Establishing a Company in Singapore

One of the most common legal forms for running companies in Singapore is a PLLC. The reason why it’s so popular is because it enables a company’s founders to bear liability only up to the amount of the capital they’ve contributed.

Registering a PLLC in the Republic of Singapore also enables its founders to pay less taxes. Anyone over the age of eighteen can register a company in the Republic of Singapore. Foreign nationals aren’t allowed to establish a company in Singapore. They can either enlist the services of registration agents or have one of their directors with Singapore citizenship to do it for them.

Things to Keep in Mind

Those seeking to register a company in Singapore should keep in mind the following:

• Name - permission must be obtained to use a desired name;
• Director - at least one of the directors must be a Singapore resident;
• Founders - no less than one & no more than fifty (can be Singapore & foreign individuals, physical persons or legal entities);
• 100% foreign ownership allowed;
• Secretary - only a physical person can be a corporate secretary; being a secretary requires having Singapore citizenship; directors/founders of a company can’t be secretaries;
• Paid-up capital - no less than one Singapore dollar; it can be increased after a company is registered;
• Permanent address - a company must have a permanent address in Singapore.

Taxation

Singapore has quite a few tax incentives for startups. There’s no tax on dividends & capital. Companies mustn’t pay corporate tax if they carry out their business activities outside Singapore. If not, they are to pay corporate tax at the rate of seventeen percent.

Registering a company in Singapore normally takes fourteen days. Registration procedure includes the following steps:

• Reserving a company name - a name must be different from the names of registered companies; also, it mustn’t infringe any TM rights, be obscene or offensive; the name is reserved for two months.
• Submitting an application - an applicant must collect all the necessary documents & submit them to the relevant authority.
• Regulator’s reviewing an application & making a decision to grant or deny registration.
• Obtaining a certificate of incorporation - issued electronically.
• Opening a bank account in Singapore.
• Obtaining licenses - certain types of business activities (e.g. financial services, import & export operations, etc.).require licensing in Singapore 
• Registering a Singapore company with a tax authority - if a company’s yearly is one million Singapore dollars, it must register as a VAT payer. VAT is seven percent.