Starting a business in Singapore: foreigner's guide (2026)

Parliament passed omnibus amendments covering company law and accounting standards, with most provisions scheduled to commence from April 2026, continuing the rolling modernisation of Singapore's corporate framework.

Changes under the Companies and LLPs (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2024 took effect, requiring every company and LLP to maintain a Register of Registrable Controllers from the moment of incorporation—eliminating the former 30-day grace period and tightening AML/CFT controls at business formation.

All entities offering incorporation, nominee, registered-office, or ACRA-filing services must register with ACRA as Corporate Service Providers and designate a Registered Qualified Individual trained in AML/CFT; non-registration carries up to S$50,000 fine or two years' imprisonment. The six-month transition window for existing providers closes 9 December 2025.

ACRA's upgraded Bizfile portal replaced BizFile+ as the single digital gateway for all business registration, filing, and information retrieval in Singapore, simultaneously implementing digital-mailbox statutory communications and strengthened personal-data protections under the ACRA (Registry and Regulatory Enhancements) Act 2024.

The Companies, Business Trusts and Other Bodies (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2023 permanently enshrined the option for fully virtual or hybrid general meetings—initially a COVID-era concession—covering companies, VCCs, and business trusts, reducing physical barriers to shareholder participation from incorporation onwards.

The Variable Capital Companies Act 2018 came into force, introducing a bespoke corporate vehicle for investment funds that can be structured as a standalone or umbrella fund with sub-funds; VCCs enjoy the same rapid online registration process as ordinary companies, making Singapore significantly more attractive as a fund-domiciliation hub.

The Ministry of Trade & Industry and GovTech launched GoBusiness Licensing as a single digital platform consolidating licence applications across government agencies, initially for the food-services sector and progressively expanded; it now integrates with ACRA's BizFile for end-to-end business start-up journeys covering over 120 government e-services.

Parliament passed sweeping amendments introducing inward re-domiciliation—allowing foreign companies to transfer their registration to Singapore and preserve their corporate history for the first time—alongside mandatory public disclosure of shareholder information for foreign-company branches and relaxation of company-secretary rules for sole directors.

Passed on 8 October 2014 and the most extensive overhaul of the Companies Act since its enactment, Phase 1 changes included abolishing par value and authorised-capital concepts, enabling capital reductions without court approval, allowing share buy-backs via general mandate, and removing the financial-assistance prohibition for private companies—substantially reducing incorporation and capital-raising costs.

The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority Act 2004 merged the Registry of Companies and Businesses with the Public Accountants' Board into a single statutory body, creating the one-stop regulator for business registration, financial reporting, and public accountants; ACRA simultaneously launched the BizFile e-filing platform enabling online incorporation.

Singapore's foundational corporate statute came into force, modelled on Malaysia's Companies Act 1965 (itself derived from Victoria's 1961 Act), establishing the legal framework for company incorporation, directors' duties, share capital, and winding up that underpins all subsequent reforms.