Singapore Company Incorporation

Most definitely yes. We have been doing this since 1998. So if you want to benefit from the city-state’s business-friendly environment, we can assist you in completing your Singapore company registration and other formalities in just under a few hours.

Apart from the huge tax advantage, and benefits of over 100 comprehensive trade agreements, one of the major advantages of incorporating a private limited company is that it is a separate legal entity and is limited by shares. As a result, shareholders of a Singapore company are not liable for its debts and losses beyond their amount of share capital.

There are five different structures to choose from – Sole-Proprietorship, Partnership, Limited Partnership, and Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), and the most common and flexible business entity – the Private Limited Company. Do note that all companies in Singapore must be registered and abide by the country’s Companies Act.

• at least one shareholder which may be an individual or a corporate entity
• one resident director (either a Singapore citizen, permanent resident, Employment Pass holder or a Dependant Pass holder)
• one resident company secretary
• initial paid-up share capital of at least S$1, or equivalent in any currency
• a physical Singapore office address, and cannot be a PO Box

Read More » Company Registration Guide

• Exempt private company (EPC): – If the number of shareholders are 20 or less, and there are no corporate shareholders
• Private Limited:- If the shareholders are more than 20 but less than 50.
• Public company:- If the number of shareholders exceeds 50, it becomes a public company.

Read more about Exempt Private Company Limited by Shares.

A public company can offer shares, debentures and other interests to the public. It can have unlimited number of shareholders, and can be unlisted or listed on a stock exchange.

When a private company has grown and has more than 50 shareholders, it must be converted to a public company limited by shares.

It is important to note that the compliance requirements for public companies are much higher than that of private companies.

In Singapore, not-for-profit, religious and charitable organisations, usually set up public companies limited by guarantee.

Importantly, there is no share capital in such companies. When the company is wound up, each member just pays the amount that they have guaranteed, which can be as little S$1.

For a private company in Singapore, maximum number of shareholders is limited to 50.
Importantly, the memorandum and articles of association (MAA) of a Singapore company puts restriction on its members to transfer their shares in the company.

A private company limited by shares is classified as a exempt private company (EPC) in Singapore. An EPC has:

• no more than 20 shareholders; and
• all the shareholders are individuals

Read more about Exempt Private Company.

Copy of passport, proof of residential address and bank reference letter for every non-resident shareholder and director; whereas for each resident shareholder/director, documents needed are a copy of Singapore ID, and copy of passport for foreign individuals.

Meanwhile, if the shareholder is a corporate entity, documents needed are copy of the parent company’s certificate of incorporation, and copy of official documents reflecting the registered address and directors of the parent company.

An important consideration while choosing a company name is to first check whether the chosen company name matches an available domain name. You can either go for .sg, .com, .org or any other domain extensions, and it will depend on your target market region. Another consideration is to check on ACRA’s online registration portal BizFile+ if the intended company name is available. If yes, you have to get it approved by ACRA. Do note that this process of name selection is critical and must be done diligently as it is critical for brand-building – including your business activities within the company name itself can be beneficial.

For this, browse through the Singapore Standard Industrial Classification Code (SSIC) 2015 and select the business activities your company will be engaging in. This process is critical too, as the business activities of a Singapore company must be clearly stated at the time of incorporation.

There are few considerations to start with, most important of which is that at least one corporate or individual shareholder is required while forming a Singapore company. The company must issue one or more subscriber shares to its initial members.

The total number of shares existing in the company multiplied by the nominal value of each share gives the issued share capital of the company.

Yes, 100 percent local or foreign shareholding is allowed in Singapore.

In Singapore, a company can be registered with a minimum paid up capital of S$1 (or its equivalent in any currency).

In Singapore, a private company limited by shares must have at least one shareholder and no more than 50 shareholders.

Yes, every Singapore company must have at least one director who is “ordinarily” resident in Singapore, which means either a Singapore citizen, a Singapore permanent resident, an employment pass/entrepreneur pass holder, or a dependant’s pass with a residential address in Singapore.

Importantly, a company director and shareholder can be the same or different person in Singapore

For those who wish to set up a Singapore company but cannot relocate to Singapore, we provide the services of a resident nominee director on a long-term or temporary basis. This can help you in fulfilling the Singapore companies’ statutory requirement of a resident director.

Yes, a registered address is required in Private Limited Company registration. It is mandatory for every company registered in Singapore to have a local address as all official correspondences are sent to it. Though some businesses are allowed to use residential addresses.

Also, the official address of your company must be a physical address and cannot be a PO Box.

Yes we do, and our Virtual Office services include a dedicated phone and fax number for your business, an automated greeting service. All recorded messages, fax, posts etc. are forwarded to you in a reasonable time.

Yes, the Singapore Company Act mandates that all companies in Singapore must appoint a company secretary within six months of incorporation, whose is responsible for ensuring all regulatory compliances of your company.

You can outsource this requirement to us, under the ambit of our corporate services and we will take care of your company secretary requirements.

In Singapore, all companies, unless exempted under Section 205B, or 205C, of the Companies Act, are required to appoint a company auditor within three months of company incorporation.

Though before July 2015, exempt private companies with yearly revenue of less than S$5 million were exempted from audit compliance. Now, that has been replaced by a “small company” concept.

In Singapore, a company qualifies as a small company if:

1. it is a private company in the financial year in question; and
2. it meets at least 2 of 3 following criteria for immediate past two consecutive financial years:
   1. total annual revenue ≤ $10m;
   2. total assets ≤ $10m;
   3. no. of employees ≤ 50

For a company which is part of a group:

1. the company must qualify as a small company; and
2. entire group must be a “small group” to qualify to the audit exemption.

Easy answer is, just under a day. As part of our Singapore company incorporation services, we can get your company registered with the Accounting Corporate Regulatory Authority within one day.

Yes, Singapore permits 100% foreign ownership of Singapore companies.

No, it’s not needed. All signing of documentations can be done via email or fax, whatever you prefer.

Depends. As some – though not all – banks may require you to be present for the corporate bank account opening process.

We will email you the electronic copies of all relevant documents as soon as the company is incorporated. All originals will be posted to you within one day.

Yes, paid-up capital of a Singapore company can be increased at any stage after incorporation.