Singapore

SINGAPORE INCORPORATION

Executive Overview to Forming A company in Singapore

Singapore is a viable option for incorporation for many entrepreneurs. There are numerous advantages to incorporating in Singapore, but a few drawbacks.

Singapore is a highly reputable ‘onshore’ jurisdiction that is “tax-opaque”.  Singapore has designed its tax laws to be simple, and inviting to entrepreneurs. Under many circumstances, a company could have no obligation for taxes on profits for the first 3 years in Singapore. After that, the tax is a flat rate of 17%.

 Can I get Second Citizenship in Singapore from starting a Company?

An entrepreneur can easily gain residency in the country through the Entrepass program. There is a relatively quick path to citizenship as well, and one must reside in the country for 3 years for this to take effect. Citizenship here may require you to renounce your previous citizenship.

Are there any downsides to a Singapore company?

One of the main drawbacks for a Singapore company is that you must maintain an address in Singapore, and there must be a resident director. This does not mean that the resident director needs to own shares, but there must be a citizen OR permanent resident of Singapore who maintains the file. This is an additional requirement to the registered agent.

Why Choose Singapore?

Ever increasing numbers of foreign investors choose to incorporate in Singapore every year. Some other reasons for incorporating in Singapore often include:

  • Excellent base of operations in Asia. Singapore is oftentimes seen as the ���hub” of Asia.
  • Singapore is a leading global city in the East with a pro-business climate, clear and efficient legal system, and corruption free government. These are valuable advantages that cannot be easily found in bordering countries.
  • For those who might consider relocating to Singapore, the City State has a very high quality of living. Thereare excellent education, heath systems, and the country is renowned for its safe and secure atmosphere. English is spoken by most Singaporeans. The city has one of the highest GDP per capita in the world.

There are a number of different legal entities available to entrepreneurs. Please contact us to learn about what might be the ideal legal entity for your situation.

FACTS ABOUT SINGAPORE INCORPORATION

  • Anyone a local or foreigner can incorporate a company in Singapore.
  •  Person from overseas is allowed to own whole company in Singapore.
  •  Only $1 is the minimum paid up capital.
  • Just one director and one stakeholder is needed, a single person can act as both.
  • One local resident director is must. If you are a foreigner then the relocation of visa is first necessary for you to act as local resident director in order to operate your company in Singapore.
  • In case you want to operate your company away from Singapore, you can also consult the services of the local nominee director and that will also fulfill this requirement. This nominee director is just paper based and without any involvement in your company’s operations. (Registered Agent Worldwide also provides this service along with company incorporation in Singapore.)
  • For every company in Singapore, you require a competent local company secretary. This service is also provided by most of the firms dealing with Singapore Incorporation.
  • A local registered address is needed for the incorporation process in Singapore.
  • Opening a corporate bank account for your company in Singapore is really very simple.
  • The Singapore company incorporation usually gets completed in one day. The whole process of incorporation is totally computerized.
  • It’s not required for Foreigners to visit the country for incorporation process.

REGISTERED AGENT WORLDWIDE: INCORPORATE YOUR COMPANY WITH US

Additional corporate services are requested by many international entrepreneurs from Registered agent worldwide to support the incorporation of companies in Singapore. The process of incorporating a company in Singapore is really straightforward.  Our firm always consider the legal and regulatory aspects of jurisdiction for incorporation of companies in Singapore.

Initial Incorporation Process:

To incorporate a company in Singapore, you need to provide the following information:

  • Name of the Company
  • Detailed Descriptions of all the Business Activities
  • Details of Shareholders
  • Details of Directors
  • Registered Address
  • Details of Company Secretary
  • Memorandum and Articles of Association (MAA). Being a Singapore Company Registrar you have to provide a standard MAA document that is appropriate for most instances.

Registered Agent Worldwide will require following documents to complete the paperwork of incorporation process:

  • If you are nor a resident of Singapore then you have to provide Copy of passport, overseas residential address proof, and other Know-Your-Client (KYC) information such as a bank reference letter, personal and business profile.
  • Copy of Singapore identity card in case you are resident of Singapore.
  • For corporate entity stakeholder it is necessary to provide Copy of registration documents such as Certificate of Incorporation and Memorandum & Articles of Association.

Note that you may need an officially authorized translation of any document that is not in English.

 The incorporation procedure and timeline

The Singapore Registrar of Companies keeps the whole company registration process in Singapore completely computerized. This results in quick and efficient incorporation. The process gets completed in just one or two days under normal conditions.

The company’s setup procedure in Singapore is comprised of two separate steps: 1) The approval of Company Name l and; 2) The registration of the Company. These two steps are mostly completed on the same day unless there are no delays from the Company Registrar.

Step 1: The Approval of Name

The approval of the proposed name for company is required first for Singapore company incorporation. This can be done by completing the form with the Company Registrar. Registered Agent Worldwide will do it for you in as the initial step of your company incorporation.

The response for the approval or rejection of the company name comes within an hour unless there are more certain words like bank, finance or law etc. as they require external Government authority review and approval. This may delay the approval of name by several days .

In order to get your company name approve more quickly, ensure the name:

  • Is different and does not match any existing local firm’s name.
  •  does not violate any of the trademarks
  • is not obscene or vulgar
  • is free and not reserved by any other company.

The maximum limit of the approved name to stay reserved is 60 days. This time period can also be extended for more 60 days by filling an expansion form before expiry.

Step 2: The Registration of Company

The rest of the incorporation process is completed and approved by the Registrar of Companies in the next few hours after the company name is approved. This is done quicker in case the incorporation document is ready and signed already by the directors and stakeholders.

In some cases where the directors or stakeholders are of multiple nationalities, the process of incorporation can get delayed, but this happens in very less situations only. The reason behind this is the additional information required by the authorities.

For private limited liability company, you have to pay a registration fee of S$300 to Registrar of Companies in Singapore at the time of incorporation.

Final stages of Incorporation

An official email notification by Company Registrar will confirm the incorporation of your company. This email notification mostly has your company registration number, and it will also act as the official incorporation certificate in Singapore. They don’t issue any hard copy of the certification of incorporation anymore in Singapore.  However, you can request a hard copy by emailing the Company Registrar in case you need it. This will cost you a fee of approximately S$50 and you can collect the hard copy next day from the office of the registrar.

Business profile for Singapore Company

You can obtain your business profile including all the details of company by requesting it online from the Company Registrar, you will again have to pay minor application fee. This information will be available within an hour after the request in a downloadable PDF format. It generally contains details like:

  • The Company name and its registration number
  • Previous names for the company, if any
  • The date of Incorporation
  • Major activities
  • Capital Paid-up
  • Registered address
  • Details of Shareholders
  • Details of Directors
  • Details of Company Secretary

There are few other items that you may need for incorporation of your company in Singapore, those items include:

  • Each shareholder’s Share certificate
  • Share register: To indicate the allocation of shares to the shareholders
  • Company seal for the company
  • A rubber stamp for your company

How To Open a Corporate bank account Your Singapore Company

Once your Singapore Company is successfully incorporated, you can easily open a corporate account for your company in famous banks of Singapore like HSBC, Standard Chartered, Citibank, DBS, OCBC, UOB, etc.

Keep this in mind that several banks require physical presence of the company’s principals for account opening process. So you must consider the following:

  • If you cannot visit Singapore then you should choose a bank that does not require your physical presences for account opening.
  • If you can visit Singapore then there is a wide variety of options for you. You can select different facilities and features of many banks in Singapore according to your needs

How do I get a Singapore business license?

Before commencing your business operations you may need to obtain some business license for depending on your company’s business activities. The businesses that require these kinds of licenses include restaurants, educational institutes, travel agencies, financial services, import/export of goods, etc.

Goods and Service Tax (GST) registration

In many other countries, GST tax is also acknowledged as Value Added Tax (VAT) or Sales Tax. You have to charge this tax from your clients if your firm is GST registered and then you forward this amount to tax authorities. If your company’s annual turnover does not go beyond S$1 million then this GST registration is not obligatory.

After successful incorporation of your company in Singapore, the Companies Act dictates certain annual filing requirements and formalities.

Income taxation for Singapore Companies

The company’s taxable income differs from the net income. To find out the taxable income of the company for the given accounting year, it starts with the profits/loss of the company and then several adjustments in the accounts. To separate some expenses of the company that may not be deductible for tax, adjustments are made. In the same way there may be non taxable income received by the company or the tax for that income may be separate.

The overview of Singapore income tax for companies

Your company in Singapore will be taxed on its income accruing in or derived from Singapore and income received in Singapore from outside the country focus to applicable exemptions and tax reliefs. Income includes:

  •     Any trade or business gains or profits
  •     Income received through investment e.g. interest and rental
  •     Royalties, premiums and any other profits from property
  •     All other income nature gains.

NOTE: The price below includes nominee directorship, registered agent service, secretary service, incorporation and all legal documents. If you need to form a company in Singapore, please contact us and we will walk you through the process.

Fill out my Wufoo form!