Step by Step Guide to Incorporate a Company in Singapore

Singapore was continually ranked top for the startups from past years from the annual survey of 189 economies conducted by the World Bank. With all the infrastructure, political stability, government assistance and world-class technologies and software, Singapore is a favourable place to start a business. Also, the government supports both local residents and foreigners with its services, which increases the opportunity for all the entrepreneurs in the world to incorporate company Singapore.

There are a few points you need to consider for company incorporation in Singapore. We discuss it in this article:

Any entrepreneur who wants to register their company in Singapore must be 18 years or above and should follow the procedure as per Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).

Name Of The Company

You should choose a suitable and unique name for your company. The name should be free from any copyright issues. Then, you should submit the name to ACRA’s Bizfile system electronically for the approval. Once, you get the approval, you can proceed with the incorporation.

Type Of Company

You should be sure of the firm you want to open. There are different options such as sole proprietorship, pte. Ltd., and partnership. Pte. Ltd. is a common type of business incorporated by many entrepreneurs in Singapore.

Directors And Personnel

After you decide the business structure, you need to appoint personnel for day to day business activities and as an incharge of the firm.

• Directors: S/he is in incharge of business activities and must be 18 years or above. Also, s/he should be a permanent citizen or Employment Pass holder.
• CEO: you should appoint a managing director to conduct daily operations.
• Secretary: after you set up your company, you need to appoint at least one secretary within six months. Director cannot be the secretary of the company and must be a legal citizen.
• Auditor: also, you need to appoint an auditor for the frim within three months of incorporation unless spared by the Companies Act.

Shareholders And Capital

Your company should have at least one shareholder and maximum shareholders rely on the business structure you choose. You also need to provide particulars of all the shareholders in the document. The minimum capital should be $1. Generally two types of shares are issued: Preference shares and Ordinary shares.

Address Of The Office

During the submission of application, you need to provide the address of your company which must be a valid local address in Singapore. Your company must be located physically in Singapore.

Laws Of The Company

The applicant should submit the legal document of the company that the company adopts during its business activities. It usually consists of:

• Objectives and features of the company
• Laws and Regulations
• Business activities and procedure to conduct it
• Rights and duties of the personnel

Company Incorporation Singapore For Foreigners

There are two option for foreigners to incorporate a company in Singapore:

• Conducting Business from overseas: for this; foreigners need to appoint one director who is a legal citizen of Singapore and all the processes are similar as above.
• Conducting business in Singapore: for this; foreigners need an agent such as an accounting firm or law firm, a director that is a local citizen and should obtain EntrePass or Employment Pass for company incorporation Singapore. All other registration processes are similar.