Legal structure and conditions for registering a company in Singapore
Must be an English name，Currently, Chinese name registration is not legally accepted。The name must not contain bad words，And it must not be combined with existing companies in Singapore、The name of the organization or government agency is the same or highly similar。
Regardless of the nationality of the shareholder，The company must appoint at least one local director who is resident in Singapore (e.g. a Singapore citizen aged 18 or above)、Permanent Resident PR，Or those holding a valid Employment Pass/Entrepreneur Pass)。Directors must have full legal capacity，and no bankruptcy、Criminal record for fraud or dishonesty。
Legal requirement is at least 1，Maximum 50 shareholders。Shareholders can be natural persons or corporate legal persons，Singapore law allows 100% foreign ownership，Non-Singaporeans can wholly own the company。The sole shareholder can concurrently serve as a director of the company according to law。
The company must appoint at least one qualified person within 6 months of establishment、Legal secretary resident in Singapore。If the company has only one director，According to law, the sole director is not allowed to concurrently serve as the company secretary.。The secretary's vacancy period shall not exceed 6 months。
Minimum statutory requirements start from just S$1，No maximum limit。Singapore does not levy stamp duty on registered capital，There is usually no strict time limit for the full payment of registered capital.。Support multiple currencies，However, in practice it is strongly recommended to use new currency。
Must provide a local entity registration address in Singapore，The use of PO Boxes is strictly prohibited by law。In terms of business scope，You can only select up to 2 main standard business item categories (SSIC Code)。
Information required to register a company in Singapore
Copies of ID card and passport are required、Recent proof of address (e.g. third party letter with name and address，Include a recent utility bill or bank statement)、Contact number、Email and residential address information。
The Certificate of Incorporation of the parent company is required.、Copy of company articles of association、The company’s latest business profile (need to include details of director list)、Proof of company address and authorized contact information。
All official documents submitted to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore (ACRA) must be in English。Non-English materials must have an officially certified English translation to be legally effective，Hong Kong Xintong can assist in completing relevant legal translation and certification。
Application process for registering a company in Singapore
Submit the proposed company name to ACRA for search approval。If there is no conflict in the name and does not involve sensitive industries that require special licenses (such as finance、travel, etc.)，Very fast approval，Usually approved within 15 minutes to 1 working day。
After the name is approved，Hong Kong Information Communications' legal team drafts and arranges for the signing of relevant statutory documents，Includes consent letter of appointment as director (Form 45)、Core legal documents such as Articles of Association (Constitution)。
Officially submit documents to ACRA and pay government registration fees through the online system。If not selected by the official lottery, additional review will be conducted，Registration is usually officially completed within a few hours to 3 to 5 working days。
After successful registration，ACRA will send a confirmation email，And issue an electronic version of the company registration certificate (E-Certificate of Incorporation) and a unique enterprise identification number (UEN)。
With registration confirmation letter issued by ACRA、Company Business Profile (BizProfile)、Articles of Association and Directors’ Identity Certificates，Connect with local banks in Singapore (such as DBS、Dahua、Overseas Chinese Bank) to open an account and initiate capital injection。
Compliance red lines and executive responsibilities when registering a company in Singapore
Taxation and annual review of registered companies in Singapore
Core financial and tax compliance obligations after registration
After the successful establishment of the company，Must strictly abide by Singapore’s fiscal, taxation and legal compliance obligations。first，To prevent money laundering，The company must maintain a Register of Actual Controllers (RORC) at its registered address or authorized agent (such as Hong Kong Telecom)，and report to ACRA，This information is not available to the public。Secondly，The company must keep original documents of valid financial accounts and transaction records for at least 5 years。
Annual audit and exemption conditions：The company needs to conduct annual accounts audit every year，However, companies that meet Singapore’s “small company” standards are exempt from audits in accordance with the law.。Conditions for exemption include meeting two of the following three items within the past two fiscal years:：1. Total annual turnover does not exceed S$10 million；2. Total assets do not exceed SGD 10 million；3. The number of employees does not exceed 50。
Tax filing timeline：The company needs to hold an annual general meeting (AGM) every year，Submit Annual Returns to ACRA。Within three months after the end of the financial year，Estimated Taxable Income (ECI) returns must be made to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS)，And complete the final corporate income tax return before November 30 of each year。Newly established companies can enjoy some tax exemptions for start-ups in the first three years.。
Advantages of registering a Singapore company overseas
As an important country along the “Belt and Road” and a core member of ASEAN，Singapore has world-class sea, land and air transportation hubs，Is a Chinese-funded enterprise (such as Alibaba、Tencent、Bytedance, etc.) is the best base point to expand Southeast Asia and global business territory.。
Singapore has maintained a stable and low tax rate for a long time，Corporate income tax rates are extremely competitive，And new companies enjoy tax exemptions。At the same time, a loose foreign exchange control policy will be implemented，No inheritance tax，Facilitates corporate fund allocation and executive asset allocation。
Has the largest free trade agreement (FTA) network in Asia，with China、USA、Major economies such as the European Union have signed agreements，Help Chinese companies effectively avoid trade barriers，Enter the international market。
Singapore is the country with the largest number of Chinese listed companies outside of China.。Direct listing framework between SGX and China Securities Regulatory Commission，Allow Chinese companies to list directly in New Zealand，Benefit from a transparent legal framework and finance efficiently。
Frequently asked questions about registering a company in Singapore(FAQ)
According to the Singapore Companies Act，The registered address must be a local physical address in Singapore，The use of PO Boxes is strictly prohibited。Although companies can conduct offshore business operations，However, a substantive compliance structure with a local legal secretary and local registered address must be maintained，Hong Kong Xintong can provide you with compliant registered address calling services。
Can't。The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore (ACRA) currently only accepts English name registrations。also，The name must not contain bad words，and cannot be related to an existing company in Singapore、Organizations or government agencies have the same or highly similar names。
Yes。Regardless of shareholder nationality or shareholding ratio，Singapore Companies Law mandates the appointment of at least one local director resident in Singapore (such as a Singapore citizen、PR or those holding EP/Entrepreneurship Pass)。The director is subject to statutory compliance responsibilities。
The legal number of shareholders of a Singapore Private Limited Company is limited to at least 1，No more than 50 people。Shareholders can be natural persons，It can also be a domestic or foreign corporate legal person。
The minimum registered capital of a Singapore company is only SGD 1，No maximum limit。also，Singapore does not levy stamp duty on registered capital，And there is usually no strict time limit requirement for the actual payment of registered capital.。
Absolutely not。The law clearly stipulates，If the company has only one director，The sole director cannot concurrently serve as company secretary。The company must appoint at least one qualified person within 6 months of establishment、Legal secretary resident in Singapore。
Thanks to a highly electronic government system，If there is no conflict in the name and does not involve sensitive industries，Verification usually takes 15 minutes to 1 working day for approval。After submitting the registration application，If not randomly checked，Usually it can be officially established within a few hours to 3-5 working days.。
Not all companies require。Companies that meet Singapore’s “small company” criteria are exempt from annual audits。The condition is that two of the following three items are met in the past two fiscal years：Annual turnover does not exceed S$10 million、Total assets do not exceed SGD 10 million、No more than 50 employees。
The company must hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) every year and submit an annual return to ACRA。taxation，Estimated taxable income (ECI) needs to be reported to the Inland Revenue Service (IRAS) within 3 months after the end of the financial year，And complete the corporate income tax return before November 30 of each year。
Ordinary Singapore company registration、Operations and daily compliance maintenance，The only official responsible and registering authority is the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore (ACRA)。(Note：If it involves financial license business，is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)。
Local directors bear extremely high statutory liability。Failure to comply with statutory disclosures、Proper bookkeeping or compliance reporting requirements，Faced with a fine of up to S$5,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 12 months。In case of fraud or bankruptcy，will be directly disqualified from serving as a director.。
unnecessary。From March 31, 2017，Singapore companies are no longer required to use Common Seal。A company can be signed by two directors，or signed by a director and a legal secretary，To legally execute relevant business and legal documents。
