Discussing the restructuration of the Singapore economy, the Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, declared small and medium-sized companies must be paid special attention as the economy changes. The actual support granted by the Government together with new measures which help local companies should ensure their thriving and the wellbeing of the Singapore workforce. For details about the current legislation related to company incorporation you can ask our specialists in company formation in Singapore.

According to the Government and trade agency International Enterprise, Singapore has all the attributes to remain one of the largest commodities trading networks in the world. Singapore has carefully crafted its procedures to become as successful as it currently is. Our consultants in company formation in Singapore can help you set you set up a trading company.

Social enterprises in Singapore will benefit from additional support that will help them expand their operations because of a few initiatives started by the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise, raiSE. The Centre was recently launched and held its first conference at the end of July when it also announced the first project for Singapore social companies. For information about setting up a social company you can ask our specialists in company formation in Singapore.

The Advertising Standards Authority has issued enhanced guidelines for media companies in Singapore placing advertisements for property investments. The new guide was issued at the middle of August and is meant to eliminate misleading and speculative claims. Our consultants in company registration in Singapore can offer you more details about advertisement regulations for media companies.

At the end of June, the Government announced the implementation of a new investment project for Singapore companies. The project was developed by the Infocomm Development Authority and has allocated 20 million SGD for Singapore companies to promote themselves and participate in governmental projects. The project was launched at the beginning of July. For information related to financial incentives for telecommunication companies you may rely our consultants is company registration in Singapore.

Based on Singapore companies’ expansion, the Monetary Authority and the Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association have agreed on the creation of alternative funding sources for these companies. In order to be able to provide a secure environment for these types of activities a new legislation must be enabled. For current crowdfunding possibilities you may refer to our Singapore specialists in company formation.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has recently released a new guide for owners of real estate investment trusts (REITs). The new guide contains information about the new income tax rules Singapore authorities apply to REITs. The guide also provides specific regulations for tax transparency treatment for the distribution of certain income by Singapore companies to owners of investment funds.

The manufacturing industry in Singapore registered its first increase in May after five months of contraction, according to the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) report. The increase is based on the expansion of the demand, production and inventory. Another sector registering spectacular increases is the data management and the connectivity in the technology industry in Singapore.

Singapore’s Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, declared the city-state is ready to come to an agreement for future cooperation with Indonesia. The agreement between Singapore and Indonesia is based on mutual promotion and protection of investments and will expire in June 2016. Our specialists in Singapore may provide you details about the agreement.

Finance Minister, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, announced the Maritime Sector Incentive Scheme would be extended, thus supporting Singapore companies in the maritime industry. Even if maritime companies already benefit from financial aid, the city-state is striving to become an international maritime network, by turning the Singapore maritime industry into one of the most developed worldwide.

Singapore companies will benefit from a new General Guide for Businesses launched by the Inland Revenue Services Authority (IRAS) at the end of April. The General Guide for Businesses contains several changes brought to Singapore Goods and Services Tax to be paid by legal entities conducting business operations in the country. Additionally, the Inland Revenue Services Authority announced that the No-Filing Service will be available for more taxpayers in 2015.

Starting the 1^st of January 2015, Singapore citizens living in Housing and Development Board (HDB) homes will benefit from lower property tax rates. The same measure was adopted in 2014. Owners of one and two-room HDB apartments will be exempt from paying the property tax in Singapore in 2015 because of the low annual values of the apartments that remain below the 8,000 SGD threshold. Apartments with higher annual values will benefit from reduced tax rates in 2015 compared to 2014.

Singapore Refining Company has gathered several local companies that have reached 40% productivity savings per year. The partnership gathered Singapore companies in the process, construction and maintenance sector in order to improve productivity. Starting 2011 the productivity has reached approximately 52, 000 hours savings per year.

After adopting the international standard for exchange of information on taxes, also known as the EOI (Expression of Interest) Standard, Singapore has taken a step towards amending its legislation on taxes for the Group Requests. The new amendments brought to the Singapore taxation system have been added at the end of November 2014.

Singapore and the United States have signed a Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) at the end of 2014 following the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) initiated in May 2014. FATCA was enabled in 2010 and ratified in 2014 by the U.S. government in order to gain access to information on bank account held by U.S. citizens in other countries. A foreign country not disclosing tax information may lead to a 30% withholding tax applied to U.S. citizens with bank accounts in the respective countries. Based on this IGA, Singapore has become the first ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) city-state to sign an agreement on exchange of tax information with the United States. Singapore has good economic relations with the United States based on double taxation agreements.

Singapore is expanding its treaty network by ratifying a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Gulf Cooperation Council that was enforced on the 1st of January. The announcement was made in November2006 when the negotiations have started. The free trade agreement was signed in December 2008 and came into effect at the begging of this year.