Singapore Company Registration Guide: How to Open a New Company?

Registering a company in Singapore is not a complicated process, and it is fast. Especially if you have all the required documents handy. Singapore is considered one of the best places in the world to do business.

With a strong trade and investment policy, Singapore is the most competitive Asian country and the most comfortable place to do business.

Steps for Registering a company in Singapore

Step 1 : Getting the Company Name Approved

Name approval can be done in less than an hour if a company name follows ACRA’s rules.

If the name contains certain regulated business words such as “finance,” “legal,” “law,” “broker,” or “school,” it may be referred to another government authority for further approval. It can delay the name approval process by a few weeks.

When the name is approved, a company can reserve the name for up to 4 months (120 days).

If the company does not incorporate the business name within a period of 120 days, the name will be released and another person can use the name for their own business.

S$300 Company Registration fee

Step 2 : Getting the Company Registration Documents Ready

The following documents (required by ACRA) must be made available:

Company Constitution (previously known as Articles of Association).
Signed Consent to act as a Director for each director
Signed Consent to act as Company Secretary. It must be signed by company secretary
Identification and residential address details for each shareholder and officer of the company

At this stage, your Corporate Service Provider (CSP) will be required to conduct a Know Your Customer (KYC) due-diligence and will typically require at least the following supporting information. This is in compliance with the international AML regulations.

Step 3 : Register with Singapore company registrar, ACRA

When the incorporation documents are ready, the company can proceed to register with ACRA, officially. The registration process is done online and typically takes less than one hour.

However, there are cases where if the company registration has to be referred to another government agency for further review, the process may take a couple of weeks.

After you have successfully registered and incorporated the company, you can do business under its name.

Just like the local entrepreneurs, foreigners looking to register a company in Singapore are also advised to use the service of a corporate service provider because you may not be thoroughly familiar with Singapore company laws and compliance requirements.

For more information, feel free to get in touch with us.