s discretion)

• In 2025, 60 cases proceeded under the Streamlined Procedure, where cases have been concluded within three months of tribunal constitution. 
• SIAC also accepted 55 of the 130 applications for the Expedited Procedure, under which arbitrations target a six-month timeline. Note however that not all applications are accepted – which suggest SIAC and/or counterparties may object and raise concerns as to whether the complexity of the case can be satisfactorily addressed by a compressed timeline. 
• SIAC received four requests for Preliminary Determination, whereby the tribunal must issue its decision on the preliminary issue in question within 90 days from the filing of the application. Two applications were granted, one was rejected, and one was pending permission to proceed as at year-end. 
• SIAC received four applications for a Protective Preliminary Order, which is an ex parte mechanism under which an emergency arbitrator is appointed within 24 hours and, without notice to the counterparty, makes an order to prevent that party from frustrating the purpose of urgent relief. One application was accepted. In the other three cases, the orders proceeded on notice.
• Note also that SIAC announced the establishment of the Institute of Ethics in International Arbitration (IEIA) and launched the Restructuring and Insolvency Arbitration Protocol (RIA Protocol) – a first for an international arbitration institution.

• While SIAC’s procedural enhancements aim to reduce overall resolution times, several factors continue to affect duration. Complex disputes in sectors like shipping, construction, and infrastructure tend to require extended timelines due to document-heavy evidence, expert testimony, and the need for consolidation or joinder of parties.

Comment

The SIAC Annual Report 2025 reflects a year of sustained strength in international arbitration. Case volumes increased sharply, partly due to related filings, while aggregate dispute values remained high and the caseload overwhelmingly international. For users, the figures reaffirm SIAC’s position as a leading forum for complex cross‑border commercial disputes.

Beneath this headline continuity, the data also signals where practice is beginning to evolve. Trade, commercial and corporate disputes continue to anchor SIAC’s work, and established user jurisdictions remain dominant, but participation is broadening year on year. More notably for practitioners, the first year of the SIAC Rules 2025 points to a genuine recalibration towards speed and procedural flexibility. Uptake of the Streamlined and Expedited Procedures, alongside early engagement with tools such as Preliminary Determination and Protective Preliminary Orders, suggests that users are prepared to test these mechanisms in practice.

Taken together, the 2025 statistics underline both stability and change: a familiar dispute profile, coupled with growing procedural optionality that offers parties new levers to manage cost, timing and strategy in SIAC arbitrations.

The authors would like to thank Felicity White for their contribution to this post.

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