A Singapore subsidiary of a foreign company is a  locally-incorporated company, with its shareholders being the foreign  company itself. However, it is a distinct, separate legal entity from  its foreign company.

A Singapore subsidiary is quite uncomplicated to set up. May foreign  companies prefer to set up their subsidiaries in Singapore since the  corporate tax rates in Singapore are notably low in comparison with  other highly-industrialised countries. Furthermore, Singapore has  double taxation agreements with other countries and has no exchange  controls on the introduction of capital – all of which pose great  advantages.

As per the requirements of the Singapore Companies Act, the  Subsidiary’s company name must be approved before it can be registered.  In addition, any foreign staff that intends to work for the Subsidiary  Company must obtain an employment pass (EP) before he/she can commence  work in Singapore.

A Singapore Subsidiary is required to keep its accounting and other  relevant transaction records. If the records are kept in the parent  company’s domain, copies of these records must be retained in Singapore.

Here are the major characteristics of a Singapore Subsidiary Company:

 
• The foreign, parent company can own 100% shares of its Subsidiary Company.
 
• A Subsidiary must appoint a qualified company secretary.
 
• At least one of the directors of the Subsidiary company must be a local resident.
 
• A Subsidiary needs to file annual audited accounts with IRAS.

As a final note, the requirements and steps of setting up a  Singapore Subsidiary Company are similar to that as registering a  private limited company in Singapore – except that in this case, the  shareholder is a foreign company.

Please do contact us should you wish to seek the assistance of  reliable professionals in incorporating your Singapore Subsidiary  Company.