How To Register A Private Limited Company In Singapore

How to register a company in Singapore: the ultimate guide

Updated 2 years ago by Junie Zhu

This guide contains fundamental facts on opening a company and doing business in Singapore: the requirements, procedures, and timelines.

How to kickoff a business in Singapore?

To start a business concern in Singapore, yous need to:

Select your desired business structure
Register your company with the Singapore Company Regulator (ACRA)
Ready your corporate bank account

What is ACRA?

ACRA refers to The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Say-so which is a statutory board under the Ministry of Finance of the Singapore Government. ACRA is the national regulator of business entities, public accountants, and corporate service providers in Singapore.

How long does it have to register a Singapore Company?

The timeline needed to register a new visitor can vary from a few hours to days. When working with a company secretarial assistant the timeframe is primarily determined by how chop-chop each shareholder and director can transport to the company secretary their personal documentation for verification such as proof of identification and residential address.

How much it price to register a visitor in Singapore?

At Sleek, we can help annals your company! You lot can also subscribe to our company secretary services packet for usa to set other documentation your company will need.

How tin can a foreigner register a company in Singapore?

If you are a greenhorn, y'all might not be enlightened of the regulations in Singapore. To empathise each and every process can also accept up a lot of time and then to avert the hassle, you are advised to hire a visitor secretary firm like Sleek who can assist with their entire business registration procedure and too provide services such as nominee director and registered address.

Registering a Singapore Visitor: high-level overview

Company name	We recommend having a shortlist of iii in case your first choice isn't available.
1 or more directors	Directors must exist individuals, anile 18 and higher up, who accept not been disqualified to hold a directorship in Singapore or elsewhere.
one or more than resident directors	At all times yous will need at to the lowest degree 1 locally resident director. At the fourth dimension of visitor registration, this is someone who is a Singapore denizen, Permanent Resident, or holder of an EntrePass visa.
Between 1 - 50 shareholders	A shareholder tin can either exist an individual or a legal entity like a trust or some other company. Singapore permits 100% strange ownership of Singapore companies.
Paid-up capital	The minimum paid-up/share majuscule for a company to register in Singapore is Due south$one. Whatsoever time post business registration, the share capital can be increased.
A registered address in Singapore	The address that is provided for the company must be located in Singapore. It must exist a concrete address and a P.O. Box will not be accepted.
Visitor secretary	Every company must engage a visitor secretary. This individual will help the directors to fix and file all necessary documentation to keep the company compliant.
Accountant	Unless the company has been exempted from audit (which is the instance for virtually start-upward companies), within 3 months of registration, every company must appoint an auditor.

Other helpful things to go along in listen when registering a company:

Visitor Name	Bated from the obvious strategic and brand value, there are other considerations that may guide your choice of the company name.
Taxation Incentives	Many new companies in Singapore are eligible to receive appealing revenue enhancement incentives and exemptions. This is one of the primary reasons that entrepreneurs from around the world prefer to grade their Singapore company.
Business Activeness Classification	At the time of incorporation, every business in Singapore must select an SSIC code intended to depict their intended business concern activeness. SSIC codes are used every bit a means of Authorities Statistics purposes and some codes require the need for specific licenses. Stumped as to which SSIC code to pick for your visitor?
Licenses & Permits	Some SSIC codes, company names, and concern activities are restricted and crave the awarding of a license prior to existence able to deport concern. The proficient news is that Singapore has ready upward a business license portal that aims to deliver a convenient and efficient licensing feel.
Insurances	When starting a business in Singapore, it is important to think about what insurances your business may demand. By having such protection in place, it will allow yous peace of mind to run your business.

Types of companies in Singapore

Private Express Companies (Pte Ltd)

In comparison to other types of companies in Singapore, a individual limited visitor (PTE LTD) is the nigh scalable, the most avant-garde, and the most flexible. It is the nigh common type of business compared to limited liability partnership (LLP) or sole proprietorship (SP).

A private limited company is characterised by (a) having less than 50 shareholders, and (b) not having its shares attainable to the public. Shareholders of a private limited company can be other companies, individuals, or a mixture of both.

Sole proprietorships (SP)

This blazon of business is straightforward but carries more than hazard for its owner since the possessor volition exist personally liable for his/her company.

Legally, a sole proprietorship is not a standalone entity, which means that the owner – whether an individual or a legal entity – and the business are considered as 1. Only Singapore citizens, Singapore permanent residents, or EntrePass holders are allowed to register a sole proprietorship.

The personal assets of the owner are not protected from the liabilities and business risks of the company. The possessor has unlimited liability. This means when your business is not able to pay back a particular debt, the creditors can go subsequently your assets as well equally those of the company.

Unfortunately, near are not aware of this disadvantage, and information technology is recommended that aspiring entrepreneurs avert this type of entity.

Recap of Sole proprietorships (SP):

Availablebut to Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents, or Entrepass holders
No separate legal identitywith the owner personally liable for the company
Profits aretaxed at personal income tax rateswithout access to tax incentives
No perpetual succession andnon-transferrable buyingto another person
Harder to attract outside investment, rent staff and scale globally
Usually used by minor neighborhood shops or hobby eCommerce sellers

Limited liability partnerships (LLP)

This kind of entity combines features of companies and partnerships. Of the iii types of partnerships, an LLP is the most advanced and most recent of business structures where the private partner's ain liability is more often than not limited. An LLP is owned by at least ii partners, individuals or torso corporate, and is a legal entity separate from its partners.

An LLP is typically established to acquit a profession, such as attorneys, architects, etc, where 2 or more than would similar to join together and course a do in their shared field. The profits are taxed at partners' personal income tax rates if the partner is an private and at corporate taxation rates if the partner is a body corporate.

A registered LLP can operate more like a partnership while at the same fourth dimension enjoying the benefits that come with ownership of a Pte Ltd. Nonetheless, the possessor of the LLP needs to become into detailed agreements on how the profits will be divided.

Epitomize of Limited liability partnerships (LLP)

Availablesimply to Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents, or Entrepass holders
Legal entities formedbetwixt ii to xx partners, > 20 must register PTE LTD
Profits aretaxed at personal income tax rateswithout access to tax incentives
Partners are heldpersonally liablefor liabilities and debts of the company
Normally used by police force firms to limit the liability of partners across unlike deals

Required documents when registering a business in Singapore

To comprise your company in Singapore, yous need to file with ACRA Singapore (the Bookkeeping and Corporate Regulatory Authority), which manages company registration in Singapore. You volition need to provide:

Visitor proper noun
Brief description of activities & SSIC Code
Details of shareholders and KY data
Details of directors and KYC information
Registered Singaporean Business Address
Share capital details
The visitor'southward constitution

Additional considerations for foreigners

Foreigners who are interested in registering their Singapore Visitor also need to consider the post-obit:

You will need to hire help in Singapore to set up. To register your Singapore business, you volition need to rent a professional to file on your behalf. Singapore does not allow a foreign private/entity to self-register their company.
You do not demand to travel or obtain a visa to incorporate your company. If you program to incorporate your Singapore company, just don't programme to move, you do non need to obtain whatever special travel visa. You lot may operate your company from overseas, and you may visit Singapore on a short-term visitor visa when you need to deal with visitor issues.
You may need to hire a nominee director. If you are not planning to have anyone in your company movement to Singapore, y'all volition still need to fulfill the requirement to have a local director. You can easily discover a professional person service business firm in Singapore that offers incorporation services including local resident directorship, such equally Sleek.
You may need to travel in order to set up up a corporate depository financial institution account. Depending on the bank that you determine to apply, many banks require the concrete presence of directors and/or shareholders to corroborate the opening of a bank account in Singapore. Nosotros have a network of bankers and can assistance facilitate this – ordinarily a straightforward procedure. Cheque out our brusque guide on How to open up a Singapore banking company account.

Timeline for registering your visitor

One time you accept all your documents together, a company can be incorporated within one to three concern day, every bit long as you have all of your documentation ready and ACRA does not cause any delays. Read on to find out how you lot can fix up a visitor in Singapore via ACRA.

In that location are 2 steps involved in the company germination process for incorporating in Singapore: reserving a name, and registering the visitor.

1. Reserving the company name

To register your business organization in Singapore, you must make sure that your proposed name is approved past ACRA. Usually, you will notice out whether your proposed proper noun has been approved or rejected within a day. Nonetheless, if your proposed proper noun contains specific words such equally media, depository financial institution, constabulary, finance, or education, the corresponding external governmental dominance may exist required to review and approve the name.

To increase your chances of the proposed name beingness approved right away, you lot want to make sure that the proper noun is not:

similar/identical to an existing visitor in Singapore
vulgar/obscene
already reserved

Approved company names will be held and secured for lx days from the date of your application. If yous need to extend the name reservation for some other lx days, you may do so past filing an extension just before the initial hold expires.

2. Registering the company

Once you lot have received blessing for your name, the process of filing the paperwork and obtaining approving from the ACRA tin can be washed in just a solar day – as long every bit the documents are all ready and accept been signed by all directors of the new company.

What happens mail service-incorporation?

You receive a Certificate of Incorporation. ACRA will send an email notification confirming the registration of your company. This is your official Singapore Company Incorporation Certificate and will include your business registration number. If you want a hard copy of the certificate, you lot can brand an online asking to ACRA for South$50.
Y'all receive a Business concern Profile ("Bizfile"). ACRA volition besides provide the business organization profile of your new company for free. The business organization profile is the identity card of the company.
Y'all are able to open a corporate bank account. After you have successfully registered your Singapore business, you will be able to open up a corporate bank account with any of the banks in Singapore.
Business Licenses Awarding. Depending on the activities that your business will be doing, you might likewise need to use for business organization licenses. You will complete this process after registering your company and before starting your business organisation.
Registration for Goods and Service Revenue enhancement (GST). If you expect your business' annual turnover to exceed South$one million, then you must register for Goods & Services Tax, or GST (too referred to as value added tax, VAT, in many countries). If you do not expect your concern' annual turnovers to reach Southward$i 1000000, y'all are not required to register for GST.

Ongoing requirements/formalities for filing

Once you have officially incorporated your Singapore business concern, the Companies Act requires specific almanac filing requirements to be made. For more information, please refer to this article: Important deadlines for my visitor.

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