Population

Singapore has a population of approximately 4.35 million people. More than 75% are Chinese with the remaining 25% mainly Malays, Indians and others. The different races live together with mutual respect and racial harmony. The workforce is well educated and hard working and there is a high level of administrative and technical expertise.

Political Structure

The People's Action Party, its single dominant ruling party since its independence in 1965, rules Singapore. There is no strong opposition party in Singapore.
The Singapore Government vigilantly plans, manages and administers the country's socio-economic development. Singapore is one of the most politically stable and corruption-free countries in the world.

Infrastructure & Economy

Singapore has an excellent infrastructure with state of the art communication facilities and road systems. It operates busy and efficient air and seaports, and is a free port with no customs and excise duties on most items.
Singapore is also one of the leading international financial centres. Offshore investors are well served by representatives from most major international banks, financial institutions, investment management and accounting firms and law firms.
The Singapore government incourages active foreign investment with generous tax and financial incentives. This has successfully attracted numerous regional holding company headquarters, business and service centers, group finance and treasury centres and investment in high tech industries, media & communications, shipping & financial services.

Language

The most widely used official languages are English and to a lesser extent, Chinese, Malay and Tamil are also official languages.

Currency

Singapore Dollar.

Exchange Control

None.

Types of Law

Common Law.

Principal Corporate Legalisation

The Companies Act.
The Income Tax Act.

Type of Company for International Trade & Investment

Resident or non-resident company, foreign branch operation or a representative office.

Procedures to Incorporate

Submission of the name approval, the Memorandum & Articles of Association and details of shareholders and shareholdings, registered office and the appointment of directors, company secretary and auditors.

Restrictions on Trade

Generally, there are no limits, except for financial services, education, media related or other politically sensitive businesses.

Powers of Company

A company in Singapore has the same powers as a natural person.

Language Legislation & Corporate Documents

English

Registered Office Required

Yes.

Time to incorporate

5 days, subject to name approval.

Name Restrictions

Names that resemble names of existing businesses, or who are undesirable or politically sensitive will be rejected.

Language Of Names

Latin Alphabet.

Names Requiring Consent or a License

Bank, Financial Institution, insurance, fund management, university, Chamber of Commerce and other similar names.

Suffixes to Denote Limited Liability

Private Limited or Pte Ltd for privately held companies.

Disclosure of Beneficial Ownership to the authorities

No.

Authorized & Issued Share Capital

The concept of authorised share capital has been abolished in Jan 2006 & the minimum number of issued shares is one.

Classes of Shares Permitted

Ordinary shares, preference shares and redeemable preference shares.

Taxation

17% on income bought in Singapore for Year Assessment 2010. However, the effective tax rate is reduced significantly (to 15%/10% or even 0%) for companies that qualify for tax relief. Foreign origin dividends, foreign branch profits and foreign sourced service income is exempt from tax, with its comprehensive tax treaties and unilateral tax relief, foreign dividends received in Singapore are generally redeployed out of Singapore tax-free to the foreign investors.

In addition, Singapore treaties are often negotiated very favourably and offer much reduced or even zero foreign withholding taxes on royalties, interest & dividends.

Double Taxation Agreements

Singapore has a comprehensive investment protection agreement and double taxation treaty network. This covers most countries in the Asia-Pacific Region and countries in Europe, Africa & the Middle East. These countries are China, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, India, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, France, Belgium, Finland & the United Arab Emirates.
Singapore is also one of the very few countries that has a tax treaty with Taiwan. This explains the popularity of the Singapore holding company for Taiwanese investments in China and in the region.

Licence Fees

Minimal annual statutory filing fees of around S $20.

Financial Statements Required

Annual audited accounts must be filed with the Registrar of Companies. Accounts must be audited by a registered chartered accountant in Singapore. But the audit exemption is available to qualified companies.

Companies that qualify for audit exemption:

Exempt companies:

• Members of the company are not exceeding 20
• Members of the company are individuals and not a corporation.
• Annual turnover does not exceed S$5m.

Dormant companies:

• Company who has no accounting transactions for the year in question or hasn't commenced business since its inception.

Directors

A minimum of one (for both individual & corporate shareholders), which must be a Singapore resident. To meet this requirement, we would help in the appointment of a Singapore professional director. A foreigner who wants a new trading company in Singapore and registered as a resident director of the company or operating company, a valid passport must be obtained from the government first.

Company Secretary

Companies are required to have a resident company secretary, who must be a natural person.

Shareholders

At least one shareholder is required. Shareholders may be corporations or individuals. 100% foreign ownership is permitted.

How can I get more information on company formation in Singapore?

Please contact us if you wish to open a company in Singapore and we will be pleased to discuss your Singapore company formation matters in greater detail.

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