Singapore International Arbitration Centre constitutes panel for final verdict on Amazon-Future case

The arbitration tussle between e-commerce giant Amazon and Kishore Biyani-led Future Group moved a step ahead with both the parties agreeing to the names of the three arbitrators required for the process, sources in the know of the development told The Indian Express. The arbitration will be held at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC). The SIAC arbitration panel will pass the final verdict on whether Future Group can go ahead with its Rs 25,000 crore deal where Future Group will be selling its retail assets to Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). “Veteran barrister Michael Hwang has been appointed as the judge for the tribunal in the Amazon-Future case," a source told Livemint, seeking anonymity. “Albert Jan Van Den Berg has been appointed by Amazon, whereas Paulsson has been shortlisted by the Future Group because the members of the tribunal,” told the primary particular person to News Daily. Albert Jan van den Berg is the founding partner of law firm Hanotiau & van den Berg and Jan Paulsson is a Swedish arbitration veteran and founding partner of Three Crowns Llp. Hwang is a former judicial commissioner of the Supreme Court of Singapore. India’s FDI norms allow 51 percent holding by a foreign entity in a multi-brand retail firm, such as Future Retail, but Amazon did not take the government’s permission for acquiring control over it. However, the settlement between Amazon and Future Group, which was signed in August 2019, states that Future Group can not forge an alliance within the retail area with RIL without Amazon’s prior consent.

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