That is why entrepreneurs all over the world continue to land in Singapore with great plan and great ambitions. The country works. There are low taxes, the legal system works, political stability is not just a tag line and the government does not see business formation as a jungle. Singapore has always been the leader in the world ease-of-doing-business indices – not due to some form of intelligent marketing, but due to the fact that the infrastructure supports it. However, being business friendly does not imply error free. Many founders enter the registration process hoping that goodwill will make the difference between their lack of knowledge. It won’t. This system rewards those who are turned up and punishes those who are not unobtrusively. If you’re unsure about costs, check this out for a full breakdown.

The form that best suits most of the businesses in this case is the Private Limited Company Pte. Ltd. Personal liability remains limited. The company exists as an independent legal entity. Foreigners are also allowed to own 100 percent of shares without bringing in an obligatory local partner, which is also a substantial benefit compared to most other jurisdictions in Asia. Paid-up capital starts at S$1. The registration process is done through ACRA BizFile+ portal at a government fee of S$315, and fully ready applications have a high likelihood of being approved within 24 hours. The mechanics are actually efficient. However, there is one condition that always surprises foreign founders – the law of Singapore stipulates that a registered company should have one of its directors who are ordinarily residing in Singapore. Not one who comes swinging on a business trip every few months. A real-life resident, one with a legitimate residential status to show it. You have to get this sorted out before you can even set your footsteps on anything else, should you be located in Dubai, Toronto, or Tokyo.

Hub Corporate Services is a direct answer to that gap. Their 20+ years of service in Chinatown Point, and their Nominee Director service, puts a qualified and resident of Singapore director on the board of your company in a purely statutory, non executive position. The nominee does not influence your business decision-making, does not have access to your company funds and does not intervene in your business. Their task is to meet the job of residency – full stop. Hub pairs this with an appointment of a company secretary, not only a legal mandate, but a logical complement to this position, as both positions lead to the same compliance responsibilities. The security deposit is not mandatory, and it is more than it appears when you are already dealing with several setup costs at a time. They include the registered office address, secretarial services and government filing fees in their incorporation packages which means that founders will have a single contact rather than a stack of different vendors to go chasing.

It is in post-incorporation compliance that many otherwise bright founders fail to follow through. The registered company should have a company secretary within six months otherwise any director is liable up to Sg 1000. Annual returns are to be submitted to ACRA. IRAS receives corporate income tax returns. The two timelines are pegged to your Financial Year End date, which is locked in on registration. The majority of them decide that date in a careless way, like on a long form. It isn’t. Get it wrong and compliance due dates will pile up upon your busiest trading days each and every year. Hub takes clients through the process and makes this decision pre-corporation and makes it count as much as it does. Such upstream thinking, or solving issues before they arise, is precisely the difference between a good corporate services firm and a firm that merely provides paperwork services.