Business & Company Registrations

Broadly there are 3 forms of structures to conduct business in Singapore: Private limited, Partnerships and Sole Proprietorships.

   

Private Limited Companies

A private limited company is a legal entity and can sue or be sued in its own name and can own and hold any property. The owners of the company are called shareholders and there must be a minimum of one share owned by one shareholder. Advantages of a private limited company is due to its limited liabilities to the value of the company’s shares. Personal assets of its shareholders are protected. The ability to issue shares to raise funds is a positive advantage as well as the ability to be listed in future. Our Singapore government, as an incentive to support entrepreneurship and to grow our local enterprises (except for investment holding companies and those companies whose principal activity is that of developing properties for sale, investment or both), for new start-ups, the first $100,00 of taxable income is 75% tax exempt and the second $100,000 is 50% tax exempt for the first three years from YA 2020. However, the downside is the compliance and administrative tasks that a private limited company must adhere to in order to comply.

Partnerships

Partnerships are covered under two types: general partnership and limited liability partnership. A partnership is a business owned by at least 2 partners. The partner can be an individual, a company or a limited liability partnership. The maximum number of partners in a general partnership is 20. A partnership is not a separate legal entity from the business owners. The partners are personally liable for all the debts and losses of the partnership. It can sue or be sued in the partners’ names. An LLP is a legal entity and can sue or be sued in its own name and can own or hold any property. A minimum of 2 partners is required and they can be individuals or companies. There will not be any limit to the maximum number of partners. Individual partners will be taxed at personal tax rates and a corporate partner at corporate tax rates. The liabilities of an LLP partnership are that the LLP partners are not liable for the mis-doings of other partners. There is also perpetual succession. However, individual partners are personally liable for the debts and losses resulting from their own actions. Compared with private limited companies, LLP do not enjoy any tax exemptions for the first 3 years.  

Sole Proprietorships

A sole proprietorship is a business that can be owned and controlled by an individual, a company or a limited liability partnership. There are no partners in the business. A sole proprietorship is not a legal entity and hence cannot sue or be sued in its own name and it cannot own or hold any property and profits are taxed at personal tax rates. A sole proprietorship is easy to set up and administer and are perfect for small businesses in Singapore. No audits are also required and compliance is set to a minimum. However, a sole proprietor is liable for all the debts and losses personally and such a form should be avoided if the business involves a huge risk. There is no tax exemption and a lack of ability to raise funds by selling shares or securing loans with personal assets.

How to register

Up and ready in no time. Once you have filled up the form, we will do a search on your company name availability. We will then need to make an appointment with you in person to finalise the incorporation. And you’re done to start running your business! It’s that simple. Our fees cover all you need to get you started, there are no hidden charges.

• Name application and incorporation
• ACRA registration fee
• Share certificates
• Minute book and statutory registers
• Memorandum & Articles of Association
• Company profile