Private limited company registration Singapore – Singapore is facing unprecedented changes and many business ventures are in the midst of launching.
Marco Pierre White has said that
“I think Singapore is one of the great cities of the world.”
In Singapore, today given the relaxation in requirements for company registration, many Singapore business owners are launching their own Singapore companies in these uncertain times to take advantage of dislocations in asset pricing in these times.
What is a private limited company?
Under the Companies Act (Cap. 50), a private limited company is one that has less than 50 shareholders and has restrictions on share transfers. This is in contrast to a public company which has more than 50 shareholders and typically has no restrictions on share transfers. Another type of public company is a public company limited by guarantee which is usually set up for charities and non-profit organisations.
A private limited company typically at the start has fewer shareholders and fewer directors at the point of incorporation.
What types of private limited companies are there?
There are 2 types of private limited companies today under the Companies Act.
One is the exempt private company (EPC) which allows you to have simplified annual return filings. This is a private limited company with 20 or less shareholders and no corporate shareholders. While the general rule is that loans to a director of the company or a director of a related company are not permitted, however such restriction on lending does not bind a director of an exempt private company.
ACRA has also simplified the annual return filing process for solvent EPCs.
- Financial Year End falls on or after 31 August 2018;
- EPC is not preparing audited financial statements;
- EPC is not required to file financial statements; and
- No change in the previous information filed with ACRA
A simplified returns is easier than the usual annual return as most of the information would be pre-filled and is much quicker.
How to carry out Name reservation?
Before carrying out name reservation, you would want to prepare 3 variants of your proposed company name. Then you need a Singpass or a Corppass and log into the ACRA Bizfile system. Then you need to carry out a name reservation. The system will prompt you if your name is too similar to an existing name in the company register. It would be prudent of you to do a quick name search on the ACRA system to check if there are any similar names to yours.

What names are not allowed to be registered?
ACRA has stated that any names that have the words Singapore or Temasek in the front of those names will not be registered. This restriction does not apply retrospectively so companies with those names before Singapore became independent in 1965 can continue to keep their names.
What types of business licenses are required?
If you intend to carry out Private limited company registration in Singapore, you need check if the nature of your business requires special business licensing. Do check out the Licenceone website to find out what is necessary for your type of business operations.
Finally we leave you with a quote from Lee Kuan Yew,
“Countries that are agricultural can, at a low standard of living, sustain themselves. You can be self-sufficient; the money economy is a relatively insignificant part of the total economy. Singapore never was an agricultural country.”
About Raffles CPA
Raffles CPA is a niche professional firm headquartered in Singapore with a relentless dedication to help global and local clients in solving their complex business problems in areas of corporate services, accounting, capital market, legal and compliance.

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