Planning to Incorporate your Singapore Company?. The only checklist you need is this one. | Expansion to South East Asia with Singapore |

The worlds easiest place to incorporate a company ranking 2nd and the financial beacon of Asia, Singapore witnesses a whopping 7,20,000 Business incorporations on an average business calendar year.

Singapore witnesses a whopping 7,20,000 Business incorporations on an average business calendar year. This includes IT, health, professional services & construction topping its charts while accommodation, real estate and sports industry trailing behind.

With any given business area, the country has a clearly defined a set of ground rules, regulations and suggestions by the governing bodies or regulators for you to understand what to do and what not while setting up. In this article, my aim is to give you a quick idea on how and what you needs to be prepared with while you are planning to incorporate in singapore. 🇸🇬

First things first, to register any company in Singapore, you need these minimum requirements to be fulfilled. The registration is done with an agency called as ACRA (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority) in Singapore.

Mandatory Requirements for Registering a Company in Singapore

1. One Shareholder

An individual or corporate entity can become shareholders of the company. A minimum of at least one corporate or individual shareholder is required. A director and shareholder can be the same or different person. 100 % foreign shareholding is allowed in a Singapore company. Singapore Companies Act allows a minimum of one and a maximum of 50 shareholders for a Singapore company. Details of shareholders will appear on public records.

2. One Resident Director

Private Limited Company must have at least one director who is a resident of Singapore. An individual on an employment pass or entrepass can be the director. There is no limit on the number of additional local or foreign directors a Singapore Private Limited Company can appoint. The director must be at least 18 years of age, and must not be bankrupt or convicted for any criminal malpractice in the past. Information of the directors will appear on public records. Directors can also be shareholders or vice versa.

3. One Company Secretary

All Singapore Companies must appoint a company secretary in Singapore within six months of incorporation. The company secretary must be a resident of Singapore.

4. Initial paid-up share capital of at least S$1

The minimum paid-up capital for registration of a Singapore company is S$1 or its equivalent in any currencies. The minimum issued capital is one share of par value. “Bearer” shares or “No par value” shares are not permitted. The share capital can be increased after a particular period of time. However it is better to have a good paid up capital in your Company while you incorporate. This adds up to the valuation and is a better point while you approach a banker for a bank account opening.

5. A physical Singapore registered office address.

Every company present in Singapore must have a registered office address. This address would be for official communications to and for the company. The company must also have the Post Office (PO) Box Number.

Apart from this an important touch point is the Governance Structure of the company. The governance structure of a company is based on the Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association. A company can either prepare its own draft articles or use a standard format.

6. Structure / Main activity specific requirements

Some activities in singapore are regulated. This means you need additional licenses or approvals for you to operate in Singapore. If your main activity is one amount the regulated activities for eg: a crypto currency exchange, financial Services company, Real estate Company, a drugs manufacturing Company etc.., this might require additional licenses or consultation by an expert.

If you have any query on your Singapore expansion, you can email me at [email protected] or @anoopanson on twitter. I would be happy to answer your queries.