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Ready-made company and bank account in Singapore: how to buy

Are you looking for a ready-made business? We recommend buying a ready-made company in Singapore. There are many shelf companies (dormant registered organizations) that do not conduct business and have no income from the day they are founded until a buyer buys them to run a business.

Characteristics of shelf companies in Singapore

Shelf companies are usually incorporated with:

  • paid-up share capital worth S$1;
  • a resident secretary;
  • a nominee director;
  • 1 shareholder with one share.

There is usually no bank account, so the opening must be agreed upon at purchase (can be negotiated for free).

Ready-made companies can be bought by foreigners and fully own the shares. Work after the purchase can be started immediately. At the time of sale the company has:

  • stamps;
  • certificate of registration;
  • book of share certificates and other documents required by law.

Advantages of buying a ready-made company

  • Buyer avoids the ACRA registration process, which includes hiring a local director and secretary, renting a local office, purchasing a SingPass or CorpPass ID for online registration;
  • Less time is spent preparing incorporation documents (shareholder agreement, articles of association, etc.). They have already been assembled for company registration, so all that is required is to make changes that meet the buyer's requirements. If there are no major changes, the process goes quickly;
  • It is easier to get a business loan. Organizations that have been in existence for 2-3 years have a higher chance of getting a loan. This is because businesses and individuals prefer organizations that have been around for several years. Clients usually do not go into the history of their previous activities and therefore ignore the fact that the company has been dormant;
  • The risk in buying a shelf company is minimal. Lest the customer have any doubts, the client receives a paper that proves that the company was inactive.

How much is a Singapore company worth

The average price of a shelf company in Singapore is $2 500-$20 000, which depends on the type of services, presented in the documents, date of incorporation. The older the enterprise, the more expensive.

How to buy a ready-made company

Choosing a shelf company, you need to consider such characteristics:

  • Date of incorporation - it is better to take a company formalized several years ago;
  • Type of activity - in order to make fewer changes, choose the same type of company that you plan to engage;
  • Name - you can buy a company with a name you like. If there is no such name, after the acquisition, the name can easily be changed;
  • Having chosen the company, you must begin negotiations. With the seller you can agree on the inclusion of additional services - to open a free account in Singapore, change of name, type of activity. Just in case it is necessary to check the documents, whether it was just registered and did not work anywhere, whether there is no black history, credit or other hidden liabilities.

When all points are taken into account, you can draw up a contract of sale, under which the ownership of the finished company will be transferred to you. The stock then passes to the new owner.

Changes after purchase

In some cases, the buyer wants to make changes after he or she buys the company. He can:

  • Change the name by filing with the Registry of Companies. The procedure will take 6-7 business days;
  • Get a new registered address;
  • Open a corporate bank account;
  • Increase the share capital. To do this, the company must pay stamp duty;
  • Fire the old directors and appoint new ones;
  • Make amendments to the articles of incorporation to include certain provisions.

All important changes, information about directors, personal data of new shareholders must be reported to ACRA.

What to observe after the purchase of the company

While the finished company is dormant, its original owner must strictly comply with all legal requirements. This is the only way for the new owner to be able to start work right away. After the purchase, he or she must comply with the same requirements. Among them:

  • Call an annual meeting of shareholders;
  • Keep accounting records;
  • Submit financial statements and tax returns on time.

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