Steps for Starting a Singapore Company

Most professionals believe that the company, or more commonly referred as corporation in most countries, is the most recommended business structure for medium- and large-sized enterprises as it provides "limited liability" and attractive taxation.

The following is a step-by-step procedure on setting up a company in Singapore:

1. Businessmen should submit their company name to the Registrar of Companies (ROC) which should be unique and is not used by another existing business organization. The chosen name of the company should not violate the trademarks of other companies and as well as not advocate indecency and vulgarity.

2. Open a company bank account. After acquiring a company name, the next step is to open an account to a Singaporean bank.

3. The Memorandum and Articles of Association should then be submitted to ROC.The above-mentioned Memorandum constitutes an explanation of the purpose of the incorporation and the nature of transactions the business will engage into. On the other hand, the Articles of Association contain procedures and policies on how the business will be managed internally like the handling and the issuing of company shares, company officers and board of directors and other laws of the corporate.

4. Comply the provisions stipulated in the Singapore Companies Act relating to the matters of registration such as an office address and being able appoint a minimum of at least one resident director, one eligible secretary and one shareholder.

• An appointed resident director may either be Singaporean citizen, permanent resident, Employment Pass holder, Dependant Pass or EntrePass.Irregardless of citizenship, there's is no limit on the number of additional directors to be appointed in a company.
• A range of one to 50 shareholders are permitted in a company, the said shareholders could either be an individual or corporate entity.
• It is not allowed for a secretary to act as a shareholder of the company.
• A registered office address is where the authorities send notifications and where the shareholders place their statutory records. In case that a registered office address is a residential and not a commercial place, a company should seek the permission of the Housing and Development Board or the Urban Development Authority.

5. Prior to being able to operate the business, shareholders should prepare pertinent papers. Additionally, it is required for the company to pass an identity certificate of the shareholders and officers, statutory statement of compliance, notice of the location of a registered address, and return of allotment of shares.
On the other hand, a person who will be the company director should notarize a consent and also responsible in signing and submitting profiles of all directors, secretaries, auditors and main executives