Singapore Company Registration Guide

Most companies in Singapore are registered as private limited liability companies (commonly known as private limited companies). A private limited liability company in Singapore is a separate legal entity and shareholders are not liable for the company's debts beyond the amount of share capital they have contributed (hence the term limited liability). According to Singapore Companies Act, any person (foreign or local) above the age of 18 can register a Singapore company.

A properly structured private limited company in Singapore is a very tax efficient corporate body and hence this form is the most common type of business entity registered in Singapore.  

This guide provides a detailed overview of the requirements, procedure, and timeline for registering a company in Singapore.  As with most other jurisdictions, Singapore has a set of initial and ongoing regulatory compliance requirements for starting and operating a company. Therefore, both local as well as foreign entrepreneurs are advised to engage the services of a professional firm for this procedure.

Before Singapore Company Registration - What You Need to Know

Key facts about company registration

• Company Name. The name must be approved before incorporation of the Singapore company can occur.
• Directors. A minimum of one resident director (a resident is defined as a Singapore Citizen, a Singaporean Permanent Resident, or a person who has been issued an Entrepass, Employment Pass, or Dependent Pass) is mandatory. There is no limit on the number of additional local or foreign directors a Singapore Company can appoint. Directors must be at least 18 years of age and must not be bankrupt or convicted for any malpractice in the past. There is no requirement for the directors to also be shareholders i.e. non-shareholders can be appointed directors.
• Shareholders. A Singapore private limited company can have a minimum of 1 and maximum of 50 shareholders. A director and shareholder can be the same or different person. The shareholder can be a person or another legal entity such as another company or trust. 100% local or foreign shareholding is allowed. New shares can be issued or existing shares can be transferred to another person anytime after the Singapore company has been incorporated.
• Company Secretary. As per Section 171 of the Singapore Companies Act, every company must appoint a qualified company secretary within 6 months of its incorporation. It has to be noted that in case of a sole director/shareholder, the same person cannot act as the company secretary. The company secretary must be a natural person who is ordinarily resident in Singapore.
• Paid-up Capital. Minimum paid-up capital for registration of a Singapore company is S$1. Paid-up capital (also known as share capital) can be increased anytime after the incorporation of the company. There is no concept of Authorized Capital for Singapore companies.
• Registered Address. In order to register a Singapore company, you must provide a local Singapore address as the registered address of the company. The registered address must be a physical address (can be either a residential or commercial address) and cannot be a PO Box. 
• Taxation. Singapore registered companies enjoy very attractive tax exemptions and incentives. This is one of the key reasons entrepreneurs from around the world prefer to form a company in Singapore. For more information on Singapore tax advantages available to a Singapore company, refer to Singapore Income Tax guide.

Considerations for foreigners when registering a company in Singapore

Foreigners wishing to open a Singapore company, must take into consideration the following points:

• You must engage a professional firm to register a Singapore company. Singapore law does not allow foreign individuals or entities to self-register a company.
• There is no requirement for you to obtain any special Singapore visa if you merely want to incorporate a private limited company but have no plans to relocate to Singapore. You are free to operate your company from overseas as well as free to visit Singapore on a visitor visa whenever required to attend to company matters on a short-term basis. But keep in mind that in such cases, you will need to find a local resident director since each company must have at least one local director. Professional service firms offering Singapore incorporation services often offer the services of a local nominee director for this purpose.
• If you plan to relocate to Singapore to operate your company, you are required to obtain an Employment Pass or Entrepreneur Pass work permit. For more details, refer to Singapore Work Permits guide. Once you have obtained your Singapore work permit, you can act as the local resident director. Often, in order to expedite the company formation, foreigners request their incorporation services firm to provide a local nominee director on a temporary basis and then transfer the directorship after they have obtained their work permit.
• All company incorporation formalities (as well as work permit formalities, if required) can be handled without your having to visit Singapore. The only exception may be the bank account opening, depending on the bank you choose. Many of the banks in Singapore require physical presence of the company principals at the time of opening the company bank account.

Documents required for company registration

For the purpose of company registration in Singapore, the following information is required by the company registrar:

• Company Name
• Brief Description of Business Activities
• Shareholders Particulars
• Directors Particulars
• Registered Address
• Company Secretary Particulars
• Memorandum and Articles of Association (MAA). Singapore Company Registrar provides a standard MAA document that is suitable for most instances. 

The incorporation service firm you engage will typically collect the following documents from you in order to prepare the necessary company incorporation paperwork:

• For non-residents: Copy of passport, overseas residential address proof, and other Know-Your-Client (KYC) information such as a bank reference letter, personal and business profile, etc.
• For Singapore residents: Copy of Singapore identity card
• If the shareholder is a corporate entity: Copy of registration documents such as Certificate of Incorporation and Memorandum & Articles of Association.

Note that officially endorsed translated versions must be provided for any non-English documents. 

Company registration procedure and timeline

Company registration procedure in Singapore is fully computerized by the Singapore Registrar of Companies. As a result, the incorporation process is quick and efficient without any bureaucratic red-tape involved. Under normal cirumstances, the company can be incorporated in 1-2 days. 

There are two distinct steps involved in the Singapore company registration procedure: a) Company Name Approval and; b) Company Incorporation. Both steps can be accomplished on the same day assuming there are no delays related to the name approval or particulars of directors/shareholders.

Step 1: Name Approval
To set up a Singapore company, the proposed name for the company must be approved first. Company name approval is obtained by filing the application with the Company Registrar. The service firm you have chosen to register your company will do it for you as the first step in the incorporation process.

Generally the name approval/rejection notification comes through in less than an hour unless the proposed name has some certain words (such as bank, finance, law, media, etc.) that might require the review and approval of a corresponding external government authority. If the name is referred to an external authority, the name approval can get delayed for 1-3 weeks.

To improve your chances of quick name approval, make sure the name

• is not identical or too similar to any existing local company names
• does not infringe with any trademarks
• is not obscene or vulgar
• is not already reserved

An approved name will be reserved for 60 days from the date of application. You can extend the name for another 60 days by filing an extension request just before the expiry date. 

Step 2: Company Registration
Once the name has been approved, the filing of the incorporation request as well as the approval from the Registrar of Companies can be completed in a few hours assuming incorporation documents are ready and have been signed by the directors and shareholders of the new company.

There are cases when the incorporation procedure can get delayed if the shareholders or directors are of certain nationalities, although this happens on a case by case only. The authorities might require additional information about a shareholder or director before approving the incorporation of the company.  The approval of the company registration can get delayed for 1-2 weeks under such circumstances. 

A registration fee of S$300 is payable to the Singapore Registrar of Companies for incorporating a private limited liability company.

After Singapore Company Registration - What You Need to Know

Registration documents issued

Certificate of Incorporation

The Company Registrar will send an official email notification confirming the incorporation of the company. The email notification includes the company registration number and is treated as the official certificate of incorporation in Singapore. A hard copy of the certification of incorporation is no longer issued by default as it is not needed in Singapore. If however you do prefer a hard copy, an online request can be made to the Company Registrar after the incorporation of the Singapore company. A fee of approximately S$50 is applicable and the hard copy can be collected the next day from the office of the registrar. 

Company Particulars Extract (Business Profile)

A business profile containing the particulars of the company can be obtained from the Company Registrar by making a request online and paying a small application fee. Generally, the document (a PDF file) is available for download within an hour of the request and contains the following key details:

• Company name and registration number
• Previous names for the company, if any
• Incorporation date
• Principal activities
• Paidup capital
• Registered address
• Shareholders details
• Directors details
• Company Secretary details

The above two soft documents (i.e. email notification of incorporation and company business profile) are sufficient in Singapore for all legal and contractual purposes including opening of corporate bank accounts, signing office lease, subscribing to telephone/internet services, etc.

Some of the other items you will almost certainly need upon registration of your Singapore company can be provided by the service provider you use to incorporate your company. These items can include:

• Share certificates for each of the shareholders
• Share register indicating shares allotted to each of the shareholders
• Company seal for the company
• A rubber stamp for the company

Bank account opening

After successful registration of your Singapore company, you can open a corporate bank account in any of the major banks in Singapore such as HSBC, Standard Chartered, Citibank, DBS, OCBC, UOB, etc. Many of the banks in Singapore these days require physical presence of the company principals as part of the account opening procedure. You should consider the following:

• If you are unable to visit Singapore, you should choose a bank that allows opening of the corporate bank account without your visit to Singapore.
• If you are able to visit Singapore, you have a wider choice of banks to choose from. In this case, you can explore the features and facilities provided by different banks and decide on the bank that best suits your needs.

Your incorporation service provider should be able to provide the information on the choice of banks accordingly.

For more details, refer to Opening a Corporate Bank Account in Singapore. 

Business licenses application

Depending on your company's business activities, you may need to obtain one or more business licenses after you have incorporated your company but before you can commence your business operations. Fortunately, very few business activities require such a license. Examples of business activities that require a business license(s) include restaurants, educational institutes, travel agencies, financial services, import/export of goods, etc.

For more information on business licenses, refer to Business Licences in Singapore.

Goods and Service Tax (GST) registration

A Goods and Services Tax (GST) is an indirect tax, expressed as a percentage (currently 7%) applied to the selling price of goods and services provided by GST registered business entities in Singapore. GST registration is not mandatory if your annual company turnover does not exceed S$1 million. To find out more details on whys and hows of GST registration, refer to Singapore GST Registration Guide.

Ongoing compliance requirements for companies registered in Singapore

Once your Singapore company has been incorporated, the Companies Act dictates certain ongoing compliance and filing requirements. For more details on this, see Ongoing Compliance Requirements for Singapore Companies. The advantages available to a private limited Singapore company far outweigh the inhibitions posed by the compliance factors. Most entrepreneurs with long-term plans therefore prefer to register a private limited company in Singapore over other corporate forms.

If after reading this article you have more questions about this topic, please refer to Singapore Company Formation FAQs to see answers to the most frequently asked questions about Singapore company registration.