Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur looking to start your first business or an existing company wanting to expand and tap into a completely new market, there’s no denying that Singapore has one of the most powerful economies in the world. According to Forbes Asia's inaugural Best Over A Billion list, Singapore is home to 9 of the continent’s 200 top-performing billion-dollar companies, making it an appealing choice for businesses looking to establish a strong presence in Asia.
Read on to find out why, as well as discover why incorporating in Singapore is undeniably one of the best moves for all types of businesses.
8 Benefits of Registering a Company in Singapore
Strategic Geographical Location
A reason why Singapore is one of Asia’s strongest economies is because of its advantageous geographical location. Located in the heart of Southeast Asia, Singapore allows businesses and companies to reach the rest of the continent more easily and efficiently. Aside from business, Singapore also makes the most out of its great location by maximizing its ports and airports, which are some of the busiest and most successful in the world.
Robust Economy
Singapore has perfected its free market economy that’s heavily founded on finance, trade, and manufacturing. With services that account for around 80% of the country’s GDP, Singapore is able to minimize its unemployment and inflation rates. Singapore has been able to maintain this for decades, allowing it to establish itself as one of the most stable economies in the world.
Singapore also has no foreign debt that can take away from its GDP, and it also boasts a large national savings of nearly half its GDP. It also helps that the country has a relatively stable political landscape, as companies won’t have to worry about facing repercussions, making it a great backdrop for incorporating your company.
World-Class Infrastructure
Singapore also features some of the best infrastructure in the world. This includes their airports, ports, highway systems, public transportation, buildings, and more. Not only does this mean that businesses will be able to grow in attractive and pleasant work environments, but it also makes it much easier to move goods and products, whether locally or internationally.
This also allows Singapore to easily reach other destinations, with its airports flying to more than 300 cities across the world and its ports connecting to 600 ports in major cities. Singapore also ranked the highest among all Asian countries in the Logistics Performance Index.
Easier Company Incorporation and Registration Process
One of the main benefits of incorporating your company in Singapore is that the country boasts one of the easiest and most efficient registration processes in the world. Rather than requiring you to be physically present and jump through several bureaucratic hoops, Singapore’s company incorporation process can easily be accomplished on the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority’s (ACRA) BizFile+ online portal.
You can finish the entire process relatively quickly, so long as you’ve prepared the necessary documents and requirements. You can also reach out to incorporation service providers in Singapore, as these professionals have experience with incorporating a wide range of business across different industries.
If you want to learn more about how to incorporate in Singapore, then read our article Ultimate Guide on How to Register a Company in Singapore to learn more!
Tax Exemptions and Favorable Corporate Tax Rates
Singapore’s economy remains a powerhouse because the government has specific frameworks and schemes in place to encourage business activity. These include having business-friendly taxes and benefits in place, a few examples being their tax exemptions, incentives, deductions, and unmatched corporate tax rates. In fact, Singapore employs a tiered corporate tax system that takes into account the amount of income that a company generates.
These plans are geared towards the development and innovation of different businesses by helping them, especially during the early stages of their growth. An example of this is how startup businesses are entitled to a 100% tax exemption for their first SGD 100,000 chargeable income, with this lowering to a 50% exemption for the next SGD 200,000 effective for the first three years.
You can read more about Singapore’s tax exemptions in our Corporate Tax Guide: Tax Rebates and Exemptions in Singapore article.
Productive and High Quality Workforce
One thing that Singapore is known for is its impressive and excellent education system that allows students to achieve impressive scores on global standardized tests. This high quality system nurtures hardworking, productive, and well-educated employees that can help your business build a formidable and highly competent workforce.
Aside from that, Singapore is also known for being welcoming to global talent, allowing companies to sponsor employment passes for international individuals who have demonstrated their skills and expertise. Additionally, foreigners also have the opportunity to apply for work visas and permanent residence status, which also gives companies in Singapore the chance to explore a more diverse talent pool.
Strong Policies and Excellent Support from the Government
Singapore has created numerous favorable policies for companies, with the government continuously building a conducive, stable, and seamless business ecosystem through flexible, all-inclusive approaches. Aside from that, the government also heavily discourages any form of corruption with the promise of harsh punishments for those found guilty, and this helped the country become one of the least corrupt countries in the world.
The government also has different regulatory frameworks in place that strongly protect intellectual property, allowing businesses to claim ownership of their own ideas without any fears of foul play.
Favorable Conditions for Foreign Companies
When a foreigner decides to incorporate in Singapore, they can actually own 100% of the company shares, so long as they meet all the statutory requirements. This means that foreigners don’t need to have any local partners or shareholders and are able to move forward with their desired capital structure type. Singapore also doesn’t impose any limits on the amount of capital that can be brought from one’s home country and invested in the company..
Singapore also doesn’t have any restrictions on the movement of foreign capital in the country, which allows businesses to operate with much more freedom and flexibility, especially when compared to other countries like China and India which severely restrict this movement. Aside from that, there are also no taxes on capital gains from the sale of a business, nor on the dividends paid to company shareholders.
Incorporating a Business in Singapore: Getting Started
There are many benefits of registering a company in Singapore, but it can get very overwhelming for individuals who aren’t familiar with the country’s processes. While there are several approaches to incorporating your business in Singapore, strategic entrepreneurs choose to rely on WealthBridge.
We offer the type of corporate services in company registration that will not only get your business started but also help it hit the ground running. Aside from registration and incorporation services, our team of professionals can also help you with tax filing, accounting, employment visa applications, and much more.
Feel free to get in touch with us today for the full range of corporate services in Singapore!