To ensure that our corporate regulatory regime continues to stay robust and supports Singapore’s growth as a global hub for businesses and investors, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and ACRA conducted a review of the Companies Act in 2016. This review culminated in the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2017 and Limited Liability Partnerships (Amendment) Bill which were passed in Parliament on 10 Mar 2017

With effect from 31 March 2017, companies, foreign companies and LLPs (unless exempted) will be required to maintain beneficial ownership information in the form of a register of registrable controllers, and to make the information available to public agencies upon request.  

The aims is to make the ownership and control of corporate entities more transparent and reduce opportunities for the misuse of corporate entities for illicit purposes. This will bring Singapore in line with international standards, and boost Singapore’s on-going efforts to maintain our strong reputation as a trusted and clean financial hub. 

The following tax changes were announced by the Minister for Finance, Mr. Heng Swee Keat, in his Budget Statement for the Financial Year 2017, which was delivered in Parliament on Monday, 20 Feb 2017.

For full details of the Budget Speech, please refer to the Singapore Budget website.