MARKETLEND PTY LTD v QBE INSURANCE (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD.

[2025] SGHC(I) 1 Singapore International Commercial Court 8 January 2025 • SIC/OA 16/2023 • 102 min read
13 cases cited Cited by 2 cases

Catchwords

Contract — Assignment — Consent — Estoppel Evidence — Admissibility of evidence — Hearsay — Exceptions Insurance — General principles — Condition precedent — Non-disclosure — Risk

Practice Areas

Contract Evidence Insurance

Judges (1)

Sir Henry Bernard Eder Delivered

Counsel (8)

Blackstone & Gold LLC Firm Cavenagh Law LLP Firm Alisa Toh Qian Wen Counsel Applicant Baldev Singh Bhinder Counsel Defendant Choo Ian Ming Counsel Applicant Ramandeep Kaur Counsel Defendant Sandosham Paul Rabindranath Counsel Applicant Vedam Rakesh Counsel Defendant

Parties (3)

Australian Executor Trustees Limited Applicant Marketlend Pty Ltd Applicant QBE Insurance (Singapore) Pte Ltd Defendant

Case Significance

[2025] SGHC(I) 1 is a Singapore International Commercial Court decision dated 8 January 2025 concerning Contract, Evidence, and Insurance, specifically addressing assignment, admissibility of evidence, and general principles. The judgment was delivered by Sir Henry Bernard Eder. The case was brought by Australian Executor Trustees Limited and others (applicant) against QBE Insurance (Singapore) Pte Ltd (respondent). Legal representation was provided by Cavenagh Law LLP and Blackstone & Gold LLC. The judgment cites 13 cases and references 1 statutory provision, namely the Evidence Act. This decision has been cited by 2 subsequent judgments in the dataset.

[2025] SGHC(I) 1 explained

MARKETLEND PTY LTD v QBE INSURANCE (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD. ([2025] SGHC(I) 1) is a Singapore judgment decided by the Singapore International Commercial Court on 8 January 2025. It is categorised under Contract, Evidence, and Insurance. Within this corpus it has since been cited by 2 other reported Singapore judgments, a measure of how often later decisions have referred to it. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.

What is [2025] SGHC(I) 1 about?

MARKETLEND PTY LTD v QBE INSURANCE (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD. ([2025] SGHC(I) 1) is a Singapore International Commercial Court decision from 2025. Its published catchwords are “Contract — Assignment — Consent — Estoppel”, “Evidence — Admissibility of evidence — Hearsay — Exceptions”, and “Insurance — General principles — Condition precedent — Non-disclosure — Risk”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

Which legislation does [2025] SGHC(I) 1 consider?

The judgment refers to Evidence Act (Cap 97). The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

How influential is [2025] SGHC(I) 1?

Within this corpus, [2025] SGHC(I) 1 has been cited by 2 later reported Singapore judgments. That count reflects references from other decisions held in this corpus only and is a conservative lower bound on how often the case has actually been cited.

Summary

Marketlend and Australian Executor Trustees sought to recover US$9,035,365.38 under a trade credit insurance policy issued by QBE Insurance to Novita Trading, claiming as assignees of Novita's rights. The SICC rejected and dismissed the claims, finding the alleged trades underlying the insurance claims were fictitious, the claimants failed to prove valid assignment of the policy, and QBE was entitled to avoid the policy for non-disclosure.

What was decided in [2025] SGHC(I) 1?

[2025] SGHC(I) 1 (MARKETLEND PTY LTD v QBE INSURANCE (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD.) is a Singapore International Commercial Court decision from 8 January 2025 addressing Contract, Evidence, and Insurance, specifically assignment, admissibility of evidence, and general principles. The judgment was delivered by Sir Henry Bernard Eder.

Who were the parties in MARKETLEND PTY LTD v QBE INSURANCE (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD.?

The applicant in [2025] SGHC(I) 1 was Australian Executor Trustees Limited, Marketlend Pty Ltd, and the respondent was QBE Insurance (Singapore) Pte Ltd. Legal representation included Blackstone & Gold LLC and Cavenagh Law LLP. The case was decided on 8 January 2025 in the Singapore International Commercial Court.

Which judge decided [2025] SGHC(I) 1?

[2025] SGHC(I) 1 was delivered by Sir Henry Bernard Eder in the Singapore International Commercial Court on 8 January 2025. The case concerned Contract, Evidence, and Insurance.

What cases and statutes does [2025] SGHC(I) 1 cite?

[2025] SGHC(I) 1 cites 13 prior decisions. It references Evidence Act. The decision has itself been cited by 2 subsequent judgments.

Statutes Cited

Evidence Act (Cap 97) Cases on this Act →
s 15 s 32(1) s 32(1)(b) s 32(1)(c) s 32(3) s 32(5) s 5 s 64 s 67 s 67A

Cases Cited (13)

SG (2)
[2020] SGHC(I) 25 [2021] SGHC 191
SLR (11)
[1999] 1 SLR(R) 1165 [2006] 3 SLR(R) 769 [2006] 4 SLR(R) 571 [2007] 2 SLR(R) 918 [2008] 2 SLR(R) 329 [2015] 2 SLR 686 [2015] 5 SLR 1322 [2016] 5 SLR 735 [2020] 3 SLR 373 [2021] 1 SLR 1217 [2021] 4 SLR 883

Cited By (2)

[2026] SGHC(I) 1
DNZ v DOA & Anor
[2025] SGHC(I) 8
MARKETLEND PTY LTD v QBE INSURANCE (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD.

Referenced in

Statutes interpreted in this judgment

Evidence Act

Legal concepts & references

Evidence — Admissibility of evidence

Judgment

Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.

Read on eLitigation

Source: eLitigation ([2025] SGHC(I) 1)