Singapore Company Setup Laws For Foreign Owned Branch Offices

Foreign companies that want to enter the Singapore market can choose between three types of companies

. They can either opt to incorporate a Subsidiary company, a foreign owned branch office or a representative office. Since representative offices are meant only for promotional or liaison activities, most foreign companies do not consider this option. Between registering a subsidiary and a branch office, subsidiaries are the most popular option because of the nature of the company and the ease of setting it up. In case a foreign company has no choice but to register a branch office, then they need to follow the rules and guidelines set for such types of offices in Singapore.

The first factor foreign companies should keep in mind is that branch offices in Singapore do not have a separate legal status. They are deemed as an extension of the parent company itself and hence seen as one and the same as its owner. Due to this, the name of the branch office needs to be the same as the parent company. Not just this, but the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Singapore branch has to be the same as the parent company and its structure as well as business activities must be similar to that of the foreign company. Foreign owned branch offices in Singapore cannot venture out into activities on their own and every aspect of their business must correspond to that of the head office.

To setup a branch office in Singapore, first you must appoint at least two local agents who will act on behalf of the Singapore branch. These two local agents should be residents of Singapore and can either be Singapore citizens or any individual who has the appropriate work pass in the country such as the employment pass. The foreign company can choose to apply for the employment pass for their overseas staff and let them act as the local agents. However, this can be done only once the branch has been registered and the overseas staffs have successfully acquired the employment pass. During registration though, you will need to appoint two local agents even if they are going to be in the company on a temporary basis.

Apart from appointing local agents, the foreign company would also have to acquire a registered business address within Singapore itself for its branch office. Once the office address and details of local agents have been acquired, they can apply for branch office registration via a local incorporation service provider in Singapore. This service provider will take care of all formalities of the incorporation process and also help arranging for all documents required.

by: Bryan Wong

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