Company Incorporation Services in Singapore
Overview
If at all you are looking forward to starting a Company in Singapore, then be informed that like many other countries, it also has its jurisdiction. There are a set of ongoing and initial regulatory compliance requirements needed for the purposes of operating and starting a business in Singapore. For this reason, it is important to engage the services of a professional firm especially if you are a foreign entrepreneur as well as a local one. This is because the professional firm is aware of procedures and requirements that will enable you to start your Company in no time without wasting time.
When registering a new Company in Singapore or relocating your existing Company to Singapore, it is important that you know that most companies in Singapore are usually registered as the following;
Private Limited Liability Companies; also commonly referred to as Private Limited Companies and in Singapore, they are considered as a separate legal entity and in addition to that, shareholder’s in the Company are not at all responsible for the debts of the Company. This is especially when the debts of the Company are beyond their share capital amount that they have contributed, thus the term Limited Liability. In accordance with Singapore Companies Act, anyone who is above the age of 18 years can go ahead and register a Company, whether they are local or foreigners.
About Pre-Registration
Important Facts concerning Company Formation
- Name of the Company; the Company’s name must be approved and this is before Incorporation of the Singapore Company occurs.
- Directors; there should be a minimum of one Singapore resident and by resident, it means that the person should be a citizen of Singapore, a person issued with an Entrepass, a Singaporean Permanent Resident, Employment Pass or Dependent Pass. This should be mandatory. One is not limited to the number of additional foreign Directors or locals a Singapore Company may want to appoint. The Directors should be at least 18 years and not bankrupt or have a history of ever being convicted or any malpractice in their past. There is usually no requirement for Directors to also be Shareholders meaning that non-shareholders can also be appointed as Directors.
- Shareholders; a Singapore Private Limited Company should have a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 50 shareholders and a Director or a shareholder can be one and the same person or a different one. The shareholder could be a person or a legal entity such as a Company or Trust. It is important to also note that 100% foreign or local shareholding is allowed and in addition to that new shares can be issued or existing ones be transferred to a different person any time and this is after the Singapore Company is through with the Incorporation Process.
- Company Secretary; in accordance with Section 171 of the Singapore Companies Act, each and every Company should appoint a qualified Company Secretary within a period of six months after its Incorporation. It is to be noted that in regards to a Sole Director/shareholder, the same person is not allowed to act as a Company Secretary. The position should be held by a natural person who is ordinarily a Singaporean resident.
- Paid-up Capital; the minimum paid-up capital for registering a Company in Singapore is S$1. Paid-up Capital, which is also known as Share Capital can be increased anytime and this is after the Incorporation of the Company. There is actually no concept of Authorized Capital where Singapore companies are concerned.
- Registered Address; you must provide a local Singapore address as the registered address of the Company, for you to register a Company in Singapore. The registered address should be a physical address and this is either residential or commercial not a P.O. Box and HDB address accept approved by HDB.
- Taxation; Singapore Registered Companies usually enjoy attractive incentives and tax exemptions. Actually, your Company goes on to pay less than 9% for the first S$300,000 annual profits and 17% flat rate after that. There are also no dividend taxes or capital gains on Singapore Companies. The excellent tax benefits and Singapore’s business reputation is what attracts entrepreneurs from all around the world in regards to forming a Company in Singapore.
What Foreigners Should Consider?
If at all you are a foreigner and you wish to open a Company in Singapore, you are required to take the following into consideration.
- You are supposed to engage a professional firm in registering a Singapore Company. The Law in Singapore is that foreign individuals or entities should not self-register a Company.
- If at all you only want to incorporate a Private Limited Company but have got no plans to relocate to Singapore, you are not required to obtain any special Singapore Visa. You have the freedom to operate your Company from wherever you may be together with freely visiting Singapore on a visitor’s visa when required to attend to Company’s matters on a short term basis. Know that in such cases, a local resident Director is needed because each Company must have at least one local Director. Professional service firms that offer Singapore Incorporation Services usually offer the services of a local nominee director for this purpose.
- In regards to relocation for the purposes of operating your Company, you must obtain an Employment Pass or Entrepreneur Pass type of work pass. After obtaining your work permit, you are then allowed to act as the local resident Director of your Company.
- Most Singapore Company Incorporation formalities together with work permit formalities if applicable, can be handled without you being physically present in Singapore. Opening a bank account is the only exception and this depends on the bank you choose.
The Documents Required
- Company Name
- Brief Description of Business Activities
- Shareholders Particulars
- Directors Particulars
- Registered Address
- Company Secretary Particulars
- Memorandum and Articles of Association (MMA). Singapore Company Registrar provides a standard MMA document that is suitable in most instances.
Formalities For Post Registration
The Documents issued
Certificate of Incorporation; an official email notification is sent confirming the Incorporation of the Company and it includes;
- The Company Registration Number, which is treated as the official Certificate of Incorporation in Singapore.
- A hard copy of it (which is no longer issued by default in Singapore) but if you require it, you can request it online to the Company Registrar and this is after the Incorporation of the Singapore Company. For this to be issued, you will attract a fee of S$50 and the hardcopy can be collected the next day from the Office of the Registrar.
Company Business Profile; this contains the particulars of the Company and can be gotten from the Company Registrar after making an online request to which a small fee will apply. A PDF file is usually available for download within an hour of the request and it contains the following;
√ Company Name and Registration Date
√ Previous Names for the Company, if any
√ Incorporation Date
√ Principle Activities
√ Paid-up Capital
√ Registered Address
√ Shareholders Details
√ Directors Details
√ Company Secretary Details
Application For Business Licenses
This depends on your Company’s business activities and you may be required to obtain one or more business licenses after the Incorporation of your Company and this is before commencing any business operations. Few business activities require such a license and they include;
- Restaurants
- Educational Institutes
- Travel Agencies
- Financial Services
- Import/Export of Goods among others
When you refer to the Singapore Business Licenses guide, you will get a list of the businesses that require licenses.
Tax (GST) Registration For Goods And Services
When the projected annual revenue for your Company exceeds SGD 1 million, your Company should register for GST, which is also known as Value Added Tax (VAT) or Sales Tax in other countries. After registering your Company as GST, you will be required to charge 7% of this tax to your customers on the products and services provided after which you will then remit this amount to tax authorities. Remember that GST registration is not mandatory if at all your Company does not exceed S$1 million.
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Partner Bankers for Opening Corporate Bank Account
To continue in extend our services of incorporation company, we are also assisting you in the opening corporate bank account(s). We have corporate up with 3 of the major bank in Singapore which is OCBC Bank UOB bank and Maybank. These three Banks will serve all of the services needed to open a Corporate bank account.
The above three banks are able to assist you to open current account specially designed for newly incorporation on businesses/companies. With a hassle-free account opening process and low maintenance costs and flexible such as minimum documentation required, the initial deposit from as low as S$500* to S$3,000*, waive of bank charges up to 6 months account fee (usual charge is S$38* per month) and also waive of minimum balance requirement (usual average monthly min. S$8,000*) for first 6 months (usual charge is S$35* per month), with monthly package of FREE 30 cheques, 20 fast transactions, 2 Telegraphic Transfers and up to 200 GIRO transactions. In addition, you can enjoy easier access to the online banking system platform (desktop / mobile App), SMS eAlerts service and with the Business Card designed with your company logo. Please refer to one of the sample below:
Our advisors and partner bankers will advise you and all on the information that requires sitting up the Corporate Current Account for your company/business. Or in the alternative option that we can arrange with Partner bankers to visit you at your office or at anywhere and at any time as convenient to you and assist on the opening of your Corporate Current Account. Please call us for more information today.
*Banks’ terms and conditions apply
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Engage JM Management to Assist Your Incorporation Services
Our firm will fully assist you to set up the company, to ease your mind and we will make all the process to be easier. You just have to provide the necessary documents and we will do the rest.
To fulfil the authorities’ requirements, we are providing services that are not limited to:
Advisory; and for more services, please check our one-stop solution at Our Services, which may be needed for your company.
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