Tax exempt international companies in 2024

Singapore Hong Kong Dubai Marshall Islands
Our ranking in order of preference 1 2 3 5
Summary at a glance
Total engagement costs? (US$) 12,246 8,655 15,700 13,520
How long to set the company up? 1 week 1 week 2 weeks 1 week
How long to open bank account? 6 weeks 4 weeks 3 weeks 4 weeks
Where to open the bank account? UOB Malaysia HSBC HK Arab Bank Dubai OCBC Singapore
Legally tax exempt structure? Yes Yes Yes Yes
Annual accounting and filing obligations? Yes Yes Yes No
Resident director required? Yes No No No
Reputable looking structure? Yes Yes Yes No
Legal considerations
Resident shareholder required? No No No No
Minimum number of directors? 1 1 1 1
Minimum number of shareholders? 1 1 1 1
Resident company secretary required? Yes Yes Yes Yes
Individual shareholders allowed? Yes Yes Yes Yes
Corporate shareholders allowed? Yes Yes Yes Yes
Corporate director(s) allowed? No Yes Yes Yes
Info available on a public register? Yes Yes Yes No
Minimum paid-up capital? (US$) 1 1 1 1
Tax and accounting considerations
Corporate tax payable? (%) 0% 0% 0% 3%
Annual financial statements required? Yes Yes Yes Yes
Statutory audit required? No Yes No Yes
Annual tax return to be submitted? Yes Yes Yes Yes
Access to double tax treaties? No No No No
Can the entity hire expatriate staff? Yes Yes Yes No
Foreign income locally taxable? Yes Yes No N/A
Agreeing to cooperate with FATF? Yes Yes Yes Yes
FATF blacklisted country? No No No No
Logistics considerations
Allowed to invoice local Clients? Yes Yes Yes No
Average monthly salary? (US$) 2,700 1,900 2,100 400
English spoken by locals? (% pop.) 80% 46% Na 20%
Literacy rate (%)? 93% 93% 90% 92%
Computer literacy rate (%)? 98% 80% 87% 75%
Country sovereign rating (S&P)? AAA AAA AA -
Ease of doing business? (World Bank) 1 5 31 140
Population? (million) 4.8 7.3 9.6 0.5
Unemployment rate? (% active pop.) 2 3.2 - -
Inflation rate? (average, 2015) 0 2.9 3.7 -0.6

Contact us

For additional information on our tax exempt international company services, please contact our in-house country expert, Ms. Chrissi Zamora, directly:
client relationship officer - Chrissi