Foreign investors, no matter their finances, have plenty of choices when deciding to open a company. They can choose any part of the world. While some will consider Asia for the large market share they can address, other will choose the American continent. During the last few years, Singapore has emerged as one of the easiest countries to do business in, however the United States of America remains one of the most prolific economies in the world and attracts many foreign investors year after year. Even so, those who want to open a company in Singapore should know that the Lion city can offer better conditions. Below will provide you with a brief comparison between the Singapore company formation process and the company registration procedure in the US.
Types of companies in Singapore vs. the United States
Both Singapore and the United States have commercial laws which welcome foreign investors. Also, both countries allow foreign investors to register various types of structures, however two are predominant in both countries: the private limited liability company and the public company. The private company is known in both countries as the LLC, while the public company is usually known as a corporation in the US.
If choosing a business form in Singapore is simple, in the US things are not that simple because:
- – the business setup costs differ from state to state;
- – in order to register a corporation, an investor must choose between a C or a S corporation, which depends on the tax status the company will have;
- – the S corporation cannot be used as subsidiary of a foreign enterprise.
Due to all the decisions one must make, opening a company in the US is harder to than opening a company in Singapore because of the taxation system imposed by each state and the requirements imposed to shareholders in the available types of companies.
Singapore company formation vs US company formation
Once the type of structure is selected, the company registration procedure in Singapore and the US are quite similar in steps. However, the business registration costs are higher in the US compared to Singapore. The company formation process in Singapore is made up of:
- – choosing and reserving the company name;
- – preparing the incorporation documents;
- – filing the documents with ACRA;
- – obtaining tax and GST numbers;
- – registering for employment purposes.
The US company registration procedure will consist in:
- – reserving a company name;
- – preparing the incorporation documents and filing them with the Trade Register;
- – adopting the company’s operating agreement;
- – apply for the tax number;
- – registering for employment purposes;
- – publishing the certificate of registration on two public newspapers.
Foreign investors who want to open a company in Singapore can contact our company formation agents for assistance.