| |
Home >
Business
>
Entrepreneurs
>
All About the Singapore Representative Office
All About the Singapore Representative Office
There are three business models a foreign company can adopt if it wants to have a presence in Singapore: a subsidiary company, branch office, or representative office which is ideal for companies wanting to explore the viability of their business before plunging into a full-blown operation.
singapore,
singapore,
Singapore
(pr4links.com)
22/09/2010
"“A representative office is usually popular among foreign companies that are operating in a speculative market and want to know if they have a high success rate in the country,” business solutions provider AsiaBiz Services said."
September 22, 2010 - There are three business models a foreign company can adopt if it wants to have a presence in Singapore: a subsidiary company, branch office, or representative office which is ideal for companies wanting to explore the viability of their business before plunging into a full-blown operation.
“A representative office is usually popular among foreign companies that are operating in a speculative market and want to know if they have a high success rate in the country,” business solutions provider AsiaBiz Services said.
In legal terms, a representative office is an extension of a foreign parent company. With this arrangement, the main headquarter is directly liable for the acts, losses, and debts of its Singapore representative office.
Meanwhile, foreign companies should consider that a representative office is only allowed to conduct market research and other non-commercial activities that should not generate revenue.
“It is important to note that a representative office is not really a legal business entity per se since its activities are very limited,” AsiaBiz said.
According to the business registration firm, these are the only activities a representative office can be engaged to: oversee the activities of its foreign parent company; provide customer assistance that will not involve repair or technical services; and perform market research to determine the viability of its parent company’s nature of business.
Foreign companies and businessmen should only see a representative as a short-term arrangement since the government does not allow anyone to operate this for more than three years.
To legally operate a representative office, a chief agent from the main headquarter must be relocated in Singapore to supervise the activities of this office. Aside from this requirement, foreign companies are only allowed to hire a limited number of staff, both local and foreign, who will run the operation and activities of its Singapore-based auxiliary office.
Because foreign companies and businessmen are prohibited to register their own business in Singapore, it is a legal requirement to appoint a professional registration firm that will act on their behalf during the application process.
“This requirement is stated under the Singapore Companies Act in an effort to prevent foreign companies from overlooking corporate policies and law,” AsiaBiz added.
To register a Singapore representative office to the International Enterprise Singapore, foreign companies should provide these following documents: registration of foreign company or its certified copy of the Certificate of Incorporation; copy of audited financial statements; and copy of the headquarter’s latest annual report.
For more information:
AsiaBizServices.com
address: 120 Telok Ayer Street Singapore 068589
phone: +6563034614
email: sales@asiabizservices.com
website: http://www.asiabizservices.com/
About
Asiabiz Services Pte Ltd
120 Telok Ayer Street
Singapore 068589
Phone: (+65) 6242 6533
Fax: (+65) 6303 2670
E-mail: sales@asiabizservices.com
|