Starting a business in Singapore is much easier than you thought. Since you have all the important prerequisite documents, you might be done with them in one day. The country is immensely popular as a major international center for foreign investment and organizations.

Incorporating a company in Singapore can be very simple for a foreigner; you just need to know the requirements to take into account and read a little to get a clearer picture of the whole process. In this article, we will give you an overview of the necessary requirements for you to establish a business in Singapore. In summary, these are the stipulated requirements:

Singapore company incorporation requirements

• Minimum 1 shareholder

• 1 resident director

• 1 company secretary

• Minimum paid-up capital of S $ 1

• A local registered office address

Appointment of a director

It is a requirement for foreigners to appoint a minimum of 1 local resident director to establish their new business in Singapore. A resident director is defined as a Singapore citizen, a Singapore permanent resident, or a person who has been issued an EntrePass (Employer Pass), Employment Pass, or Dependent Pass.

This person must be over 18 years of age and must not have a history of unpaid bankruptcy. Shareholders must also pass a resolution to appoint the local director.

You will also need to hire a Singapore registered registration / incorporation agent to register your company, as foreigners cannot self-register their company in Singapore.

Here are some of the options for your local director:

• If you I don’t want to move, find and hire a local / resident nominee director to do onboarding

• If you want to move to Singapore, hire a registered registration agent, for example Sprout Asia to onboard your business first while applying for an Employment Pass / EntrePass.

Other company registration requirements

Before registering, you will need to obtain approval of your business name from ACRA.

Next, the following set of documents needs to be prepared:

• Signed consent to act as director of each director

• Signed consent to act as company secretary by the company secretary

• Identification data and residential address of each shareholder and official of the company

• Company constitution

Once these incorporation documents have been prepared, you can officially register your business with ACRA. The registration process is done online and takes less than an hour. An acknowledgment will be given at the end of the process.

If the application is successful, ACRA will send you an email with the Certificate confirming the Incorporation of your company. You can also purchase its printed version for a fee.

Typical cost of starting a business

The cost of using a registry agent in Singapore also includes ACRA (Corporate and Accounting Regulatory Authority) expenses such as:

• Business name request: S $ 15 (reserved for 60 days and there may be additional charges)

• Company registration fee: S $ 300