Information On How To Setup a Singapore Representative Office

Some foreign companies in Singapore want to explore the market first before they invest huge sums of money and relocate their staff

. With this, a Singapore representative office is the most ideal business legal formation for foreign entrepreneurs who want to conduct a market research before engaging in full business operation.

According to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), a representative office is not a legal business entity per se but merely an administrative arrangement in which it is only allowed to conduct market research, establish business contacts, oversee its parent company's agents and distributors, and perform liaison services.

It is important to note that a Singapore representative office is not allowed to engage in any profit-generating activities, enter into any contracts and agreements, lease warehouse, and engage in any commercial-related undertakings.

These are the basic information about Singapore representative office:

1. Its name should be same of the parent company's unless if there is already an existing business name in Singapore. If this is the case, authorities will make its own decision based on the most viable arrangement.

2. A representative office is only valid for three years, and after this period, a foreign company should resort to other legal business formation (e.g., branch office or subsidiary company) if it wants to continue its presence and existence in Singapore.

3. A representative office is not a separate legal entity from the parent company in which the latter is directly liable for all its activities and undertakings.

4. It is a requirement for any foreign company to appoint a chief representative from its head office who will be relocated to Singapore in order to manage and oversee the activities of a representative office.

5. The authorities will determine if the number of staff is reasonable and kept at a minimum without affecting the non-commercial activities of a Singapore representative office.

6. It is a requirement for a representative office to inform other business organizations about its status through its staff's name cards, name plaque, and communications materials.

7. A representative office is not an incorporated company which means that it is not bound to perform corporate formalities such as annual filing of tax returns, general meeting, and maintenance of statutory documents.

8. Authorities should be notified in advance for any changes to a representative office such as change in the address, non-commercial activities, representative staff, and business name.

9. A representative office should inform the authorities in case that its parent company ceases its operation.

Information On How To Setup a Singapore Representative Office

By: Miley Melvins

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