The Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) is the Company Registrar and governs the process to incorporate a company in Singapore. It is as per the Companies Act, 1967.
Singapore is a prime location in the Asia Pacific for conducting business, offering solid trademark IP protection, an attractive corporate tax framework, superb connectivity, a strategic geographical position close to major emerging markets, and extensive trade agreements with over 100 regions worldwide. Due to these exceptional achievements, Singapore is the perfect place to establish a new company, open a subsidiary, or set up a branch or representative office in Asia.
Key Requirements to Register a Company in Singapore
You need:
- Minimum paid-up capital of $1
- At least one shareholder
- At least one local or resident director
- At least one company secretary
- Registered local address
Nominee Director Service in Singapore
All Singapore companies are required to have at least one individual director who is an ordinarily resident of Singapore. It is common for foreigners to set up a company in Singapore with a nominee director acting as the local director. Responsibilities are quite burdensome for all directors, including the nominee director. The nominee director would end up having to pay for company charges including liquidation charges in case the foreign director or the foreign client is no longer reachable.
The roles and responsibilities of a nominee director in Singapore typically include:
- Meeting legal requirements:The primary responsibility of a nominee director is to fulfill legal requirements stipulated by the Companies Act of Singapore, which mandates at least one resident director for all companies registered in Singapore.
- Compliance:Ensuring compliance with all relevant laws, regulations, and corporate governance standards applicable in Singapore, including filing of annual returns, maintaining statutory registers, and adherence to tax obligations.
- Fiduciary responsibility:The nominee director represents another person or entity on the company’s board, ensuring that the appointing party’s interests are upheld within the legal framework of Singapore.The person is also required to maintain confidentiality regarding company matters and sensitive information, ensuring that the appointing party’s interests are protected at all times.
Nominee Shareholder Service in Singapore
A nominee shareholder is an individual or entity that holds shares on behalf of anotherperson or entity, commonly knows as the nominator. The nominee shareholder’s name appear on the company’s registers, while the nominator retaqin the actual ownership and control of the shares. The purpose of using nominee shareholder is often to maintain anonymity.
Benefits of Singapore company registration
Registering a Singaporean company offers various benefits, including skilled labour availability, ease of starting and managing a business, ideal location, political stability, low tax rates with incentives and treaties, access to funding capital, and robust intellectual property protection.
- Availability of skilled labour: Singapore citizens are highly skilled and diverse. This multilingual workforce, proficient in English, Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil, helps make Singapore an excellent hub for businesses targeting diverse markets. The labour market’s flexibility allows businesses to readily adapt to changing conditions and workforce demands.
- Low tax rates, incentives and treaties:An enticing system of commercial services tax rates worldwide, with a company tax rate of 17%, roughly equal to India’s corporate tax rate. The Singaporean government also exempts start-ups from paying taxes while offering various tax incentives. Moreover, they have an extensive network of Double Tax Deductions for Internationalisation (DTDI) treaties with many countries, including India, that qualify for tax breaks.
- Easier to start and manage a business: Singapore has consistently marketed its ease of doing business with the straightforward registration process. The government also provides various online tools and services to facilitate company incorporation, such as ACRA’s BizFile+and various business grants that help SMEs.
- Ideal location: Singapore is strategically located in the heart of Southeast Asia, offering access to a vast market of over 650 million people.
- Political stability and business-friendly policies: Singapore government has a stable political environment and a pro-business government. It has consistently ranked high in global indices for ease of doing business, economic freedom, and investor protection.
- Access to Funding and Capital: Singapore’s financial sector is strong and offers a variety of banking and financial services. For companies wishing to expand or make investments in the area, it provides access to funding sources such as venture capital, private equity, and others.
- Intellectual Property Protection: Provides a safe environment for protecting copyrights, patents, and trademarks, which is essential for companies offering new goods or services.