PARASTATE LABS, INC. v WANG LI & 3 Ors

Q: Which legislation does [2023] SGHC 48 consider?

The judgment refers to Arbitration Act (Cap 10), International Arbitration Act (Cap 143A), and International Arbitration Act (Cap 10). The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

[2023] SGHC 48 High Court (General Division) 28 February 2023 HC/OC 130/2022 ( HC/SUM 3651/2022 ) 21 min read

5 cases cited (4 SG, 1 foreign) Cited by 4 cases

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	28 February 2023
Judge	Andre Maniam
Charges / claim	Arbitration
Counsel	Allen & Gledhill LLP, Breakpoint LLC, FC Legal Asia LLC, Remy Choo Chambers LLC, Ang Ann Liang, Carol Yuen, Choo Zheng Xi, Chu Hua Yi, Darius Chan, Foo Maw Shen, Mark Tan, Michael Chan, Yeoh Tze Ning

Source: [2023] SGHC 48, High Court (General Division), decided 28 February 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Arbitration — Stay of court proceedings — Case management stay — Whether court proceedings should be stayed pending resolution of arbitration

Practice Areas

Arbitration

Judges (1)

Andre Maniam Delivered

Counsel (13)

Allen & Gledhill LLP Firm Breakpoint LLC Firm FC Legal Asia LLC Firm Remy Choo Chambers LLC Firm Ang Ann Liang Counsel Defendant Carol Yuen Counsel Defendant Choo Zheng Xi Counsel Defendant Chu Hua Yi Counsel Claimant Darius Chan Counsel Defendant Foo Maw Shen Counsel Claimant Mark Tan Counsel Claimant Michael Chan Counsel Defendant Yeoh Tze Ning Counsel Defendant

Parties (5)

Babel Asia Asset Management Private Limited Defendant Babel Holding Limited Defendant Parastate Labs Inc Claimant Wang Li Defendant Yang Zhou Defendant

Case Significance

Parastate Labs Inc v Wang Li and others [2023] SGHC 48 sets out the grounds of decision of Andre Maniam J in the General Division of the High Court, in Originating Claim No 130 of 2022 (Summons No 3651 of 2022), heard on 28 November 2022 with the decision dated 28 February 2023. The judge ordered a mandatory stay of the claimant Parastate's claims against the third defendant, Babel Asia, under s 6 of the International Arbitration Act 1994, there being an arbitration agreement between them; on Mr Wang's application he then ordered a case management stay of the rest of the action pending resolution of that putative arbitration. Parastate appealed the case management stay in Summons 3651 of 2022 but not the arbitration stay in Summons 3639 of 2022. Parastate had invested in the Babel Quant Alpha USDT Fund managed by a provider trading as Babel Finance, contracting with Babel Asia, a company wholly owned by the fourth defendant Babel Holding.

[2023] SGHC 48 explained

PARASTATE LABS, INC. v WANG LI & 3 Ors ([2023] SGHC 48) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 28 February 2023. It is categorised under Arbitration. Within this corpus it has since been cited by 4 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 [2023] SGHC 48 about?

PARASTATE LABS, INC. v WANG LI & 3 Ors ([2023] SGHC 48) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2023. Its published catchwords are “Arbitration — Stay of court proceedings — Case management stay — Whether court proceedings should be stayed pending resolution of arbitration”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

Which legislation does [2023] SGHC 48 consider?

The judgment refers to Arbitration Act (Cap 10), International Arbitration Act (Cap 143A), and International Arbitration Act (Cap 10). The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

How influential is [2023] SGHC 48?

Within this corpus, [2023] SGHC 48 has been cited by 4 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

Parastate Labs Inc, which had invested in a cryptocurrency fund managed by Babel Asia Asset Management, sued Babel Asia, its parent company, and two co-founders. After a mandatory stay of the claims against Babel Asia under the International Arbitration Act, the first defendant sought a case management stay of the remainder of the action pending the putative arbitration. Andre Maniam J granted the case management stay, holding it would ensure the efficient and fair resolution of the dispute as a whole.

What did the court decide in Parastate Labs Inc v Wang Li [2023] SGHC 48?

Andre Maniam J ordered a mandatory stay of Parastate's claims against Babel Asia under s 6 of the International Arbitration Act, then a case management stay of the rest of the action pending the putative arbitration. Parastate appealed only the case management stay.

What was the underlying dispute in Parastate Labs Inc v Wang Li ([2023] SGHC 48)?

Parastate invested in the Babel Quant Alpha USDT Fund managed by a cryptocurrency provider trading as Babel Finance. It contracted with the third defendant Babel Asia, a company wholly owned by the fourth defendant Babel Holding; Mr Wang and Mr Yang were among Babel Holding's co-founders.