Singapore Company formation Guide to Foreign Companies

There is a line of difference between incorporating Singapore companies and incorporating foreign companies in Singapore. There are some options available for foreign companies that do not want to open a full-fledged Singapore company. Instead they can effectively extend the operations of their own company into Singapore by forming a branch office or a representative office in Singapore. It is interesting to note that for Singapore company formation, a representative of the foreign company is not required to travel to Singapore.

Service providers like Servolve, makes it an easy process. The documentation required would be informed in advance. Once the same is received, incorporation process will be commenced without further delays. The same can be completed within a period of 7-10working days on average. So what are the options available.

Singapore Branch Office

A branch office is an extension of the foreign entity. It does not enjoy a separate legal entity status in Singapore and any claims against the branch office in Singapore can be directed against the foreign parent. The branch should have activities similar to parent entity and cannot indulge in independent activities. The branch is mainly allowed to indulge in activities relating to market research, sales support etc and cannot indulge in activities that are of revenue generating nature. All the revenue generation for such offices should be from the parent company in country of domicile.  It is possible for a branch office to relocate employees to Singapore through the option of a Singapore Employment Pass.

The branch can remain as long as the parent company is in operation until it is wound up or struck off. There are no renewals required for a branch office year on year.

Singapore Representative Office

A representative office is another form of organisation that foreign entities can adopt in Singapore also. A representative office is not considered as a separate entity and is only meant to act as a market research office in Singapore. Note that if the company wants to pursue full-fledged marketing and sales activities in Singapore they will have to get registered as a branch office rather than as a representative office. A representative office needs to be renewed every year and it has an established life time of only 3 years after which it has to be converted to a branch office or a Pte.Ltd. mandatorily.

For a comprehensive understanding of how to incorporate a branch or representative office in Singapore, please contact Servolve at info@servolve.com. Servolve is a Singapore based professional services provider. Our service offering include Singapore/foreign company incorporation, corporate secretarial and support services, Singapore accounting and Singapore taxation. For more information, please refer www.servolve.com.

Foreign investors guide to Singapore Company Incorporation

As a foreigner you might be new to Singapore’s way of doing things. Singapore consistently ranks as the world’s finest place to do business. The Republic welcomes foreign investors with a smooth channel for establishing operations here. Incorporation of a company can be done within a time frame of two business days once the required documentation is in place. It is interesting to note that for Singapore company incorporation, a foreign investor is not required to travel to Singapore.

Service providers like Servolve, makes it an easy process. The requisite documentation required would be informed in advance. Once the same is received, incorporation process will be commenced without further delays. The same can be completed within a period of 2-3 working days on average. If the foreign investor is planning to set up a subsidiary in Singapore, this also possible due to some distinct features allowed for Singapore Pte.Ltd. companies. Some of these are mentioned below


Features of a Singapore subsidiary company

• The Singapore Company has a distinct legal identity.
• The minimum paid up capital is $1. The parent company’s liability is limited to the value of the shares it subscribes into the subsidiary.
• One local Director and one local Secretary are mandatory for the company
• If it is a one Director company, the same person cannot stand in as Secretary
• The foreign parent company may own 100% of the subsidiary.
• The top line tax rate for corporate in Singapore is 17%.

Once the Singapore Company is incorporated, the profile of the Company in Singapore as well as the Memorandum and Articles of Association will be available and these are the main documents required for bank account opening in Singapore. An actual visit by the foreign investor may be required only at the time of opening a bank account. This is desired in order to speed up the process of bank opening. Many banks in Singapore like Standard Chartered Bank allow the individuals to also visit a branch in their place of residence for identity verification. But the process of bank account opening may take longer in this case.


A Singapore subsidiary comes under the requirement of audit in Singapore if it has corporate shareholders. In case there are only individual shareholders and the annual revenue is below S$ 5 million there is no requirement to get the accounts audited. A Directors’ report and summary financial statements are still required to be prepared. This is required to be submitted along with the tax forms at the end of the year.


For a Singapore Company, an Annual General Meeting (AGM) should be conducted every 12 months with the possibility of extending the first AGM to be conducted within a gap of 18 months after company incorporation. This is in line with the spirit of Companies Act, Singapore which allows a company to close its first year accounts within a period of 18 months instead of the regular 12 month period.


For a comprehensive understanding of how to incorporate a subsidiary in Singapore, please contact Servolve at info@servolve.com. Servolve is a Singapore based professional services provider. Our service offering include Singapore company incorporation, corporate secretarial and support services, Singapore accounting and Singapore taxation. For more information, please refer www.servolve.com

Singapore International Business Corporation (IBC) – A Possibility?

In recent times, Singapore is gaining more popularity as a destination for holding companies or as head offices for many companies around the world. It is also a becoming a popular destination which is being used by many business houses as their trading forte due to favourable indirect tax regime like GST, customs duties etc. To consider Singapore as an International Business Corporation (IBC) destination or as a destination for international businesses to set up an IBC like entity, there might be some pertinent points that might have to be considered in their totality.
We give below a summary of the points that might be considered,
Offshore Destinations Vs Singapore
1.    In most Offshore destinations, the main advantage that entrepreneurs see is that there are no taxes in these jurisdictions, while this is a definite positive, it would sometimes be desirable to pay taxes. Singapore’s taxes are much lower than that of many advanced nations including the OECD nations with a top line tax rate of 17% at the maximum.
Also it is very important to note that any foreign sourced income which is earned outside Singapore and kept outside the jurisdiction of Singapore is not taxed in Singapore.

2.    In terms of ease of setting up a company, is as easy as any other jurisdiction. In most circumstances, a Singapore Company Setup and registration can be done in an average of 3-4 days time after all the preliminary documentation is received. An overseas business vehicle generally takes an average span of about a week to 2 weeks’ time to set up.

3.    Publicity of people registered as directors and shareholders in Singapore is mostly unavoidable. The shareholders can be corporates and many service providers offer a nominee shareholder service. For Directors, they have to be individuals with at least one of them a local Singaporean/PR. Again the option of nominee director is available.
As per the new amendments suggested under the Singapore Companies Act, Cap 50, there is move towards allowing company directors to use an alternate address rather than their residential address. This change is likely to be operational by late 2013 and would be a positive move towards ensuring privacy for Company officers.

4.    Singaporean companies necessarily need to conduct a general meeting every year and have to file accounts with regulatory authorities. Many companies fall under the gamut of non-auditability, wherein the financial statements of the Company need not be audited. In tax haven jurisdictions, there are no compliance requirements and hence conducting an AGM is not required, but many companies still do maintain books of accounts to have an understanding of fund flows for internal management purposes.

5.    Singapore unlike many other advanced nations do not levy a tax on capital gains. Hence Singapore has become the most popular destination for investment holding companies in this part of the world.

6.    Singapore has treaties with over 60 nations both bilateral and unilateral and this avoids payment of taxes in more than one jurisdiction. If income is earned and taxed in a foreign countrythat has a tax treaty in place with Singapore, it will not be taxed again in Singapore.

On a relative basis there are a lot of advantages in registering a company in Singapore. It is understandable that many entrepreneurs might prefer a jurisdiction like the BVI, Panama or Cyprus based on their specific needs. In coming times, changes which are more favourable to Singapore are expected.

Servolve is a Singapore based service provider. Our service offering include Singapore company incorporation, corporate secretarial and support services, Singapore accounting, Singapore taxation and Due diligence/Acquisition services. For more information, please refer http://www.servolve.com or email us at info@servolve.com

Business in Singapore

After the great downturn seen in the US, UK and the greater part of the EU, a business setup in Singapore seems to many entrepreneurs as the most lucrative place for starting and running a business. Maintaining a business in Singapore is easier and relatively entails lesser costs as Singapore’s compliances are business friendly. We elaborate below some of the advantages of having a business setup in Singapore

1.       Singapore is a politically stable country. Hence having your company’s headquarters in Singapore is strategically advantageous for you as it is in good relations with most countries of the world.

2.       Singapore is worldwide accepted as a country which is economically strong and highly developed. Having your business headquarters in Singapore immediately boosts up your company’s status while you do business with your counterparts in other nations.

3.       Singapore is clearly known as a leader among the ASEAN nations with a highly developed business community and state of the art infrastructural facilities.

4.       Singapore GDP historically, from 2007 until 2011, the average quarterly GDP Growth was 6.36% reaching an historical high of 39.90% in March of 2010, ironically also at the time when most world economies were facing slow or negative growth. [S1]

5.       The unemployment rate in Singapore was last reported at 2.1 percent in the second quarter of 2011. Again a comparative and very impressive low rate. [S2]

6.       For new start-ups the Singapore Government has come up with attractive tax benefits. The top line tax rate for new companies is effectively below 8.5% of the chargeable income upto a certain limit in the first three years of incorporation. After the grace period, the top line tax is still 17% much lower than most advanced countries including the OECD nations. [S3]

7.       Compliances for Singapore companies can be done online and most companies would have professionally qualified accountants and managers who ensure that compliance is a breeze.

8.       Singapore is also very people centric with people from many nations having their abode here. Relocating your employees from another location is facilitated and immigration procedures are relatively simpler than most other Asian nations.

Singapore is definitely a very pro-business place to be. Truly as many people already accept, investing in Singapore is as good as investing in the great Asian growth story.
The latest investment statistics for Singapore is as depicted in the graph below

Source and Attributes

S1 - http://www.tradingeconomics.com/singapore/gdp-growth

S2 - http://www.tradingeconomics.com/singapore/unemployment-rate

S3 – Top line tax rates – IRAS Website - http://www.iras.gov.sg/irasHome/page04.aspx?id=410

S4 - Source of Statistics – Latest indices from Singstat.gov.sg/ Singapore government’s site for latest statistics on Singapore

Author Resource:
Singapore Company Registration

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