Against the backdrop of global economic integration, more and more mainland entrepreneurs are setting their sights on the international market. Singapore, as a country with highly developed economy, political stability, sound laws and favorable business environment, has become a popular choice for many mainlanders to register their companies. This article will introduce in detail the process and cost of company registration in Singapore for mainlanders, providing a practical guide for those who intend to expand their business in Singapore.

Nowadays, it is popular for foreign trade companies to register an overseas company to receive and pay foreign currency. For example, Hong Kong companies, Singapore companies or other island companies. The purpose is to hope that there will be foreign exchange free account to receive and pay, to bring many foreign trade enterprises to receive and pay the convenience of foreign currency. So, when we need to register an overseas company, the first thing to consider is whether to register with a domestic natural person or a domestic company as a shareholder?

For enterprises doing import and export trade, if they use mainland companies to do foreign trade export trade, the operating costs are too high, which usually brings certain capital pressure when the enterprises are just established. Therefore, most enterprises will choose to register a company overseas to do re-export trade, using overseas resources and mature environment to get more support, reduce costs while improving efficiency. So, how to choose the place of company registration to do re-export trade?

The Singapore Government has always attached great importance to anti-money laundering and combating financial crimes and has adopted a series of strong measures. To strengthen the regulation of company registration and Corporate Service Providers (CSPs), the Singapore Government passed two important bills, namely the Corporate Service Providers Bill and the Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, on July 2, 2024, which marked a solid step forward in anti-money laundering and combating financial crimes in Singapore.

Singapore is undoubtedly a hot spot for global companies to go overseas, with one-third of the world's Fortune 500 companies choosing to set up their headquarters here, and more than 7,000 multinationals setting up their operation centers here. Singapore's tax rates are amongst the lower in the world, and it is a territorial tax jurisdiction, meaning that companies are exempted from tax on overseas earnings, and there is no additional capital gains tax or shareholder dividend tax. Next, let's look at Singapore's tax advantages for expatriates from both the corporate tax and personal income tax perspectives.