Singapore Offshore Companies

SINGAPORE OFFSHORE COMPANIES

The Republic of Singapore is well known as one of the four Asian Tigers. It is a city state located at the southern tip of the Malaysian Peninsula with a population of approximately 4.8 million.

Singapore is a business friendly, International Financial Center, with major banks, hundreds of foreign companies and thousands of expats. It is the 4th largest foreign exchange trading centre in the world and the world's busiest port. The official languages are English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamili. English is the administrative language and is widely spoken.

OVERVIEW OF KEY FEATURES

Like Hong Kong, Singapore has no offshore legislation. Corporate taxes are based on a "territorial" feature. That is, income is only taxed if it is earned in Singapore and/or remitted into Singapore.

Note that the trans-shipment of goods through Singapore ports by a Singapore company, does NOT make the company taxable.

Singapore companies can be structured to be resident or non-resident. A non-resident Singapore Company is one for which the management and control is exercised from outside of Singapore. (This means that there must be two foreign Directors as there is one mandatory Singapore Resident Director. All Directors meetings must be held outside of Singapore.) Such a non-resident company is only taxed on Singapore source income. Income remitted to Singapore is non taxable. If the company is "resident" then it is taxable on both Singapore source income and income remitted into Singapore.

As such, a Singapore Company can be structured to be non-taxable, the same as a regular offshore company in an offshore jurisdiction. A major difference though, is that the owner(s) of the Singapore Company can live in Singapore and the company is still non-taxable so long as there is no Singapore source income and no remittances into Singapore.

If you are interested in residing in Singapore, Maritime International Ltd. can arrange the necessary permits.

IMPORTANT: Unless the client needs to have a bank account in Singapore, it is best to have the corporate bank account in a tax free country outside of Singapore. If this is done, then the Singapore company will not be taxable whether it is resident or non-resident, since no funds are being remitted into Singapore. The external bank account of course would be in the name of the Singapore company. This structure can easily be arranged by Maritime International Ltd.

There are several disadvantages to a Singapore Company, but overall it is an excellent jurisdiction. You will require a resident Singapore Director and a resident Singapore Secretary, so these add to the cost of the jurisdiction. The resident Secretary is included in our fees, the same as in Hong Kong, since the Secretary must perform a number of legal functions and is not just a "passive" Secretary. The "resident" Director can be provided by Maritime International Ltd. at an additional fee, or the client can provide a local Singapore resident, known to them, to be the "resident" Director.

In either case, Maritime International Ltd. recommends that clients also use the nominee Director services of Maritime International Ltd. to obtain an "offshore" confidential non-Singapore Director as well as the mandatory local Director. This is provided at no charge. Arrangements can be made between the two Directors, so that all corporate documentation and client communications is performed by the foreign nominee Director; saving time and money by not having to send documents to Singapore for signature, plus providing "offshore" privacy. Please be aware that the names of Directors and Shareholders are in the public record. It is important therefore, if privacy is desired, that nominee Directors and nominee Shareholders be used. There are available from Maritime International Ltd., with appropriate Indemnity and Declaration of Trust, protecting the client. The nominees do not sign on the bank account.

Singapore has a GST tax of 7%, which is included in our fees. Check other offers carefully.

Accounts must be kept by the company. Audited accounts are not required if:

• The company turn over is less than S$ 5 million.
• The company has less than 20 shareholders.
• There are no corporate shareholders.

Inexpensive accounting services can be provided by Maritime International Ltd. We recommend our "offshore" accounting services rather than keeping accounts in your country of citizenship or residence.

• Click Here for Typical Singapore Offshore Company Incorporation Fees
• Compare Singapore Company Fees to Other Jurisdictions
• Request a No-Obligation Quotation or Place an Order for a Singapore Company

QUICK REVIEW OF SINGAPORE OFFSHORE COMPANIES

SINGAPORE OFFSHORE COMPANY FEES

• Click Here for Typical Singapore Offshore Company Incorporation Fees
• Compare Singapore Company Fees to Other Jurisdictions
• Request a No-Obligation Quotation or Place an Order for a Singapore Company

OFFSHORE COMPANY MANAGEMENT SERVICES AVAILABLE

Nominee Directors & Shareholders, Virtual Office Services, Mailing Address, Basic Account Maintenance, Invoicing and Accounting Services, Employee Contracts, Document Safekeeping and general Corporate services. More details are available on our Management Services page.

PRIVACY

The names of the Directors and Shareholders are required to be filed with the Government and they are also available in the public record.

Privacy can be provided through the use of a nominee Director(s) and nominee Shareholder(s). Only the nominee names are filed with the Government and appear in the public record. The Beneficial Owner of the company and the Power of Attorney issued to him/her to run the company, are not required to be filed with the Government or placed in the public record.

NAME RESTRICTIONS

The following names require licensing to be used: Bank, Insurance, Assurance, Re-Insurance, Fund Management, Investment Fund, Chamber of Commerce. Names denoting any connection to local, state or national Governments are generally prohibited, as well as politically sensitive names.

SUFFIXES TO DENOTE LIMITED LIABLITY

The following can be used: Private Limited or Pte Ltd. only.

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