Company Registration
Pierian Singapore offers quality & timely services in matters related to establishment of a new company. We provide end-to-end professional assistance in registering a company at competitive and affordable prices. Pierian’s dedicated professionals help you incorporate your company in Singapore and guide you at every step, ensuring to make the process simple and swift.
After incorporating the Singapore company we can offer services in the areas of Accounting, Management reporting, Payroll Services, regulatory advisory including Corporate Secretarial Services, and Taxation.
We hereby share some important facts and mandates to register a Company in Singapore.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Private Limited Company in which the shares are held by less than 50 persons and are not available to general public.
- Public Limited Company should have at least 50 shareholders and may offer its shares to general public. A Public Limited Company is subject to significantly more stringent rules and regulations since it has the power to raise funds from the public.
- Public Limited Company Limited by guarantee – these are meant for non-profit businesses.
- What is a branch office? A branch office is registered in Singapore as an extension of the parent company and not as a separately incorporated entity. The foreign company’s head office is liable for any everything. From taxation point of view, a branch office is generally considered a non-resident entity and therefore not eligible for the tax exemptions and incentives available to local companies in Singapore. Hence, setting up a branch office is not an attractive option to set up business.
- How can I register a branch office? The name of the Singapore branch office must be the same as that of the parent company and must be approved by ACRA before registration. The company registrar generally approves the proposed name unless an identical name exists in Singapore. The Companies Act requires that a branch office must appoint 2 agents who are ordinarily resident in Singapore to accept services of process and notices. A branch office must have a registered office address in Singapore.
- What can be the business activities of a branch office? A Singapore branch office can be in any business activity that falls within the scope of its parent company and can repatriate its earnings and capital. The portion of the income of the branch office, which is derived from or attributable to the operations carried out outside Singapore, will not be subject to taxes. Earnings from branch’s operations in Singapore will be subject to Singapore local corporate tax rates.
- What is a Representative Office (RO) and how can I set up an RO? A Representative office is registered in Singapore as a temporary arrangement for conducting marketing research and feasibility studies. A representative office does not have any legal status and cannot be engaged in any profit yielding activities. To set up an RO in banking and insurance one has to register with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). To set up an RO in all other industries in all other industries one has to register with International Enterprise (IE) Singapore.
- What are the activities an RO can engage?An RO can engage only in marketing research and feasibility studies
- What are the activities an RO cannot engage?An RO must not conduct any of the following activities (directly or on behalf of the parent company):
- trade in goods/services (including import or export)
- lease warehousing facilities
- lease office(s) to other establishments for a fee
- enter into business contracts
- issue invoices/receipts
- open/receive letters of credit
- provide services for fees
- Company Name – please provide 3 probable company names
- Registered Address
- A Description of Business Activities
- Shareholder(s) name and address
- Director(s) name and address
- Company Secretary name and address
- Company Constitution document (Memorandum and Articles of Association)
- A copy of Singapore identity card (IC) for Singapore Residents
- A copy of passport, overseas residential address proof, and other information for foreigner’s i.e. non-Singapore Residents.
- If the shareholder is a corporate entity (this applies for subsidiary companies too), one has to submit a copy of registration documents such as Certificate of Incorporation and Memorandum & Articles of Association.
- For non-English documents, an officially-endorsed translated version is required. Some information/signature and documents may need to be notarized by public notary overseas.
- At least one Director of a Singapore Pte. Ltd Company must be a resident of Singapore, i.e. either a Singapore citizen, Singapore permanent resident or a person who holds an Employment Pass/EntrePass/ Dependant’s Pass with a residential address in Singapore.
- The director must be at least 18 years of age, and must not be bankrupt or convicted for any criminal malpractice in the past. Information of the directors will appear on public records. Directors can also be shareholders and vice versa.
- Foreigners (Individuals or Corporates) who do not have a local Singapore resident Director to meet the requirement of the Singapore Companies Act, have the following options. Foreign Individual who wish to relocate to run their new Singapore Company operations have two types of work pass to choose from- Entrepreneur Pass or Employment Pass.
- Apply for Employment pass or Entrepreneur pass:Foreign Corporation that plan to relocate its management staff to Singapore to run their new Singapore Company must apply for an Employment Pass. For more details, please refer to Singapore Employment Pass @ www.mom.gov.sg
- Foreign Individuals/Corporation Not Relocating to Singapore:You can appoint a trusted contact who is a Singapore resident or use our nominee director service.

Testimonial
“We have enjoyed working with Pierian. They listened and provided us with great advice before deciding on outsourcing. We have used their service for our accounting, tax and payroll needs since our inception in India. Their people are skilled in a number of areas and are very hands on. Our Finance and accounting function operates very efficiently with help from Pierian.”
Mr. Bill Paape,
CFO, Lifesize Inc.