Registering A Company In Singapore: Your Quick & Simple Guide
Many of us are probably already aware that Singapore is the world's top financial centre, and that the country has been recognised as the greatest country for its outstanding business performance throughout the years.
We are willing to wager that you are reading this article because you are interested in learning how to set up your own company in Singapore and wondering how to register a company in Singapore!
What makes it so beneficial to business and businesses is that it has excellent political stability and a fantastic metropolitan environment, and obviously, many people from all over the world dream of establishing a company of their own in Singapore.
How To Set It Up?
To begin, you must first decide the best sort of business structure for your firm in Singapore before even Googling “register business Singapore”. Private limited firms account for the majority of enterprises in the country.
Despite the fact that there are various possibilities, many new firms choose to register as private limited companies with the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA). As a result of this structure, stockholders are not responsible for debts or losses that exceed their share capital. Your corporation is a taxable entity since it has been designated as such.
A sole proprietorship structure is another option for entrepreneurs. This is the easiest form of company to start, but it's also the riskiest. The management is fully responsible and will be required to pay income tax. Regardless, he will receive 100% of the proceeds. This is a framework that many overseas businesses like.
We won't be going into full detail about the ins and outs of each business type here because we have a whole other separate article on that very topic which you can have a read right here.
Requirements?
Forming a corporation in Singapore is the first stage in the process.
Before you can start your business activities or hire workers, you must first register and have your board of directors approved by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore (ACRA).
There are further rules governing executives and directors. The company's primary individual must, in fact, register. This individual must be at least 18 years old and legally qualified to work as a manager.
Second, at least one director must be a Singapore resident. A Singapore resident is also required for the company secretary. As a result, if you wish to establish your company outside of your native country, you must hire at least one local to meet this need. Likewise, the company secretary must be a Singapore resident.
Do take note that capital must be paid upfront to register a business. At the time of its formation, a company's share capital is a sum of money donated by its partners or shareholders in exchange for social rights. Over time, it might be increased or lessened.
Minimum share capital levels may be required by law. These figures differ depending on the company's legal structure. The minimum capital requirement for limited liability businesses is SGD 1.
Finally, an office address is required to proceed with company registration. As a result, registering a proper address for your firm, i.e. finding a business location, is critical. A physical office address is necessary for a private limited firm.
Here’s a slight caveat to this above requirement for an office address bit - Since June of 2003, there’s this thing called a Home Office Scheme which allows businesses to use their residential address as the registered business address. This applies across sole proprietorships, partnerships, etc.
If you are living in one of those Housing and Development Board (HDB) houses, then you will need to obtain prior approval from the HDB and if you are living in a private property, you would need to seek approval from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) before going ahead with the registration of your home address as a business one.
After that, you can obtain a Business Profile from ACRA to help with your company registration. This electronic report contains information about your company, such as its UEN, registration date, stockholders, and so on.
This profile will be required to register a business bank account, apply for licenses and permissions, and confirm potential business partners.
After registering your company in Singapore, you can simply apply for all necessary permits to begin your business. You can contact Enterprise One for this through their website, which has a comprehensive list. This is one of the Singaporean government's online branches that assists entrepreneurs in starting their businesses. Themis Partner will assist you in obtaining the necessary permits to start your business.
Funding?
To begin with, many people use their savings. However, depending on your company's funding requirements, this may not be sufficient.
Thus, one of the major benefits of starting a business in Singapore is that there are already several interesting programmes in place to assist new businesses.
SPRING Singapore, for example, aims to turn innovative business ideas into workable plans by providing the necessary support to launch the business. Not to mention the government's initiatives, such as the PSG Grant, which allows eligible businesses to save up to 70% on the cost of our Shopcada E-commerce Digital Online Business solution.
Business Up And Running, What Next?
You will need to hire employees after forming a company in Singapore. These workers can be both foreign and domestic. Hiring Singapore residents (including permanent residents and Singapore citizens) is a relatively simple process.
Singapore wanted start-ups to have the best possible conditions for hiring qualified and well-trained professionals. The Workforce Development Agency (WDA) intends to create a job bank so that new businesses can easily find and hire employees.
Furthermore, you will need to become acquainted with your responsibilities as a Singaporean employer under the country's Employment Act. You must, for example, pay employees' salaries within one week of the end of their pay period and provide them with medical leave and rest days. It is also recommended that you purchase medical insurance to cover the healthcare needs of your employees.
The employment of foreigners in Singapore, on the other hand, is governed by EFMA (Employment of Foreign Manpower). Certain labour laws in Singapore apply to foreigners regardless of the employment contract clauses. Maternity benefits, workers' compensation, and childcare leave for working parents are all included.
All foreigners wishing to work in Singapore must own a work visa. These visas can be employment passes, S-passes, or work permits.
Note that there are some restrictions on employment passes in the sense that while there’s no levy or the number of these employees you can have, their starting pay is restricted to a minimum of $5,000 or $5,500 a month in the financial services sector which will come into effect from September 2022 (currently, it’s $4,500 and $5,000 respectively) to qualify for said passes.
As for S-Passes their current eligible starting pay would be $2,500 and is limited by a quota which is capped as a percentage of your workforce and businesses looking to hire these S-Pass holders must pay a foreign worker levy.
Finally, for Work Permit holders, only businesses in the construction, manufacturing, marine shipyard, process, or services sector can apply for a said permit for their foreign workforce.
Closing Words
Most people start their businesses in haste, without proper planning or a layout design. As a result, many people fail miserably and abandon their dream of becoming entrepreneurs. It’s important to know the steps to register a business in Singapore. So, let us recap once more the necessary steps.
You must first have a business plan to successfully incorporate it before going on to the more detailed process of registering a company in Singapore.
Following that, you must decide whether or not you want to work as a legal entity.
You then need to decide what type of business structure you want to incorporate if you want to work as a legal entity. Also, you'll most likely need a physical office space/address.
Then register with the ACRA and get your business profile and proceed to hire staff as necessary.
Now, all that is left is for you to go out there and make those dreams a reality!
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