Singapore attracts entrepreneurs from different countries as it is a prestigious jurisdiction with a benign taxation system and limited red tape that offers many advantages to investors. The country is among the top ten by ease of doing business, and you can start it by registering a small company or launching a startup.
What are the businesses that will make you rich in Singapore? Few people can tell you without a preliminary thorough analysis. However, we have made it for you, and this article gives a short and clear answer to this question.
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Why do Foreign Investors Opt for Singapore?
According to the Fraser Institute, Singapore was noted as one of the strongest cities by the level of economic freedom in 2022 with indicators reaching 84.4. The advantages of the South-Eastern Asia city-state have been preserved since the times of the pandemic.
The main benefits that motivate foreigners to choose Singapore for new business registration or relocation of the existing company:
- Intellectual property rights protection. The laws of the state support the creators, inventors, and outstanding people.
- There are a lot of highly-qualified specialists in the labor market, which means that you can start any business in Singapore and easily find experienced employees in any field.
- Efficient economy and its stability without sharp fluctuations or undesirable changes in laws. It creates a stable atmosphere for company or startup registration in the country where foreign investors are confident in the future.
- Tax incentives and many programs focused on the support of new specialists, startups, and foreign entrepreneurs.
Today the city-state offers a lot of opportunities to build and expand your business. One more good news is that the unemployment level in Singapore decreased in 2023 due to the appearance of new vacancies and an inflow of foreign investors.
Personal and corporate bank account in Singapore and abroad, company registration, buying a read-to-use company, and more! These are some of the services provided by the experts of our international portal. Book a free initial session to discover more.
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What is the Most Profitable Business in Singapore?
What company can you start in Singapore in 2023 to get the most profit possible? This is a question asked by many foreign investors and budding entrepreneurs. According to economic indicators, the most promising business areas in Singapore in 2023 from a financial point of view are the following ones:
- Production and export/import of goods, with Singapore’s processing industry alone accounting for 20–25% of the GDP in the total chain. You will find various fields in this category:
- Agriculture in Singapore which may become your startup or the company’s main activity
- Transportation companies and any activities connected with logistics
- Warehousing premises as one of the links in the total chain of supplies
- Manufacturing goods and their subsequent sales on Singapore’s internal and external markets, and many other areas
- Tourist industry and aviation are mutually related kinds of business in Singapore. In the autumn of 2022 alone, about 800,000 guests visited Singapore on a monthly basis. As the borders with China have been opened (since January 2023), the influx of tourists to the country is on a constant increase; it is stimulated, among other things, by the global crisis and unstable situation in the world. Thus, Singapore has all prerequisites to develop companies in the sphere of tourism and aviation where you can earn sufficient income and become one of the best travel agents and carriers in the country.
- Telemedicine services is one more example of a profitable business in Singapore. It is narrow specialized, but is at the same time very popular and convenient thanks to the direct contact between the doctor and the patient and saving the time on a personal visit to the clinic. A distance consultation involves the telecommunication sector, among other things, which has become one of the best ones by the growth and sales figures in recent years.
- Financial services, accounting, and cryptography are the mutually connected areas that have always been leaders by profitability in many countries. Today, you can start a Singapore company that specializes in the sphere of banking services and cryptocurrencies, become a broker, or provide accounting services to startups and large corporations. The government of Singapore is planning to create at least 4–5 thousand new jobs in this sector on an annual basis, and the currency department allowed blockchain platforms (such as Paxos) to work in the country.
- Logistics and e-commerce sector which ousts the customary points of sale from the market. The sellers themselves receive profits as they can spend less on payroll. In this situation, it is profitable to create your marketplace or a transportation company to deliver goods. This business field also includes the storage and warehousing premises lease sector. The sales figures in the e-commerce field are expected to reach USD 19.6 billion in 2027. There are new areas that are developed more and more actively in this business segment, and present-day entrepreneurs choose it as a priority sphere more and more often.
You need to make a thorough overall analysis to receive a good profit from your new startup or a newly established company in Singapore. Don’t expect to receive high profits if your startup capital is minimal as any large enterprise and promising business require financial investments.
What is the best jurisdiction where foreigners can set up a company or launch a startup? What is the most profitable business in Singapore and Europe? How much does it cost to register a business? Book a one-on-one consultation with our specialists to get answers to these and other important questions.
Best Business to Start in Singapore for Foreigners: 7 Highly-Profitable Business Ideas
It is important to correctly choose the activity you are going to engage in and have sufficient starting capital and experience (not always an extensive one) to guarantee that your company will not be loss-making. Absence of experience does not mean that your company will be loss-making, though, as some spheres of business activity can be profitable for newcomers as well.
Keep in mind that it is better to start any business by discussing your plans with experienced economic and financial experts. Our specialists will be happy to provide complex support to you in all matters!
1. Real Estate Business in Singapore
Real estate market has always been (and remains) the most profitable one for large investors and companies with a modest starting capital. In Singapore, you can obtain profit from this kind of activity in several ways:
- By opening a realtor company and establishing direct connections between the seller/buyer.
- Invest in real estate as an individual or a company and receive profit later by renting it out or reselling the property at a higher price. In 2023, the popularity of warehouse premises has grown considerably as the country’s import and export have increased greatly.
- If you have no capital to invest, you can receive income from real estate in Singapore by acting as an advertising agent or an intermediary. You will not buy or sell real estate directly: you will just help the developer company or another agent to sell their services by advertising them or attracting customers.
- You can become a developer. Of course, this will require not just company registration in Singapore but also attracting investors and making considerable financial investments. Still, some entrepreneurs try this sphere as they are lured by an opportunity to increase the profits made by their business ten-fold.
- The services of a transportation company or a supplier of construction materials are also closely connected with real estate in Singapore. This business gives a considerable money inflow to the companies that have several major contracts with developers.
- Interior and landscape design is one more way of receiving profit from a Singapore company by connecting the sphere of activity with real estate.
There are many ways of earning money in the sphere of Singapore real estate. However, all stages are in this or that way connected with company (business) registration, and our seasoned experts can help you do it with your minimal involvement.
Study our catalog of services related to Singapore (you can start a company from scratch or buy a ready-made business) – or book a personal session with our specialists.
2. Bookmaking Business in Singapore
The betting industry and the gaming business in Asia remain quite popular and profitable areas from a financial point of view. Online casinos, sports betting, slot machines and so on: all of these are absolutely legal kinds of activity in Singapore that you can engage in by registering a relevant company and obtaining a gambling license.
This way of attracting capital may also be interesting for international offshore companies registered in other jurisdictions that provide services in different countries, including Singapore.
Interested in the best jurisdiction where you can get a gambling license on the most beneficial terms? Read our article and take advantage of our complex support in gambling company incorporation from our specialists!
3. Cleaning Services in Singapore
The services related to cleaning territories and premises in Singapore are in high demand. It’s not about hiring an individual with a vacuum cleaner: you can create a whole network of cleaning companies with professionals employed full-time! You can develop this business from scratch and gradually achieve amazing results.
If you want to start a cleaning business in Singapore, you will need to set up a company and buy the required equipment. Round-the-clock cleaning service will always be a popular business area regardless of the crisis and external political disturbances.
4. Production Business
There are mainly three types of business in Singapore:
- production
- trade
- provision of services
Production business may involve any areas, from IT industry that develops games and software to agriculture and construction materials manufacturing. If you have the desire and the support of experienced specialists, you can not only start your production business in Singapore but also find investors, register a startup, receive help from the state, or buy a ready-to-use company with a well-established work cycle and staff.
5. Robotic Technology
Robotic technology is especially popular in Singapore, and it is the current driver of the country’s technological and economic progress. Singapore relies on technological developments to create a stable state with a developed industry and attract experienced specialists from other countries.
Robotic technology is a competitive niche in Singapore where each developer of new technologies is trying to prove its expertise. At the same time, there are several ways to optimize the process by engaging experienced engineers and programmers, as well as investors and larger corporations.
6. Agricultural Business in Singapore
Despite a modest volume of arable land, Singapore pays special attention to the development of the agricultural field. The demand for food and other agricultural products exceeds the supply, and the competition on the market is quite weak.
Singapore’s government uses different schemes to support farm enterprises and makes it possible for investors to independently choose the business area:
- Growing vegetables and agricultural plants
- Growing decorative plants
- Fish farming, including decorative fish farms
Considering that arovan (dragonfish) breeding is quite popular in Singapore, the government also provided a special registration procedure for this kind of agricultural business.
7. Provision of Financial Services as Business in Singapore
There are a lot of enterprises in Singapore, both local and foreign ones, and this is the reason why the demand for professional financial services is so high. Establishment of a fintech company in Singapore may become the most reasonable step for serious investors that mean to receive good profits.
Running a company that provides financial services will require obtaining one of the two business licenses: Capital Market Services (CMS) license or Financial Advisor’s (FA) license.
Singapore companies need a Capital Market Services License to engage in the following activities:
- Work with securities
- Trading in futures
- Financing securities
- Provision of custody services with regard to securities
- Currency trade
- Consultancy with regard to corporate finances
- Fund management
- Management of investment in real estate
The license is not required for the activities carried out by:
- banks, commercial banking institutions, financial and insurance companies
- persons that act on behalf of the released person
- persons acting on behalf of CMS license holders that have the right to provide custody services with regard to securities
- persons who are employees of banks or commercial banking institutions and registered as associated persons of the Singapore Stock Exchange Trading Company.
Financial Advisor’s License in Singapore. This permit opens up a lot of possibilities to expand the scope of activities for a local company in Singapore that receives the right to perform one or several regulated kinds of activities:
- property fund management
- assets/portfolio management
- investment consultancy services
- trade in securities and futures
- consultancy on corporate financing measures, etc.
The validity term of CMS and FA licenses in Singapore is 3 years.
Best Business in Singapore for Young Specialists: Freelance Work
Remote work, freelance work, or work from home – this is what young specialists look for in most cases. The present-day industry is digitized, and the majority of specialists will work as freelancers in the near future.
Which industries are in demand in the present-day Singapore? Which promising professions give an opportunity to work full-time or part-time, in the evening, after studies, or at any convenient time? Here is a list of business ideas each of which can become a basis for a business plan of your Singapore company or a foundation for a startup:
- Online marketing. It includes the services of SEO specialists, promotion in social networks, website optimization, email marketing, etc.
- E-commerce. It may be the main service provided by your company that sells goods and services online.
- Graphic designer.
- Web designer.
- Editing + copywriting is the work that does not require personal presence and can be performed remotely – including in Singapore.
- Laundry is a business with a minimum starting capital required that can become a large-scale undertaking.
- Delivery of goods is a popular business in all countries. You can organize deliveries within Singapore or internationally.
- Freelance accounting service is a relevant field not only in Singapore but also in other countries. If you serve several companies, you can get sufficient profit from your business undertaking.
- Interpreting and translation services for tourists, foreign investors, companies, and immigrants. In addition to interpreting services, translation of official documents that are later notarized and legalized is in great demand.
- Dropshipping makes it possible to receive profit from the difference between wholesale and retail price or commissions. This kind of business is quite popular in Singapore thanks to the development of retail and supply chains. It does not require an intermediary storage point at the warehouse as shipping is made directly from production warehouses to end customers.
If you are ready to set up a company in Singapore, contact our experts who will help you quickly and safely resolve all the administrative and banking issues!
