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Full Singapore corporate structure comparison

Summary Tax resident LLC Tax exempt LLC Fast solution LLC Free zone LLC PLC LLP Representative office Branch office Trust
Best use of company? All purposes Trading/ holding Close a customer
deal now		 Global trading SGX listing Professional
services		 Marketing &
research		 Consolidate
losses		 Tax planning
How soon can you invoice Clients/sign sales contracts? 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week No
How soon can you hire staff? 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week No
How soon can you sign a lease agreement? 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week No
Travel required for business setup? No No No No No No No No No
Travel required for bank account opening? No No No No No No No No No
Corporate tax rate on annual net profits? 17% 0% 17% 17% 17% 0% 0% 17% 0%
Legally tax exempt if properly structured? No Yes No No No Yes Yes No Yes
Government grants available? Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No
Resident director/partner/manager required? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Minimum paid up share capital? US$1 US$1 US$1 US$1 US$1 US$1 US$1 US$1 None
Can bid for Government contracts? Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No
Corporate bank account location? DBS Singapore Switzerland OCBC Singapore UOB Singapore Citibank Singapore DBS Singapore SBI Singapore SCB Singapore OCBC Singapore
Can secure trade finance? Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No
Limited liability entity? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes
Average total engagement costs? US$8,980 US$8,940 US$11,560 US$8,790 US$6,980 US$6,980 US$6,800 US$8,750 US$25,000
Average total engagement period? 9 weeks 9 weeks 14 weeks 9 weeks 9 weeks 9 weeks 9 weeks 9 weeks 4 weeks

Accounting and tax considerations Tax resident LLC Tax exempt LLC Fast solution LLC Free zone LLC PLC LLP Representative office Branch office Trust
Must file an annual tax return? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No
Access to double taxation treaties? Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No
This entity enjoys Government incentives? Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No
Company registration Tax resident LLC Tax exempt LLC Fast solution LLC Free zone LLC PLC LLP Representative office Branch office Trust
Minimum number of shareholders/partners? 1 1 1 1 1 2 Parent company Parent company 0
Maximum shareholding for foreigners? 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 None
Minimum number of directors/managers? 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 None
Minimum statutory paid up share capital? US$1 US$1 US$1 US$1 US$1 US$1 None None None
Shelf companies available? Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No No
Time to incorporate a new entity? 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week 1 week None
Can easily convert to a PLC? Yes No Yes No Yes No No No No
Public register of shareholders and directors? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Can have preference shareholders? Yes Yes No No Yes No No No No
Business considerations Tax resident LLC Tax exempt LLC Fast solution LLC Free zone LLC PLC LLP Representative office Branch office Trust
Can invoice customers in your company name? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Restrictions on nature of business activities No Yes No Yes No No Yes No Yes
Company can hire local staff? Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Maximum number of staff allowed? No limit No limit No limit No limit No limit No limit No limit No limit None
Good entity for trademark registration? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No
Can secure an import and export license? Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No

Other useful information
What will be included in my customer sales invoice? (click link)
This country has signed free trade agreements? Yes
This country is a member of WIPO/TRIPS? Yes
This country is a member of the ICSID? Yes
Average customs duties suffered? 0
Government foreign investment approval required? No
Average monthly office rental? (US$ per sq m) 37
Minimum statutory annual salary? None
Average monthly US$ salary for local skilled employees? US$3,800
S$ deposit interest rate? (1 year average) 0.004
US$ deposit interest rate? (1 year average) 0.001
Overseas remittance currency controls? None
Banking considerations
Multi-currency bank accounts available? Yes
Corporate visa debit cards available? No
Quality of e-banking platform? Excellent
Crowd funding available in this country? Yes

Can be wholly foreign owned? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Government approval required for foreign owners? No No No No No No No No No
Temporary physical office solutions available? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
You need a local resident as bank signatory? No No No No No No No No No
GST payable on sales to local customers? 7% 0% 7% 0% 7% 7% 0% 7% None
Withholding tax on payments to shareholders? 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% None
Group HQ tax incentives? Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No None
Must file annual financial statements? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No
Must appoint an auditor? No No No No Yes No No No No
Withholding tax on payments to parent company? 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% None
Monthly GST reporting to the Government? Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes None
Dividends received are legally tax exempt? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Security deposit to be kept with Government? No No No No No No No No No
Must sign an office lease agreement? No No No No No No No No No
Shareholders and directors documents to be attested? No No No No No No No No No
Foreign director needs a tax number? No No No No No No No No No
Foreign director needs a residence visa? No No No No No No No No No
Shareholders and directors documents to be translated? No No No No No No No No No
The entity will likely be regulated by? ACRA ACRA ACRA ACRA ACRA ACRA ACRA ACRA None
Sponsorship by a local citizen required? No No No No No No No No No
Expatriate to local staff ratio? None None None None None None None None None
Company can rent local office space? Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Can secure residence visa for business owner? Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No

Contact us

For additional information on our business registration services in Singapore, please contact our in-house country expert, Ms. Chrissi Zamora, directly:
client relationship officer - Chrissi
singapore business federation Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM) Institute of Singapore chartered accountant (ISCA) Institute of Singapore chartered accountant (ISCA) saicsa icsa - institute of chartered secretaries and administrators SIngapore exchange ltd - The Asian Gateway | SGX
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