How to incorporate a company in Singapore?

To incorporate a Singapore company and start a firm is not difficult. It is also not expensive. If you follow their rules and requirements, you can easily fulfill company incorporation requirements. And moreover, our experienced and dedicated team will help you set up your business without painless process.

There are several types of travel passes that allow you to start a firm.  

• Not in all countries, you can start a case, but with EP and DP, which are most plentiful among expats, you can.

• If you already have a product or service that you intend to sell, have put together a good plan, and want to start a firm, the next step is choosing a name and registering it. To do this, you must go to ACRA, where you must register.

• Three types of cases can be registered with ACRA: a private limited liability firm, an individual entrepreneur, and a limited liability partnership.

• Pte Ltd (Private Limited Liability) is preferred and most common among ex-pats for simplicity, scalability, and reliability. It is a legal entity that can incorporate a firm. It can be created by anyone over 18 years old, even if you are a foreigner and you have only $ 1 of registered capital. You need to pay very low taxes from 0 to 17% and have anywhere from 1 to 50 shareholders. You will need a local address to incorporate a company in Singapore, a director (Singaporean, PR, or Entrepass owner), and a secretary.

• If your pass is EP or DP, you can be a shareholder, sole owner, and employee, but you cannot be a director; in these cases, you will have to hire them. But don’t worry, you can easily find firms in this country that offer you director, secretary, and local management services for a small annual fee.

Company incorporation requirements in Singapore

First of all, make sure that you can use the firm name, that it is available and approved by ACRA. It should be an easy-to-remember name that is not offensive and is better if it does not contain case words that require additional approvals. Once approved, a 60-day name reservation (expandable) costs $ 15; subsequent registration of the same thing costs $ 300.

When ACRA approves the firm’s name, it is necessary to register it, and for this, you will need some documentation and details of the case. 

Documents to be prepared:

• Name approved by ACRA
• Brief description of the activity. In this case, to cover a broader range of cases, it is better not to specify too much. For example, training, consulting, product sales, etc. You can choose two, although they are very different, they complement each other. After that, you can devote your case to the described activities only.
• Address where the firm will be incorporated and where is a company incorporated
• Information about shareholders
• Director
• Secretary on duty
• Foreign entrepreneurs must also provide a passport and residence card.

Read more about how to set up the company in Singapore with ACRA in our other guides.

Finally, you can submit the documentation to ACRA for official registration. ACRA will confirm the process and registration and assign a registration number to the firm. In addition, they will provide an official document with detailed information about the firm (name, start date, activity, capital, address, shareholders, director, and secretary) in pdf format. This document will be required for subsequent legal and contractual actions such as opening a bank account, renting, or concluding utilities, telephone, internet, etc.

The firm can be registered within five days. If your case invoice exceeds $ 1 million, you must charge customers 7% VAT (GST – Goods and Services Tax) and declare it. In any case, it is necessary to constantly update the accounts and submit financial statements (account statements) to ACRA on an annual basis. November 30 on paper or December 15 electronically.

Sole proprietorship differs because the case is not separate from the person himself; they are not separate legal entities. Taxes can be up to 22%, and this does not offer too many advantages over the previous one. You must be 18 years of age or older, reside, or hold an EntrePass. 

Doing business in Asia is one of the promising options for entering new markets. 

FAQ