Timeshare-specific laws unlikely for now

The Government believes the best form of regulation will be to give the consumer watchdog more teeth through the Fair Trading Act, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan said in Parliament yesterday. "At this moment, we are not convinced that a tribunal would work. We still prefer to take steps in strengthening the commercial practices and best practices in this industry before recommending a tribunal," said Mr Lee, who was questioned several times on the subject. In the timeshare business model, a company buys something usually properties such as holiday homes and breaks it up into shares to be sold to individuals. Popular for a while, timeshare traders have topped the Consumer Association of Singapore's (Case) complaint list over the past five years. The solution, said Mr Lee, is to give Case more powers, accredit timeshare businesses, and then publicise the bad hats