A shareholder is an owner of a company as determined by the number of shares they own. A shareholder can be an individual or a corporate entity (commonly known as a corporate shareholder) who owns a share or multiple shares of the company. A company can be owned by multiple individuals or a single corporate shareholder. To be considered a shareholder, you must own at least one share of the company.
Shareholders (often referred to as, “the members”) are the actual owners of the company. The minimum number of shareholders is one; the maximum number of shareholders is twenty in the case of an exempt private limited company.
As a Shareholder,
- You are entitled to receive a share of the profits when the company does well and declares a dividend.
- You have the right to vote on certain matters with regard to the company and can be elected to a seat on the board of directors.
Can the Shareholder also be a Director?
The shareholder and director are two different roles, although a shareholder can be appointed to be a director at the same time.
The shareholder(s) is the owner of the company and is entitled to privileges such as receiving profits and exercising control over the management of the company. A director, on the other hand, is the person hired by the shareholder to perform responsibilities that are related to the company’s daily operations, with the intent of managing the company to make profits.
Can a foreign individual or a foreign company be 100% shareholder of a Singapore company?
In Singapore, the Companies Act allows for 100% ownership of Singapore companies by foreign persons or corporate entities. Although there are some restrictions on the type of business activities that a company can engage in. No special approvals are required by foreigners where there are no restrictions on business activity.
