In the midst of a global downturn that brought some of the largest, most powerful countries to their knees, Asia shined on as a bright investment spot in a discouraging world market. In an increasingly globalized world, Asia is becoming more accessible and thus, more desirable to entrepreneurs in need of a stable environment to invest in.
While China tends to get the majority of attention, recent governmental deflationary measures have their economy growing at its slowest rate since the early 2000’s. The more prudent investors are realizing the greater advantage lies in the rapidly growing, investor-friendly environment found in Singapore.
Location
Globalisation means business is being done at all hours of the day, and a Singapore company is especially advantageous due to its geographical position. Singapore’s location allows it easy access to the Asian Pacific region and other rapidly expanding economies like Hong Kong and Vietnam. What is more, Singapore is in a unique time zone that allows business day contact with the EU, the Middle East and the US.
Company Formation
There are several things that need to be considered when registering a Singapore company. Singapore company formation can be a complicated process with several steps required. For these reasons, entrepreneurs tend to seek the advice of an experienced corporate service company. A professional advisor is generally required to determine the optimal corporate structure to meet specific business objectives.
In the case of entrepreneurs outside of Singapore, the company service provider may be necessary to manage the company registration process and to take care of the business in the director’s absence. If an entrepreneur has undertaken reasonably comprehensive research and come up with a business plan, the corporate service provider can manage every other aspect of incorporation.
As is the case in all incorporation, due diligence is required to complete Singapore company registration. This usually includes details of resident director/s, your company’s address (which your corporate service provider can assist with), and any relevant financial details like projected expenses and annual revenues for the newly incorporated company.
Work visas
If workers are going to be brought in to run the company, work visas will be required for any foreign employee. Using a corporate service provider really becomes necessary when considering that the Singapore company act requires all companies to have a resident director. Corporate service providers can often handle this requirement for you.
But besides the legal processes of setting the company up, an experienced service provider can give insights into other aspects about doing business in Singapore, or whatever jurisdiction you are starting up in. This may be related to the culture, common employment practices, lifestyle aspects, travelling in the region and more.
Asian business cultures
Learning Asian business culture practices should be a given. Simple practices like making time at start of meetings to properly greet senior members of the potential business partner, exchange business cards correctly, read the business card etc. This shows respect to the people you are meeting and can help you with the correct pronunciation of names, learn job title, recognise seniority, for example.
The entire process of doing business in Singapore, and Asia, can seem overwhelming but the rewards are clear. Singapore has consistently ranked highly by every metric important to investors and the economic growth rate has been among the best in the region lately. If you’re looking for an environment with phenomenal infrastructure and a government creating pro-business incentives at every opportunity, doing business in Singapore can be a rewarding endeavour.
Have you done business in Singapore or considering it?
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Images: ”Cityscape at Marina Bay Business District – Singapore / Shutterstock.com“
