How Can You Start Any Business in Singapore? (Updated 2023)

Singapore is one such country where anybody can start their business as the country provides a very favourable atmosphere to conduct any business. Therefore, you can find the various well-known multi-national companies of the world that have started either their manufacturing unit or opened an office in Singapore.

Unlike most other countries, Singapore has got no red tape so people need not have to wait longer to register their business. People can either start their business as an independent sole business entity or as a certain private limited company.

Why do people prefer to choose Singapore?

As mentioned before, Singapore is really an ideal country for all global businesses to open their office or headquarters. The trade policy of the country is very strong and making an investment in this country is most competitive among all other Asian countries and people. Therefore, investors must consider Singapore as the destination to start and grow their business.

Another reason to incorporate companies in Singapore is because of the transparency of business laws. There is less corruption and red tape in the system when compared to most countries across the globe. This means that the business owners or investors will not have to face unnecessary harassment from the bureaucracy to get their jobs done.

If any company ever locates their international headquarter in Singapore, then the company may get the following benefits:

• The network of more than 50 comprehensive agreements for double taxation avoidance in Singapore. They do not impose unfair taxes on businesses.

• The company will get several free trade agreements as well as investment guarantee agreements in Singapore.

• The companies will get total protection for their innovation and ideas as Singapore has very strict enforcement of intellectual property laws.

Step-by-step To Start A Business In Singapore

The following are the steps needed for any individual or a company to start their business in Singapore.

1. Create your business plan

Since Singapore proves to be a lucrative market for entrepreneurs to start their businesses, many new companies opt to start their business here which results in fierce competition. If you have decided to start your business venture in Singapore, make sure you have a solid business plan and feasibility to ensure that you would be able to compete with your competitors and make your venture a success.

This is a very important process and should not be overlooked as it can lay the foundation of how your business will function and prove to be successful. Hence, it is prudent that you put in all the required efforts in this stage to ensure the following prerequisites:

• Identify the kind of business and its available market to see if your product or service can fulfill the needs of customers.

• Data-driven insights on the kind of market and opportunities for growth.

• A solid understanding of your prospective competitors and plans to compete with them.

• A stellar business plan that covers all the feasibility aspects as well as outlines contingency plans in case of unforeseen circumstances.

• Devise a marketing plan to connect with the customers and give them a personalized experience.

• Looking at options to provide excellent customer support.

2. Select your company name

To start with, you have to choose a suitable name for your company and get your tax filing agency to properly validate the company name in ACRA, which is a national agency for registering all businesses.

The purpose of this is that no two companies bear the same type of name, which could potentially lead to future conflicts. There must be certain terms like Limited or Pte Ltd companies must be included to distinguish between two similar named companies. Therefore, you need to find a unique name when registering a company in Singapore. You may want to speak to an accounting firm with track record like us for more advice on how to do taxes.

One important tip: prefer not to use certain words like “bank”, “finance”, “school”, “education” or “media” if you like to get your name approved fast.

All these businesses in Singapore are not regulated by ACRA, but by some other agencies and therefore if you include any of the above in your company name then it will be sent to those agencies for approval, which may take some time.

3. Select the type of business activity

Next, you have to choose the type of business structure when starting a new business in Singapore. There are primarily four types of business structures from which you can choose a particular one depending on the amount of capital you are investing, the number of owners, the liabilities and responsibilities you wish to assume, and other factors.

• Sole Proprietorship — This is the type of structure where there is a single owner of the business, whether it is an individual or a company, and this owner makes all the decisions regarding the running of the business.

• Partnership — This is the structure in which two or people or entities become partners in running a business. However, there could only be 20 partners at the most, any number above that will need to register the business as a company under Singapore’s Companies Act. The company then becomes a Limited (Ltd) or Private Limited Company (Pte Ltd). The company then has to adhere to more strict legal and tax regulations.

• Limited Liability Partnership — In a limited liability partnership, the owners can have a separate legal identity while having the flexibility of operating as a partnership.

• Limited Partnership — In a limited partnership, at least one owner must be a general partner and at least one owner must be a limited partner. Unlike limited liability partnership, the partnership does not have a separate legal identity.

4. Assemble your team

You need to include the following in your company:

• Shareholders - You can choose either an individual or a company as your shareholder. Even a foreigner can be a shareholder of a company. The private Singaporean companies must not be shareholders of more than 50 companies

• Directors – You can have multiple directors, but a minimum one must be a Singapore citizen. To solve this issue, better appoint a certain Nominee Director who may not be involved in any decision-making, but only fulfils the statutory requirements.

• Corporate Secretary – All companies must have a corporate secretary who will track various changes in the company, compile papers, and will report to the government. As per law, this position must be appointed within six months after incorporating the company.

5. Select your registered address

The next thing to do is get a registered address, where there must be an office existing with a mailbox.  There are many companies in Singapore that will rent out such kinds of mailboxes. They will just collect your mails, and send you after scanning them. As part of ACRA registration, you need to specify a business address as well a residential address. If you wish to work from home, you will need additional approval depending on the type of property.

6. Set your paid-up capital

As a paid-up capital even as low as one Singapore dollar/share will be enough. You can also submit your paid-up capital in some other currencies too. You can later increase your sum and also change your currency after finally your company is fully established.

7. Register your business

The next step is to register your business with ACRA. Depending on the type of business structure you are opting for, the registration and set up costs are different. For sole proprietorship, partnership or limited partnership, and limited liability partnership, the registration fee is 115 SGD for a year whereas for a company, the registration fee is 315 SGD.

You can submit an online application for business registration using ACRA’s BizFile service. You may wish to seek professional help for registering your business.

Once the registration fee has been paid, normally it takes about 15 minutes to incorporate the company. ACRA will issue a unique business registration number (BRN) for your business. However, in some cases, your application may be referred to other officials for review, which can stretch the registration time from 14 days to 2 months.

8. Open a business bank account

After your business has been registered, the next step is to open a business bank account in Singapore. Almost all Singapore banks offer business bank accounts with different types of offerings and fees. Depending on your business structure and size, you may choose a particular bank account type and apply for it online or by visiting the bank personally.

9. Delegate the filing

Depending on the type of your business structure, you may file taxes yourself or take professional help in this regard. If you are a sole proprietor or part of a partnership, your business is not considered a separate entity and you can easily file your taxes with IRAS through the online SingPass service.

The process of tax filing with SingPass is quite straightforward. The IRAS website lists all the required documents that you need to submit with the filing; if you have all the required documents, the process of tax filing shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes.

However, in case of a registered company, the tax laws and regulations are a bit complex and stringent. This is where you may need professional help for filing your taxes.

If you are a foreigner in Singapore and either are a legal resident or have a type of employment pass in Singapore, you may incorporate the company yourself. However, if you are not a legal citizen, you will need a local representative depending on the type of your business structure. Being a foreigner, you are not allowed to incorporate any company yourself. As per rule, you must hire an authorized filing agent, who will collect all your papers, complete the forms, and then submit them to ACRA. This is where there is a compulsory yearly GST filing, you can speak to us to find out more.

Understanding Singapore’s tax obligations and concerned laws

Before you set up our business in Singapore, it is a good idea to understand your tax obligations regarding how much taxes you will have to pay and other obligations and reports that you will have to adhere to. Depending on the type of business entity and your annual turnover, there are different requirements for reporting revenues, adjusted profits, tax rates, and tax reporting. As the turnover of the business increases, reporting requirements and other legal obligations become more stringent.

These tax obligations can become quite complex and failing to adhere to them may cause you financial and legal repercussions. Therefore, it is always a good idea to seek the services of a professional corporate services provider who will ensure that you fulfill all your obligations on time and according to the regulations.

There are many companies available in Singapore that provide their services for registering new companies in Singapore. Should you need help with other matters such as tax advisory services, GST auditing services, or tax investigation in Singapore, find our team and we can best advise you what to do next!