Opening a corporate bank account is one of the first practical steps after incorporating a Singapore company — and increasingly, one of the most challenging. Singapore banks apply stringent Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks, and the requirements have tightened further following the Corporate Service Providers Act and the commencement of the [...]
If you are a director of a Singapore company — whether as the founder, an executive, or a non-executive board member — how you receive remuneration from the company has real consequences for your personal tax position, your CPF obligations, and the company's deductibility of that expense. The distinction between director's fees and a director's [...]
Accessing financing remains one of the most practical challenges for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore. The Enterprise Financing Scheme (EFS), administered by Enterprise Singapore, is the government's flagship programme designed to help Singapore SMEs secure debt financing through participating financial institutions. With the government bearing a share of the credit risk, banks and [...]
Not every Singapore company is required to have its financial statements audited each year. For thousands of small businesses, the small company audit exemption under the Companies Act 1967 removes the mandatory audit requirement — saving directors significant time and cost without compromising their core compliance obligations. But qualifying is not automatic, and changes may [...]
When a Singapore company is struck off the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) register, it ceases to exist as a legal entity. For a creditor owed money by that company, this is often deeply frustrating: the debtor has, in effect, been administratively dissolved — removing the entity the creditor needs to sue, enforce against, [...]
Singapore's food and beverage (F&B) industry is one of the most vibrant and competitive in Asia, contributing significantly to both employment and GDP. But running an F&B business in Singapore comes with a demanding compliance environment — spanning food safety regulations, licensing requirements, employment rules, GST, corporate tax, and ACRA filing obligations. Understanding these requirements [...]
When investors put money into a private company, one of the most consequential provisions in their shareholder agreement is often the drag-along right. Yet many founders and minority shareholders sign shareholder agreements without fully understanding what this clause means in practice — or how it can be used to compel them to sell their shares [...]
For foreign businesses deciding where to anchor their Asia-Pacific operations, Singapore and Hong Kong are invariably the two names at the top of the list. Most comparisons focus on tax rates, incorporation costs, or banking access — but for directors, shareholders, and corporate governance professionals, the more important question is: which jurisdiction imposes higher standards [...]
Singapore's nominee director landscape changed materially on 6 May 2026, the date the Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025 (CALA 2025) came into force. For years, nominee directors operated in a relatively low-stakes environment — but CALA 2025 has quadrupled the maximum fine for breaching director duties, criminalised informal nominee arrangements, and tightened the [...]
This article is part of our series on Singapore company law court proceedings. It covers the reinstatement of a Singapore company that has been struck off the register by ACRA, from a director's practical perspective. What Does It Mean for a Company to Be Struck Off? Under Section 344 of the Singapore Companies Act (Cap. [...]