Economy

How Can a Nigerian Start a Business in Singapore

Published

2 years ago

18/12/2023

Singapore is a popular destination for foreign investors to grow their businesses. The process of Singapore Company Registration is easy and straightforward. Nigeria and Singapore have various agreements between nations such as the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) to promote greater investment flows between the two countries by protecting the interests of their investors, the Singapore–Nigeria Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTA), and the Singapore–Nigeria Air Services Agreement (ASA) which was established on March 8, 2012.

The ASA makes it easier for trade, investment, tourism, and people-to-people travel between Singapore and Nigeria to expand. The designated carriers of both nations may run up to seven weekly passenger services and three weekly cargo services under the conditions of this agreement.

Requirements for Business Registration in Singapore

Shareholder

In Singapore, a company must have at least one shareholder. It is easy considering that the owner counts as one. Make sure all owners are included in the documentation when setting up the company.

Director

A resident director who is authorized to represent your business in Singapore is required. This individual must reside in Singapore. You can add as many foreign directors as you like once you fulfill this requirement.

Company Secretary

Singaporean businesses require a company secretary. He manages compliance and other legal requirements. When the government makes changes or needs to get in touch with you regarding an issue, the secretary speaks on behalf of your company.

Registered address

A physical address is required for any company looking to incorporate in Singapore. A P.O. Box is not allowed. To meet the requirement, you can set up a physical address with a Singapore service.

Documents required to start a business in Singapore

● Directors’ and Shareholders’ Identification Documents

● Company Registration Form

● Company Name Approval

● Appointment of Company Secretary

● Memorandum and Articles of Association

● Business Licenses and Permits

How Can a Nigerian Start a Business in Singapore?

Decide the company structures

Before registering a company in Singapore, you need to choose a company structure for your business. Sole proprietorships, partnerships, and private companies are the types of company structures available in Singapore.

Name approval

You need to register your chosen company name with ACRA. You can move forward once they have approved the name.

The registered business name shouldn’t be the same as another business, IP laws shouldn’t be violated by it and it should not be offensive and must be understandable.

Prepare the documents and register with ACRA

You must prepare the required documents listed above. Submit an application for business registration to ACRA and use the Bizfile+ platform to upload the required documents.

Get the certificate of incorporation

After the registration, the certificate of incorporation will be delivered to you. The business name, the date of establishment, and a unique identification number (UEN) will all be included in the certificate of incorporation.

Obtain the necessary permits

After incorporating the company, you must apply for and get the necessary licenses and permits. You can start conducting your business operations only after getting the licenses and permits from the relevant authorities.

Register for GST

Businesses in Singapore are only required to register for GST if their annual revenues exceed S$1 million.

A firm is required to register and collect GST if its taxable revenue for the previous year exceeds S$1 million, or if it is expected to exceed S$1 million in taxable revenue in the upcoming year.

You must apply for GST registration with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS).

Open a corporate bank account

It is advisable to open a corporate bank account after registering a business in Singapore to conduct business transactions. You can consider the following options:

Opening with a traditional bank (DBS, OCBC, UOB)
Opening with a neobank (Aspire, Wise, Revolut)
Opening with a digital bank (ANEXT, Green Link Digital Bank)

Up Next

In Five Days, Infinity Trust Chalks up 59.32% at Stock Market

Don't Miss

Nigeria Attracts $20.52bn Remittance Flows in 2023

Business Post Contributor

Click to comment

Economy

Food Concepts Return NASD OTC Exchange to Danger Zone

Published

59 minutes ago

05/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.

Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.

This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.

Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.

Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.

At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.

InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.

Economy

Investors Gain N97bn from Local Equity Market

Published

1 hour ago

05/12/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.

This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.

UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.

On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.

Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.

Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.

A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.

This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.

For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.

Economy

Naira Loses 18 Kobo Against Dollar at Official Market, N5 at Black Market

Published

2 hours ago

05/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira marginally depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, December 4 amid renewed forex pressure associated with December.

At the official market yesterday, the Nigerian currency lost 0.01 per cent or 18 Kobo against the Dollar to close at N1,447.83/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.65/$1.

It was not a different scenario with the local currency in the same market segment against the Pound Sterling as it further shed N15.43 to sell for N1,930.97/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,925.08/£1 and declined against the Euro by 20 Kobo to finish at N1,688.74/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,688.54/€1.

Similarly, the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against the greenback in the black market to quote at N1,465/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,460/$1 but closed flat against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter at N1,453/$1.

Fluctuations in trading range is expected to continue during the festive season as traders expect the Nigerian currency to be stable, supported by intervention s by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)in the face of steady dollar demand.

Support is also expected in coming weeks as seasonal activities, particularly the stylised “Detty December” festivities, will see inflows that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month, according to a new report.

“As the festive Detty December season intensifies, inbound travel, tourism spending, and diaspora inflows are expected to provide moderate support for FX liquidity,” analysts at the research unit of FMDA said in its latest monthly report for November.

Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.

Meanwhile, the crypto market was down as the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, core PCE, likely rose in September—moving in the wrong direction. However, volatility indices show no signs of major turbulence.

If the actual figure matches estimates, it would mark 55 straight months of inflation above the US central bank’s 2 per cent target. The sticky inflation would strengthen the hawkish policymakers, who are in favour of slower rate cuts.

Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.5 per cent to $2.08, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.8 per cent to $138.11, Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.1 per cent to $83.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 2.5 per cent to $0.1463, Cardano (ADA) declined by 2.1 per cent to $0.4368, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.9 per cent to $91,975.45, Binance Coin (BNB) crumbled by 0.9 per cent to $899.41, and Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 0.7 per cent to $3,156.44, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.