How to Find the Best Entrepreneur Networking Group in Singapore

Most professionals are well aware of the beneficial impact that proper networking has on their ability to find new opportunities, uncover new open positions, and establish relationships that allow them to unlock the kind of financial freedom that they’ve always dreamed of.

At the same time, getting started with networking from scratch – right from the very bottom, not knowing absolutely anyone in Singapore – can be a real challenge. This is especially true if this isn’t something that you have a lot of experience with.

Thankfully though, there are a lot of fabulous entrepreneur networking groups in Singapore designed specifically to be as welcoming and as inclusive as possible. You definitely aren’t going to struggle connecting with like-minded and focused professionals just like yourself when you’re in Singapore, especially if you hook up with any of the entrepreneurial networking groups we mentioned below.

Connect with the HUB

Probably the most expansive networking group in the world (with more than 7000 members in 60 different “hubs”), the HUB Singapore group is filled to the brim with young professionals that are looking to establish themselves in the professional business world of Singapore.

Not only that, but local chapters of this group are filled with talent scouts, headhunters, investors, and well-connected members of the business community – providing you with the chance to really expand your professional network in a hurry with some real deal movers and shakers.

Join The Kennel

Similar to the HUB, The Kennel is a slightly smaller group of networking professionals that meet with the intention of building small businesses and startups – but there’s always room for new members and they are always having very frequent meet ups (more frequent even than The HUB).
If you are looking to establish yourself, your business, or your brand, The Kennel has plenty of resources to help you do exactly that. You’ll really be able to hit the ground running when you connect with this Singapore networking group.

See what the SEN is up to

With more than 5000 members already signed up (and with hundreds more being added to the roster on a regular basis), the Singapore Entrepreneurs Network – SEN – is definitely one of the hottest networking groups that you’ll want to be a part of when you’re in this country.

Regularly meeting to discuss potential business prospects and opportunities, marketing and joint venture agreements, licensing and partnering chances and so much more, this is a very business focused group that will help you exponentially increase your odds of creating the financial future you’ve always dreamt of.

Fall in love with Facebook Groups and LinkedIn

Believe it or not, Facebook and LinkedIn can be fantastic resources for those new to Singapore looking to connect with like-minded people that are interested in building their career and helping others do the exact same thing.
You’ll have to dig through many of the different groups to find the very best of the bunch, but this kind of due diligence and research will always pay off in the long term!

Play some golf (or get involved with local activities of some kind)

Golf has always been one of the “international languages” of networking, and people in Singapore take advantage of everything that this amazing sport has to offer just the same as professionals around the world do.

If golf is into your game you’ll be able to connect with professionals in a variety of different local activities, combining your social networking with your professional networking to create some really special opportunities that might not have existed previously.

Why Choose Singapore to Set Up your Business?

Jim Rogers is an American-born businessman which is recognized as one of the giants of Wall Street had moved to Singapore in 2007. He already discovered that Singapore is a global business magnet that offers an incredible quality of life to its residents, and has only begun to assume its position as a world leader in finance and business. So why choose Singapore to Set Up your business?

Many words such as “comfortably diverse,” “I love taxes here,” “safe living environment,” “cutting-edge business community” and “relaxed, stable lifestyle,” all of which are used to describe Singapore and are critically important to interested parties in making a major life change.

Singapore has a tremendous amount to offer the international business community with a unique and fascinating lifestyle and culture. Below is a list that further indicate why corporations, entrepreneurs and ventures of all sizes would consider Singapore the perfect location to start up their company or business:

• Third wealthiest nation in the world ranked by Forbes magazine.
• Third most globalized economy among 60of the world’s largest economies in therecently release Ernst and Young 2011 Globalization Index
• Rated #1 as the most politically stable country in Asia
• Rated #1 as the best labor force in the world
• Best quality of life in Asia
• For profits $300k and below 8.5% corporate tax rates and 17% flat above that.
• No dividend or capital gains taxes
• No estate/death/inheritance tax in Singapore
• 0% personal tax rates and max out at 20% above $320K

Derek Sivers, a fellow American expatriate agrees that Singapore feels like a small town in a big city and has the advantages of both therefore it is a great place to set up a business.

After just one visit to Singapore, Sivers and his wife decided to put down roots here as they travelled all over the world looking for the perfect place to call home.

Singapore’s Strategic Location

One major reason why businesses like to start up in Singapore would be its convenient location. As it is situated in the heart of Southeast Asia, your business would have access to a market of 2.8 billion people within a few hours flight. In addition, Singapore is classified as a premier International Maritime Center and has one of the busiest ports in the world.

Singapore’s Changi Airport emphasis on competitiveness, efficiency and service has helped made it the “Best Airport in the World” for 20 consecutive years. Annually, Changi Airport serves over 15 million passengers and provides businesses with smooth access to all major Asian markets.

Singapore Means Business

Singapore is capable of attracting sizable foreign investments and business entrepreneurs as it is known for its pro-business environment. In Singapore, it is easy to turn your ideas into businesses with ease and achieve significant profits. Which is the opposite of many Western nations, it only takes about 1-2 days to incorporate a company in Singapore, and the government also provides assistance along the way. To say it simply, Singapore is the easiest place in the world to manage and set up a business.

For more information on Singapore’s exciting economic environment, refer to our Singapore Economy page.

Singapore’s Outstanding Tax System

Taxes are the top considerations for setting up a business anywhere in the world and are at the top of the agenda for any entrepreneur. One of Singapore’s unique strengths is its low effective personal and corporate tax rates. Personal income tax’s tier system starts from just 0% and goes up to 20% for income above S$320,000.

Similarly, effective corporate tax rate for Singapore private limited companies for profits are capped at a flat rate of 17% for profits above S$300,000 and below 9% for up to S$300,000. Singapore adopts a single-tier tax policy which means that if income has been taxed at the corporate level, shareholders would not be taxed for receiving dividends as there are no capital gains taxes in Singapore.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a broad-based consumption tax that was adopted by the government as an effort to move away from a dependency on income taxes and to make the economy even more competitive. Singapore GST rates are at 7% which is ranked below the global average VAT/GST rate of 16.4% and the Asia-Pacific average of 10.5%.

To know more about taxes in Singapore, refer to Singapore Taxation page.

Flexible Immigration Policies

Foreign nationals who wish to setup businesses and relocate in Singapore will be aided by Singapore’s open Immigration policy. The government has foreseen the needs of entrepreneurs that need to locate to run their business or to hire foreign professionals and made appropriate Singapore work visa provisions.

To support value adding individuals to settle permanently in Singapore, Singapore has made it easier for foreign professionals to gain Singapore Permanent Residence (PR) status by having a relaxed immigration policy.

Comprehensive Intellectual Property Protection

In Singapore, IP protection is taken seriously and Singapore is a one-stop center for businesses seeking to manage their IP assets. Singapore has been ranked top in Asia by The World Economic Forum (WEF), the Institute for Management Development (IMD) and the Political Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC).

It is a criminal offense for a person or company to conduct willful copyright infringement as Singapore has very strong copyright laws.

Singapore businesses can register a trademark in Singapore or also file for global trademark registration from Singapore as the country is a signatory to major IP conventions and treaties, such as the Paris Convention, Patent Cooperation Treaty, Berne Convention, Madrid Protocol, Budapest Treaty, Agreement on Trade-related aspects of IP rights, and World Intellectual Property Organization.

An Honest and Open Government

Supportive political infrastructure is needed for business to grow and thrive. Singapore’s political system adopts a pro-business approach which decides priorities, enact laws and set regulations rationally. Singapore’s government vision would be to take this nation to the front of the industrialized nations while being in order and stable.

For more information, please refer to the parliament of Singapore page.

The World’s Best Labour Force

A key ingredient for the success of any business would be an attractive, world-class, and production work-force. Singapore is primarily a knowledge-based economy and its manpower force is educated and professionally qualified. Singapore’s workforce is identified as having high level of education, technical proficiency, and high productivity, work-hard and work-smart culture. Singapore workforce attracts professionals from all over the world as it is both international and cosmopolitan and bring with them business expertise and extensive knowledge.
Singapore boasts of the “Best Labour Force in the World” in the latest rankings as an added inducement for entrepreneurs and employers that are interested in starting up a business or creating a branch office.

A Higher Quality of Life

One of the top concerns for foreign-born professionals and entrepreneurs whom setup businesses and relocate to Singapore would be the quality of life as they relocate with their family as well.

Singapore residents can enjoy many benefits like an wide selection of cultural and education opportunities, convenient transport, safe and healthy environment, an outstanding support system for businesses and excellent schools.

For an overview about Singapore’s quality of life, see Quality of Life in Singapore page.

Best Compliance Tips for Companies in Singapore

Best Compliance Tips for Companies in Singapore

This guide will provide you with the best compliance tips for  companies in Singapore.

If you are planning to set up a new Singapore company, you will need to know these 13 important compliance requirements.

• A qualified resident (company secretary) must be appointed within six months
• Local, physical Singapore addressed needed to be the registered address of the company. Must be open and accessible to public during office hours.
• Minimum of one resident director needed for the company whom must be at least 18 years old, free from any malpractice and not bankrupt. Any amount of additional resident or non-resident directors can be added.
• Auditor must be appointed within 3 months from the date of incorporation. If you meet at least two of the conditions below in the last 2 FYEs, your Singapore company will be able to qualify for audit exemption :
  • Total annual revenue of no more than S$10 million
  • Total assets worth no more than S$10 million
  • No more than 50 employees
• Goods and Services Tax must be registered if the projected or actual annual revenue of your company exceeds S$1 million. In foreign countries, it is known as Value Added Tax (VAT) or Sales tax. Companies must charge this tax to their clients on the goods and services provided and the proceedings will go to the tax authorities. For more information on GST, refer to Singapore GST guide.
• You might also have to obtain one or more business licenses before the commence of business operations in Singapore. These activities include restaurants, educational institutes, financial services, travel agencies and import/export-related industries.
• It is compulsory to maintain hardcopy or digital register of controllers of your Singapore Company and it must be physically accessible. Learn more through this link.
• Public register of members and shareholders has to be maintain if you are running a foreign company on top of the register of controllers. Refer to ACRA’s FAQ page here for more details..
• Keep necessary and important accounting records for at least five years after the related transaction have been completed. They must be able to explain the transaction and the financial position of your company.
• Directors of the company must any material personal interested that might be related to company affairs, as well as any information to avoid conflicts.
• Changes in company particulars must be submitted to ACRA within the timeframes allocated for that item. Penalties will incur for failing to do so.
• Unique Entity Number or company registration number must be shown on all official company correspondence.
• Submit to ACRA your annual returns and IRAS your annual tax returns. For more information refer to ACRA or IRAS

Different Business Entities and Structures in Singapore

Different Business Entities and Structures in Singapore

Of the many choices when deciding on incorporating an entity in Singapore, one of the major factors is the type of business structure (i.e. legal entity) you select for your business. The decision you make will affect the amount of taxes you pay, the image and perception of your business among your customers and suppliers, the amount of paperwork that your business will have to do, the personal liability you will face, the amount of money you can borrow and the expansion of the business. This guide will allow you to have an overview of the different business entities and structures in Singapore and any differences among them. All of them are subjected to many different regulatory and tax regimes that reflects their organisation and ownership.

The following are the main business entity types in Singapore:

Private Limited Company

A private limited company is a LLC whereby the shares are held by less than 50 persons and will not be available to public. Mostly private incorporated businesses in Singapore are registered as private limited companies. A private limited company’s name in Singapore will usually end with Private Limited or Pte Ltd. For example, our own company A.1 Business Pte Ltd is incorporated as a private limited company. The shareholders of a private limited company will have to be corporate entities, individuals or both.

A private limited company will be the most advanced, flexible, and scalable type of business form in Singapore. For serious entrepreneurs, it is the most preferred type of Singapore business entity (as opposed to sole proprietorship or limited liability partnership). If you are interested in incorporating a private limited companies, refer to Singapore company registration

Why entrepreneurs prefer Private Limited Company

• Separate Legal Entity: A private limited company will have its own legal identity and it is separated from its shareholders and its directors. It allows the acquisition of assets, enter into debts, enter into contracts, sue or be sued in its own name.
• Limited Liability: The amount of capital they each agreed to contribute as capital into the company will be the limited liability of the members to contribute to the debts of the company.
• Perpetual Succession: The continued membership of any of its members will not determine the company’s existence. In the event of death, resignation, or insolvency of shareholders or directors, ease of transfer of shares or changes in shareholders will ensure the company to survive
• Ease of raising capital: If the company plans for expansion or to bring in new shareholders or to issue more shares to existing shareholders, you will need to raise capital. If a company has separation between personal and business assets, investors will be more likely to purchase shares in that company. Also, limited companies are able to get a loan easier from most banks.
• Credible Image: As compared to a sole proprietorship or a partnership firm, an incorporated business entity will exhibit a better image and investors will be more willing to become a part of the company as it demonstrates a vision to grow and expand. Being a private limited company means that potential clients, suppliers, bankers and other professionals will take your business more seriously.
• Ease of transfer of Ownership: Without disrupting operations or the need for complicated legal documentation, ownership of a company may be transferred, either wholly or partially. By selling all or part of its total shares, or through issuing of new shares to additional investors, ownership transfer will be done.
• Tax Benefits and Incentives: A private limited company is a very efficient tax entity in Singapore as the effective corporate tax rate for Singapore companies for profits above SGD 300,000 it is capped at 17% while profits up to SGD 300,000 is below 9%. Moreover, there is no capital gains tax. A single-tier tax policy is used in Singapore which means that once the income has been taxed at the corporate level, dividends can be distributed to shareholders tax free.

Public Limited Company

A public limited company is a LLC that may offer its shares to public. A public limited company must have at least 50 shareholders and is subjected to significantly stricter rules and regulations since they have the power to raise funds from the public. Public limited company will be seen listed on a stock exchange. Public limited companies are outside the scope of this article as they are meant for large businesses.

Public Company Limited by Guarantee

If you are setting up a business entity meant for non-profit purposes, a public company limited by guarantee is the preferred choice. To learn more about it, refer to setting up a non-profit entity in Singapore.

Foreign Company Registration Options

Foreign companies that would wish to setup a presence in Singapore, have the choice of setting up a subsidiary company, branch office, or a representative office in Singapore.

• Subsidiary Company.  A subsidiary company will have the parent company as its shareholder and it is a private limited company incorporated in Singapore. For small to medium-sized foreign businesses, setting up a subsidiary company would be the most preferred choice in Singapore.
• Branch Office. A branch office does not act as a separated incorporated entity and it is an extension of its parent company and Liabilities of a branch office will extend to its parent company.
• Representative Office. Setting up a representative office in Singapore is a temporary arrangement for conducting marketing research activities. It cannot be engaged in any profit yielding activities and does not have any legal status.

For further details about these choices, refer to foreign company registration options in Singapore.

Sole Proprietorship

The simplest but the riskiest type of business form in Singapore would be sole proprietorship. From the legal perspective, the owner and business are counted as one. The owner owns all the assets and liabilities of the business. There is no protection of the owner’s personal assets from the business. Creditors have the rights to go after the owner’s personal assets if the business cannot pay all its liabilities, it is known as unlimited liability. Many entrepreneurs are unfamiliar about this financial risk. The owner will take full responsibility for the business’s liabilities. Inspiring entrepreneurs should not consider a sole proprietorship.

Other details about sole proprietorship can be found at Singapore sole proprietorship registration guide.

Partnership

To address the constraint faced by a sole proprietorship, the partnership type of business structure allows two or more people to setup and co-own a business. The firm does not have any legal existence separate from its partners. It will come to an end with death, insolvency, incapacity or the retirement of any partner. Furthermore at any point in time that any of the partners are unsatisfied or discontent, they can also give notice for the dissolution of the partnership. In a limited number of situations a partnership type of business structure is favourable. It is not recommended for this type of business structure to business owners.

General Partnership

An unattractive way to structure a business in Singapore would be a general partnership. As partners are personally liable for the debts and liabilities of the business and each partner are still able to be held responsible for the actions of another partner.

Limited Partnership

In Singapore, limited partnership is an alternative to the general partnership type of business form. In addition to a general partner, it must also have a limited partner. The amount of investments by the partners will be the limited liabilities that they are accountable for. However, they are unable to participate in the management of the business. Limited partnership is an unattractive vehicle for setting up a business in general.

Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)

Among all the three types of partnership, LLP is the most advanced and newest business incorporation structure. It combines all the features of partnerships and companies.  LLP was introduced in 2005 through the enactment of Limited Liability Partnership Act. LLP provides owners the flexibility of operating like partnership while enjoying many benefits that comes with a corporate body like a private limited company.

A LLP is mainly meant for carrying a profession where two or more professionals would like to setup a joint practice in a common field. It is a must for the owners to enter into detailed agreements about how the profits and management responsibilities are divided. It can get very complex and would require the services of a lawyer to draw up the agreement. Partners in  a limited liability partnership have to be responsible and proactive for cultivating for their own clients based on  the partner’s specific area of focus.
The minimum amount of partners that a LLP must have is two partners at all times. An LLP is not suited for a business that carries a trade. For more information on LLP, refer to Singapore LLP registration guide

Which business entity type to choose?

Depending on your particular situation and plans, you need to decide the right business structure to incorporate in Singapore. As a general rule, you can use the following guidelines to make your decision:

• If you are a local and would like to register a small business and you will be the only owner and the nature of your products/service will not carry liability issues, it might be easier for you to start up your business as a Sole Proprietorship. However, you must carefully consider the fact that in case of any business liabilities, the claimants will be able to go after your personal assets.
• If your business involves providing services by way of the profession you hold and you have one or more additional partners in a similar profession and would like to build a joint practice, setting up a LLP will be a suitable business structure for you.
• In conclusion, incorporating a private limited company in Singapore would be the best choice. Although it is more complicated, it is still the best structure in the long run.