Healy Consultants’ Top 5 benefits of Singapore company registration

Singapore is strategically located in the heart of South East Asia and is recognized as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, with GDP growth expected to be 15% for 2010. Thanks to the positive image of Singapore, a Singapore company is an excellent corporate vehicle to promote to customers, suppliers, investors, venture capitalists, governments and banks. Here are the top 5 benefits of Singapore company registration:

1. Social and political environment:
* A Singapore company is not perceived as an offshore company in a tax haven. Singapore is a reputable, highly regulated, business jurisdiction.
* Singapore is ranked equally with Denmark and New Zealand as the least corrupt country in the 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International. This provides reassurance for companies deciding on ideal location for their regional or global headquarters.
* Registering a Singapore company gives access to a highly competitive economy. It is consistently ranked as the world's second-freest economy in the Heritage Organisation’s Index of Economic Freedom.
* Singapore company registration is straightforward and cost-effective. According to the World Bank's Doing Business 2010 Survey, Singapore is the world's easiest place to do business.

2. Taxes:
* Singapore tax rates are very competitive compared to other leading business centers around the world. The corporate income tax rate for Singapore is 17%. Singapore companies enjoy legal tax exemption on profits earned outside Singapore, as outlined by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore. In addition, S$200,000 (approximately US$153,000) of corporate profits earned in Singapore can be legally tax-exempt for the first three years of business trading, provided total profits exceed $300,000.
* A Singapore company enjoys access to comprehensive double taxation treaties with 62 countries including major trading jurisdictions.
* To highlight Singapore's tax advantages, the city state has been voted as having the least burdensome taxes in the world.

3. Infrastructures, technology and telecommunication:
* Singapore is one of the most modern cities in Asia, and the world. It is well equipped in terms of telecommunications, public transportation, and technology.
* According to the 2010 Quality of Living Survey by Mercer Human Resources, Singapore offers the highest standards of living in Asia.

4. Laws and government:
* Singapore is an excellent location to register intellectual property (IP), including global trade marks and patents. Singapore is a signatory to international conventions including the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which helps protect against IP rights infringements. Singapore is also a signatory to the Berne Convention and the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty.
* Singapore boasts strong client confidentiality laws and meets the international guidelines set by the OECD for disclosure of taxation related information.
* According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), business-friendly Singapore is the fifth-largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Asia.

5. Company registration requirements:
* Unlike some jurisdiction, it is not necessary to rent a physical office to register a company in Singapore.
* Singapore Company formation only requires a minimum of one shareholder, one director, one local company secretary, a local address and a share capital of $1.

Singapore has much to offer, not just within the Asia region but as an international business hub. Investors and entrepreneurs that want to set up a company in a country offering low taxes, stable economy and political environment, good quality of life will enjoy Singapore as the place for their business and corporate needs.