UNICREDIT BANK AG v GLENCORE SINGAPORE PTE. LTD.

[2023] SGCA 41 Court of Appeal 28 November 2023 CA/CA 9/2023

19 cases cited (16 SG, 3 foreign)

Key facts

Court	Court of Appeal
Decided	28 November 2023
Judges	Belinda Ang Saw Ean, Judith Prakash, Sundaresh Menon
Charges / claim	Contract, Tort, Banking, Bills of Exchange and other Negotiable Instruments
Counsel	Chan Leng Sun LLC, Clasis LLC, Colin Liew LLC, Dentons Rodyk & Davidson, Kenneth Tan Partnership, Chan Leng Sun, Colin Liew, Hannah Chua, Herman Jeremiah, Jeffrey Koh, Joie Tan Yi Xi, Kenneth Tan, Koh Kia Jeng, Ooi Shu Min, Stuart Ralph Lim Xiu Wu, Toh Cher Han

Source: [2023] SGCA 41, Court of Appeal, decided 28 November 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Contract - Misrepresentation - Fraudulent Tort - Misrepresentation - Fraud and Deceit Banking - Letters of Credit - Fraud Exception Bills of Exchange and other Negotiable Instruments - Letter of credit transaction

Practice Areas

Contract Tort Banking Bills of Exchange and other Negotiable Instruments

Judges (3)

Belinda Ang Saw Ean Delivered Judith Prakash Coram Sundaresh Menon Coram

Counsel (16)

Chan Leng Sun LLC Firm Clasis LLC Firm Colin Liew LLC Firm

Dentons Rodyk & Davidson Firm

Kenneth Tan Partnership Firm Chan Leng Sun Counsel for the respondent Colin Liew Counsel for the respondent Hannah Chua Counsel for the respondent Herman Jeremiah Counsel for the appellant

Jeffrey Koh Counsel for the respondent

Joie Tan Yi Xi Counsel for the appellant

Kenneth Tan Counsel for the appellant Koh Kia Jeng Counsel for the appellant Ooi Shu Min Counsel for the appellant Stuart Ralph Lim Xiu Wu Counsel for the appellant Toh Cher Han Counsel for the appellant

Parties (2)

Glencore Singapore Pte Ltd Respondent

UniCredit Bank AG Appellant

Case Significance

UniCredit Bank AG v Glencore Singapore Pte Ltd [2023] SGCA 41 is a Court of Appeal decision, with the grounds delivered by Belinda Ang Saw Ean JCA on 28 November 2023, sitting alongside Sundaresh Menon CJ and Judith Prakash JCA. The sole issue was whether the General Division of the High Court erred in dismissing UniCredit's claim against Glencore in the tort of deceit, arising from banking facilities of US$85m granted to Hin Leong Trading (Pte) Ltd on 22 November 2019 to finance letters of credit for oil and commodities. The court dismissed the appeal with costs, finding the cause of action in deceit ill-founded on the facts, in a judgment touching the letter-of-credit fraud exception. It has been cited 19 times.

What did the Court of Appeal decide in UniCredit Bank AG v Glencore Singapore [2023] SGCA 41?

On 28 November 2023 the Court of Appeal dismissed UniCredit's appeal with costs, holding that its claim against Glencore in the tort of deceit was ill-founded on the facts, arising from US$85m facilities granted to Hin Leong Trading.

Who delivered the grounds of decision in UniCredit v Glencore [2023] SGCA 41?

Belinda Ang Saw Ean JCA delivered the grounds of decision of the court on 28 November 2023, sitting with Sundaresh Menon CJ and Judith Prakash JCA in Civil Appeal No 9 of 2023.

Statutes Cited

Breach of the Glencore LOI pursuant to the Contract (Rights of Third Parties) Act (Cap 53B) Cases on this Act →

Cases Cited (19)

SG (5)

[2022] SGHC 213 [2022] SGHC 263 [2023] SGCA 28 [2023] SGCA(I) 7 [2023] SGHC 12

SLR (11)

[1989] 2 SLR(R) 300 [1992] 3 SLR(R) 107 [2001] 2 SLR(R) 435 [2008] 3 SLR(R) 261 [2012] 1 SLR 992 [2013] 3 SLR 666 [2014] 4 SLR 375 [2016] 3 SLR 557 [2018] 1 SLR 894 [2019] 3 SLR 132 [2022] 5 SLR 113

UK (3)

[1905] 1 KB 465 [1978] QB 159 [1983] 1 AC 168