Incorporating a Singapore Company Essentials
Since Singapore is an open economy, it also allows foreign nationals to occupy a high position in a company such as the resident director. To do so would require any type of work visas
If you are a business enthusiast aspiring to open a company in Singapore, you need to know the basic requirements. The essentials in incorporating a company in Singapore are narrowed down into three: the individuals, the location, and the capital.
A company is deemed to be a corporation. When incorporated, it assumes the private limited company structure, unless the investors express that it should be different. The individuals constituting the company should occupy specific positions with specific obligations. These are the Resident director, Shareholder and the Corporate Secretary.
Based on the laws in Singapore, both the resident director and the corporate secretary must be an individual while a shareholder, on the other hand, could be either a natural person or a corporate entity.
A resident director ought to be at least 21 years of age, of legal capacity, not a bankrupt, and not guilty of any malpractice even in the past. It could be given to a citizen or a permanent resident.
Since Singapore is an open economy, it also allows foreign nationals to occupy a high position in a company such as the resident director. To do so would require any type of work visas.
Meanwhile, a corporate secretary has duties beyond clerical. It comprises of maintaining confidential statutory book of registers and book of accounts; holding and scheduling of meetings, and monitoring and communicating with the shareholders, among others.
The second requirement, which is the location of the business, should be valid and physical. This means that there must be a physical local business address allotted for the company. The laws say that the address can be a residential or a commercial, as long as it is not a PO Box.
Moving on, the minimum capital for a company is S$1. If you are a citizen or a permanent resident, this is the amount required of you. You can raise the capital anytime throughout the company operations. However, if you are of a foreign national, your minimum capital depends on the type of work visa you will seek from the Ministry of Manpower.
If you are applying for a Singapore work pass, your minimum paid up capital is S$1 as well. To apply for this type of labor pass, one eligibility requirement to comply is the attainment of at least tertiary level of education.
In an Entrepreneur pass, the minimum paid up capital is S$50,000. While one of the eligibility requirements of this labor pass does not involve tertiary level of education, you are required to present a 10-page business plan to the Minister of Manpower.
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