There are a lot of benefits in opening your operations in Singapore. It is a huge market for many products. There is a good population of people who have the purchasing capacity and look forward to buying new products from other countries. You can also export these goods to other countries because a lot of companies depend on Singapore for their goods. It is a very strong trading market and countries from as far as the African continent buy products from Singapore.

Many rules regulate the company formation in Singapore. It is difficult for a new entrepreneur to understand these and that is why an agent is required to help you with the company incorporation process. You can learn everything about what companies need what documents and what conditions to be fulfilled if you want to operate in Singapore. It is best to partner with an agency that has financial, legal and business experts to help you.

Who Is Exempted From Registration?

It is better to understand which companies must be registered with the ACRA and which are those who get an exemption from registering the company. Though registration has many benefits it is a difficult process for those who don’t know the procedures. If a person is going to do business under his or her full name then the business need not be registered in Singapore.

Even if there is more than one person and they intend to do business together they can do so without registering the company. The only condition is that the full names of all the people should appear as the company name. Both the individual business and group business are exempt from registration only if there are no other words in the name that describe what they do.

Select the Right Business Structure

When you are setting up a company in Singapore, it is very important to select the right business structure for the company. This will help you to run the business in a better way and to make use of all the benefits and exemptions offered by the government. If you are running the business yourself and don’t plan to add any partners, the best structure is the sole proprietorship which allows you complete control. But the liabilities of the company will be yours.

If you are planning to do business with a couple of other partners you can register the company as a partnership. The partnership firm is exempt from auditing or filing its accounts. You can also start a limited liability partnership if you and your partner don't want the losses of the company to affect your assets. This type of company requires to be registered and there are more formalities to be fulfilled.

The private limited company, however, is the most preferred business model if you want to expand in the future and spread your business. The private limited company allows you to have as much as fifty shareholders. The shares can be transferred to other individuals to raise capital for the company. Change of shareholders doesn’t change the function of the company.

Tax Benefits for a Private Limited Company

One of the reasons why many foreigners choose to open their companies in Singapore is the tax rates and the tax structure. The private limited company is not taxed for any amount that is earned out of Singapore. There will be no tax on dividends as the company income has already been taxed. Singapore does not tax companies on capital gains. Taxing of a company depends on its tax residency.

Companies which have tax residency in Singapore can get an exemption of up to 75% tax exemption on the first 10,000 $ income and 50% exemption on the balance 290,000. The profit earned above S$300,000 is taxed at 17% and that is certainly the least rate in the world. The companies doing company incorporation in Singapore benefit from import duty exemption with ASEAN nations.