How to start a business in Singapore from Malaysia
We help you open and run your business 24/7 online from Malaysia – or move to Singapore, too
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Webinar: How to start a company in Singapore from Malaysia
Singapore is a great place to set up a business
400,000 Malaysians call Singapore their home. There are no restrictions on shareholders, either: they can be foreigners or residents, individuals or companies.
Singapore | Malaysia | |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate Tax | 0% min 17% max | 18% min 24% max |
| Foreigners can own company | 100% | 30% |
| Resident directors | 1 | 2 |
As a foreigner, here’s what you need to start a business in Singapore
You only need to fly once to open a bank account, everything else can be managed online. You don’t have to hire any local employees, either
Read our comprehensive 6-steps guide on how to start a business in Singapore for a foreigner
Nominee Director
The most complicated and expensive feature for a foreigner. Every company can have many directors, but at least one of them must be a resident of Singapore. If you do not have someone who can play the role, you can hire a nominee director.
A nominee formally holds director’s position, without any actual decision-making powers or authority to run the company. He is a company officer on paper, necessary to meet the requirements of the law.
Corporate Secretary
A Singapore resident certified under various regulations. That person is responsible for lodging and filing in time all necessary documents required by law. We provide that service.
Local Address
A real mailing address in Singapore. It goes on all legal documents. It doesn’t matter where your company really is located — East river will provide an address.
No deposits, no hidden costs
We don’t charge a deposit for the Nominee director service. Government fees for incorporation and name-checking are included. You always pay what you see. Our prices are fixed in Singapore Dollars. We use MAS rates to convert them to US Dollars and Euros. The exact price you pay in $ and € depends on the rate and fees your bank applies.
Need more?
Additional services you may need
- CorpPass Registration S$100
- Employment Pass (EP) S$950
- Multicurrency accounting S$200/y
- Dependant’s Pass (DP) S$550
- Letter of Consent (LOC) S$300
- EP or DP renewal S$550
If i want to move to Singapore?
You'll need to get an Employment Pass: a visa that allows you to work and stay. It costs S$800, but you'll save on the Nominee Director service as you only need it for 3–6 months while we prepare your visa. The year of Nominee service costs S$1,800 we return the amount you haven't used.
Helping entrepreneurs worldwide
start business in Singapore
89% of customers recommend us
7,500+ clients worldwide
Here’s what our customers say
It is impressive how fast and responsive they are! I feel very happy about my decision to go with East river.
Randeep Sudan Multivertz Pte. Ltd.
East river made registering my company really easy. They have been extremely proactive, talking me through the whole process of starting my company.
Harriette Foulkes-Arnold We are Contented Pte. Ltd.
I like that I can just post my questions to chat any time of the day, quite unlike having to remember to call within business hours only. For a startup owner working irregular hours, this helps.
Lim Sze-Szan Fiona BodyOwn Pte. Ltd.
I really like your app's user experience. Really seamless!
Phooi Song Kai, Kenneth Google Ventures Pte. Ltd.
I was sceptical about remote service seated at my home in Sri Lanka. Rena swiftly took me through the process seamlessly and WALLAH! My Singapore company is set up!
Ahamed Efthikar Abdul Vahid TrustCorp Advisory Pte. Ltd.
I didn’t have to go anywhere to work with East river, I just used the web and mobile app to sign the docs.
Ivan Zeljkovic Evans Media Pte. Ltd.
I incorporated my own two companies with East river and now manage them via the platform. I've been very satisfied and recommend East river to all my friends.
Vlad Shchelkunov BTTR holdings Pte. Ltd.
The staff always answer, and they deal with all the admin on my behalf. So I can simply use my income and not worry about legal and administrative filings.
Pawel Wargan freelancer
