Singapore Economy Profile - Doing Business 2019
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Doing Business 2019 Singapore
Economy Profile
Singapore
Page 1
Doing Business 2019 Singapore
Economy Profile of Singapore
Doing Business 2019 Indicators
(in order of appearance in the document)
Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company
Dealing with construction permits Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse and the quality
control and safety mechanisms in the construction permitting system
Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, and the reliability of the
electricity supply and the transparency of tariffs
Registering property Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property and the quality of the land administration
system
Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems
Protecting minority investors Minority shareholders’ rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance
Paying taxes Payments, time, total tax and contribution rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as
well as post-filing processes
Trading across borders Time and cost to export the product of comparative advantage and import auto parts
Enforcing contracts Time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes
Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the
legal framework for insolvency
Labor market regulation Flexibility in employment regulation and aspects of job quality
Page 2Doing Business 2019 Singapore
About Doing Business
The Doing Business project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected
cities at the subnational and regional level.
The Doing Business project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulations applying
to them through their life cycle.
Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local firms. It provides quantitative
indicators on regulation for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit,
protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also
measures features of labor market regulation. Although Doing Business does not present rankings of economies on the labor market
regulation indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it does
present the data for these indicators.
By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time,
Doing Business encourages economies to compete towards more efficient regulation; offers measurable benchmarks for reform; and serves
as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector researchers and others interested in the business climate of each economy.
In addition, Doing Business offers detailed subnational reports, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in different cities and
regions within a nation. These reports provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve
performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region
and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked.
The first Doing Business report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s report covers 11 indicator sets
and 190 economies. Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that
have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013 (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the
Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business also collected data for the second largest business city. The data for these
11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. The project has benefited from feedback from
governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving
the regulatory environment for business around the world.
More about Doing Business (PDF, 5MB)
Page 3Doing Business 2019 Singapore
Ease of Doing Business in DB 2019 Rank
Region East Asia & Pacific
190 1
Singapore
Income Category High income 2
DB 2019 Ease of doing business score
Population 5,612,253
0 100
City Covered Singapore 85.24
DB 2019 Ease of Doing Business Score
0 100
85.24: Singapore (Rank: 2)
84.22: Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank: 4)
84.14: Korea, Rep. (Rank: 5)
75.65: Japan (Rank: 39)
73.64: China (Rank: 46)
63.41: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)
Note: The ease of doing business score captures the gap of each economy from the best regulatory performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies
in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s ease of doing business score is reflected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest and 100
represents the best performance. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190.
Rankings on Doing Business topics - Singapore
3 1
1 8 7 8
16
21
27
28 32
45
55
82
Rank
109
136
163
190
Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving
a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency
Business Construction Investors Borders
Permits
Ease of Doing Business Score on Doing Business topics - Singapore
98.23
100
91.33 91.58 89.57
84.73 83.14 84.53
80.00
80 75.00 74.33
Score
60
40
20
0
Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving
a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency
Business Construction Investors Borders
Permits
Page 4Doing Business 2019 Singapore
Starting a Business
This topic measures the number of procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital requirement for a small- to medium-sized limited
liability company to start up and formally operate in each economy’s largest business city.
To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has
start-up capital equivalent to 10 times the income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10
and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. Starting a Business considers two
types of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is owned by 5 married women and the
other by 5 married men. The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a
business. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally start and formally operate To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
a company (number) business and the procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is
readily available and that the entrepreneur will pay no bribes.
• Preregistration (for example, name verification or
reservation, notarization)
The business:
• Registration in the economy’s largest business - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type
city
of limited liability company in the economy, the most common among domestic firms
• Postregistration (for example, social security is chosen. Information on the most common form is obtained from incorporation
registration, company seal) lawyers or the statistical office.
- Operates in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are
• Obtaining approval from spouse to start a
business or to leave the home to register the also collected for the second largest business city.
company - The entire office space is approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet).
- Is 100% domestically owned and has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity;
• Obtaining any gender specific document for has a start-up capital of 10 times income per capita and has a turnover of at least
company registration and operation or national 100 times income per capita.
identification card
- Performs general industrial or commercial activities, such as the production or sale
of goods or services to the public. The business does not perform foreign trade
Time required to complete each procedure
activities and does not handle products subject to a special tax regime, for example,
(calendar days)
liquor or tobacco. It does not use heavily polluting production processes.
• Does not include time spent gathering - Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate and the
information amount of the annual lease for the office space is equivalent to the income per
capita.
• Each procedure starts on a separate day (2
procedures cannot start on the same day) - Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits.
- Has at least 10 and up to 50 employees one month after the commencement of
• Procedures fully completed online are recorded operations, all of whom are domestic nationals.
as ½ day - Has a company deed that is 10 pages long.
• Procedure is considered completed once final
document is received The owners:
• No prior contact with officials - Have reached the legal age of majority. If there is no legal age of majority, they are
assumed to be 30 years old.
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of - Are sane, competent, in good health and have no criminal record.
income per capita) - Are married and the marriage is monogamous and registered with the authorities.
- Where the answer differs according to the legal system applicable to the woman or
• Official costs only, no bribes man in question (as may be the case in economies where there is legal plurality), the
• No professional fees unless services required by answer used will be the one that applies to the majority of the population.
law or commonly used in practice
Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per
capita)
• Funds deposited in a bank or with third party
before registration or up to 3 months after
incorporation
Page 5Doing Business 2019 Singapore
Starting a Business - Singapore
Standardized Company
Legal form Private Limited Liability Company
Paid-in minimum capital requirement SGD 0
City Covered Singapore
Indicator Singapore East Asia & OECD high Best Regulatory
Pacific income Performance
Procedure – Men (number) 2 6.8 4.9 1 (New Zealand)
Time – Men (days) 1.5 25.9 9.3 0.5 (New Zealand)
Cost – Men (% of income per capita) 0.4 17.8 3.1 0.0 (Slovenia)
Procedure – Women (number) 2 6.9 4.9 1 (New Zealand)
Time – Women (days) 1.5 26.0 9.3 0.5 (New Zealand)
Cost – Women (% of income per capita) 0.4 17.8 3.1 0.0 (Slovenia)
Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 0.0 4.0 8.6 0.0 (117 Economies)
Figure – Starting a Business in Singapore and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Starting a Business Score
0 100
98.23: Singapore (Rank: 3)
98.15: Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank: 5)
95.83: Korea, Rep. (Rank: 11)
93.52: China (Rank: 28)
86.10: Japan (Rank: 93)
83.29: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a business. These scores
are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
Page 6Doing Business 2019 Singapore
Figure – Starting a Business in Singapore – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
0.45
1.4
0.4
Cost (% of income per capita)
1.2
0.35
1 0.3
Time (days)
0.25
0.8
0.2
0.6
0.15
0.4
0.1
0.2
0.05
0 0
1 2
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
Page 7Doing Business 2019 Singapore
Details – Starting a Business in Singapore – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Registration on-line with ACRA including company name search and filing Less than one day SGD 15 (company
the company incorporation and tax number (GST) (online procedure) name fee) + SGD
Agency : ACRA 300 (registration fee)
The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) is the national
regulator of business, public accountants and corporate service providers in
Singapore. Incorporation is done through Bizfile+, an electronic filing system.
Since 2007, Bizfile platform (further enhanced to Bizfile+) has been providing
one-stop business facilitation services to customers at the point of registration.
These services include reserving domain names, goods and services tax (GST)
registration, subscribing for the relevant e-newsletter and registering for e-service
alerts on latest government procurement opportunities, activating Customs
Account and application for a corporate bank account.
The process starts with new company name application. The application for
approval and reservation of a company name is to be submitted online at
bizfile.gov.sg. An application fee of SGD 15 is payable for each approved
company name. Once the application is submitted, the applicant can select to
either pay the fee and continue with the incorporation later, or to immediately
proceed to incorporation application.
Name application can be approved within a few minutes from payment if the
name is available. However, it may take between 14 working days to 2 months if
the application needs to be referred to another agency for approval or review.
The lodger can proceed to register the business immediately after the name
application is approved.
Once a name has been approved, it will be reserved for 60 days. A one-time
application for the extension of the reservation period by a further 60 days can be
made before the expiry date.
As of 2 June 2017, every newly incorporated business receives a free copy of its
Business Profile upon the successful filling up of the incorporation forms and
paying the incorporation fee. The processing time is about 15 minutes from the
time of successful submission of all documents and all information, and the
registration fee payable is SGD 300. The ACRA will issue a notice of
incorporation via electronic mail to the law firm or professional firm engaged for
the purposes of incorporation upon the successful incorporation of the company
together with the registration number of the company.
The registration with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) for the
goods and services tax (GST) when (a) its annual taxable turnover exceeds SGD
1 million can be done using the same online forms.
2 Sign up for Employee Compensation Insurance at an insurance agency 1 day no charge
Agency : Insurance Agency
Under Section 23(1) of the Work Injury Compensation Act (WICA), Chapter 354,
of Singapore, every employer shall insure and maintain insurance under one or
more approved policies with an insurer against all liabilities which the company
may incur under the provisions of this Act in respect of any employee employed
by the company unless the Minister, by notification in the Gazette, waives the
requirement of such insurance in relation to any employer.
Time and cost may depend on the arrangement between the company and the
insurance agency.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 8Doing Business 2019 Singapore
Dealing with Construction Permits
This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse—including obtaining necessary the licenses and permits, submitting all
required notifications, requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. In addition, the Dealing with
Construction Permits indicator measures the building quality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of
quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professional certification requirements. The most recent round of
data collection was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally build a warehouse To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
(number) construction company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used.
• Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining The construction company (BuildCo):
all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and
certificates - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s
largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second
• Submitting all required notifications and receiving largest business city.
all necessary inspections
- Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a
• Obtaining utility connections for water and legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with
sewerage the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any
• Registering and selling the warehouse after its other employees who are technical or licensed experts, such as geological or
completion topographical experts.
- Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse
Time required to complete each procedure upon its completion.
(calendar days)
The warehouse:
• Does not include time spent gathering
information - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery.
- Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of
• Each procedure starts on a separate day— approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3
though procedures that can be fully completed
meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of approximately
online are an exception to this rule
929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo, and the
• Procedure is considered completed once final warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita.
document is received - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed
architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further
• No prior contact with officials
documentation or getting prior approvals from external agencies, these are counted
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of as procedures.
income per capita) - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and
regulatory requirements).
• Official costs only, no bribes
The water and sewerage connections:
Building quality control index (0-15)
- Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there
• Quality of building regulations (0-2) is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is
• Quality control before construction (0-1) no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be
installed or built.
• Quality control during construction (0-3) - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average
• Quality control after construction (0-3) wastewater flow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of
1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300
• Liability and insurance regimes (0-2) gallons) a day.
• Professional certifications (0-4) - Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the
year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for
the sewerage connection.
Page 9Doing Business 2019 Singapore
Dealing with Construction Permits - Singapore
Standardized Warehouse
Estimated value of warehouse SGD 3,843,022.40
City Covered Singapore
Indicator Singapore East Asia & OECD high Best Regulatory
Pacific income Performance
Procedures (number) 10 15.1 12.7 None in 2017/18
Time (days) 41 133.5 153.1 None in 2017/18
Cost (% of warehouse value) 3.4 1.9 1.5 None in 2017/18
Building quality control index (0-15) 12.0 9.1 11.5 15.0 (3 Economies)
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Singapore and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Dealing with Construction Permits Score
0 100
88.24: Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank: 1)
84.73: Singapore (Rank: 8)
84.43: Korea, Rep. (Rank: 10)
74.95: Japan (Rank: 44)
70.71: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)
65.16: China (Rank: 121)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their scores for dealing with
construction permits. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Singapore – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of warehouse value)
3.5
40
35 3
Cost (% of warehouse value)
30 2.5
Time (days)
25
2
20
1.5
15
1
10
0.5
5
0 0
1 *2 3 *4 *5 6 7 8 9 10
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
Page 10Doing Business 2019 Singapore
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Singapore and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
15 14.0
12.0 12.0
11.1 11.0
Index score
10 9.1
5
0
Singapore China Hong Kong SAR, China Japan Korea, Rep. East Asia & Pacific
Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Singapore – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Obtain a Geo-technical study / Soil test 7 days SGD 2,000
Agency : Private firms
BuildCo will request a soil test for the structural calculations for the foundation.
2 Hire certified Qualified Professionals to apply for project approvals and 1 day SGD 115,291
supervise construction
Agency : Private Firm
BuildCo. must hire an independent, external and certified Qualified Professional
in order to carry out project approvals, apply for and obtain the building permit
and supervise construction.
3 Obtain written permission from the Urban Redevelopment Authority 14 days SGD 2,680
Agency : Urban Redevelopment Authority
The application for permission from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)
can be done electronically by a Qualified Professional (QP) through the
CORENET Electronic Development Applications (EDA) system. The company
must submit a digital EDA form, along with the following:
• Proposal and sketch plans for the development
• Survey plans for sloping or undulating sites
Companies can apply to URA via two schemes: Normal and Plan Lodgment
Scheme. Launched in 1995, the Plan Lodgment Scheme allows for projects that
fulfill the qualifying criteria (see http://www.ura.gov.sg/dc/lodgment/dc-lodgment-
hdb_jtc.htm) to be submitted and approved online immediately. The application is
made either through JTC system or through URA's EDA system. The fees for a
plan lodgment are SGD 800.00 plus 7% GST. The Plan Lodgment Scheme is
applicable to industrial and warehouse development on land owned by JTC and
the HDB, which forms about 90% of industrial land in Singapore. All Qualified
Persons (i.e. Architects or Engineers) are allowed to submit their development
proposals under the Plan Lodgment Scheme. There is no restriction on the size
or type of the industrial developments or the QP’s firms. In 2007, nearly 70%
(562 out of 830) of the industrial and warehouse development proposals were
eligible for approval under the Plan Lodgment Scheme. However, if the land is
not under either JTC or Housing and Development Board scheme (HDB is for
residential developments), and under freehold ownership the application would
go through a normal clearance process.
Although the application submitted under the normal scheme itself takes 1 day, it
takes on average about 14 days for the URA to process it and grant permission.
URA does not have a time limit, but rather operates under a targeted threshold.
According to that target 90% of cases must be cleared in 4 weeks. The written
permission is valid for 2 years, during which time the work must be completed.
The application fee for normal process is SGD 2,500.00 for the first 1,000 sq. m.
and SGD 60.00 for each additional 100 sq. m. (plus 7% general service tax which
is not included in the case study).
The case considered here assumes a commercial warehouse for storing books,
which would be classified as a Group 3 land-intensive development.
A fee schedule is available at http://www.ura.gov.sg/forms/doc/dc-fee2007.pdf.
Page 11Doing Business 2019 Singapore
4 Obtain structural and architectural plan approvals and building 14 days SGD 6,113
commencement permit, building fire plan approval from FSSD,
environmental clearance from NEA and clearance of parking proposal from
the Land Transport Authority
Agency : Building & Construction Authority (BCA)
Qualified Professionals submit the structural plans through CORENET system
operated by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA). The permit will not be
issued without the written or provisional permission from the Urban
Redevelopment Authority (URA) and payment of any development charges, if
applicable. Most companies submit their application to URA and BCA for
structural approval at the same time. They can time it in a way that the structural
approval is granted a day after the URA issues planning permission.
Construction work must commence within 24 months from the approval date.
The structural plan approval can be granted along with the building
commencement permit that gives the right to physically begin the construction.
Since 2008 the BCA runs a data management module in its application
processing system to monitor its performance standard. It also introduced mobile
phone short message and e-mail notification to inform the applicants of their
applications status instantaneously.
Since September 1, 2005, the fee schedule is as follows:
• SGD 300.00 per 100 sq. m. for the first 2,500 sq. m. of standard gross floor
area (SGFA)
• SGD 200.00 for each subsequent 100 sq. m. of SGFA
Hence, in this case, the total fee charged for 1,300 sq. m. is 13 x SGD 300.00 =
SGD 3,900.00
5 Make an online declaration of risk management implementation and notify 0.5 days SGD 1,300
the Commissioner for Workplace Safety and Health
Agency : Occupational Safety and Health Division, Ministry of Manpower
Before March 2010, the Workplace Safety & Health (Registration of Factories)
Regulations required all factories engaged in higher risk activities including
construction worksites, shipyards, metalworking companies, wafer fabrication,
petrochemical, chemical and pharmaceutical plants to be registered before they
can commence operations. Registration was valid for only one year. An annual
fee depending on the number of persons employed at the premise ranging from
SGD 90 (5 or less workers in premise) to SGD 2340 (more than 500 workers in
premise) was payable upon registration and renewal.
Ministry of Manpower has reviewed the factory registration system for higher risk
factories which includes construction worksites and introduced a new one-time
registration scheme. From 1 March 2010, factories in the Building and
Construction are amongst those which benefit from the new scheme. All factories
under this scheme are required to register and pay once for their license with the
Ministry without the need to renew their license.
Qualifying factories were only required to do two things prior to the
commencement of operations: To register once with the Commissioner for
Workplace Safety and Health of their operations via the On-line Business
Licensing System (OBLS) at https://licence1.business.gov.sg/ and complete the
Safety and Health Management System audits/internal review within 2 months
from the registration.
6 Notify the Water Reclamation (Network) Department (Public Utilities Board) 0.5 days no charge
on the commencement of sanitary works
Agency : Public Utilities Board (PUB)
Upon obtaining clearance of the Detailed Plan (Sanitary) from CBPU (NEA), the
QP is required to notify the Water Reclamation (Network) Department (PUB) on
the commencement of sanitary works via BCA Corenet e-submission system and
apply for PUB(WRN)’s approval before allowing the workmen to enter the public
sewer/manhole or other confined spaces to carry out any works including
inspection.
7 Submit a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion of Water Service Work 0.5 days no charge
Agency : Public Utilities Board (PUB)
Upon completion of the water service works, water service workers are required
to submit a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion of Water Service Work
certifying that the water service installation is completed in accordance with the
Public Utilities (Water Supply) Regulations, Singapore Standard CP 48 – Code of
Practice for Water Services, all other relevant statutory requirements and other
PUB requirements.
Page 12Doing Business 2019 Singapore
8 Obtain water and sewage connection 7 days SGD 1,400
Agency : Public Utilities Board (PUB)
All three connections can be applied for through a one-stop service provided by
Singapore Power (SP) Services, a privatized utilities operator. The existing
infrastructure allows a new connection within one week. Application for electrical
power is to the Singapore Power; application for both portable and Newater
water is to PUB.
A water service worker has to be engaged by the developer/owner to make a
notification for the water service work to PUB. Typically, the new connection can
be laid within one week. The connection is made after opening of account and
payment of the connection cost.
The application for connection of the proposed sewerage/sanitary system to the
public sewer is made by the QP through CORENET to the Water Reclamation
Network Department (WRN) of PUB. PUB will audit inspect the sewer connection
works. There is no charge for the sewer connection works.
The cost of water connection depends on the size of the connection.
9 Receive final inspection and approval 1 day no charge
Agency : Registered inspector, affiliated with BCA and BuildCo/FSSD
Once the warehouse construction is completed the Qualified Professional files a
request for inspection to BCA through CORENET. BuildCo may request the
inspection in advance, that is, before construction activities are completed. BCA
officers inspects the completed warehouse together with the architects,
consultants and builder. Independently but concurrently, Qualified Professional
can submit a request to the FSSD for fire system approval. There is no physical
interaction with the FSSD and the inspection is performed by the Qualified
Professional. The Qualified Professional sends the report to FSSD. The approval
from FSSD is then sent to BCA electronically through an internal network.
10 Obtain certificate of statutory completion 10 days no charge
Agency : Building & Construction Authority (BCA)
BuildCo does not need to register the newly built warehouse after its completion.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 13Doing Business 2019 Singapore
Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Singapore – Measure of Quality
Answer Score
Building quality control index (0-15) 12.0
Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 2.0
How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) Available online; 1.0
Free of charge.
Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly specified in the building List of required 1.0
regulations or on any accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1) documents; Fees
to be paid;
Required
preapprovals.
Quality control before construction index (0-1) 1.0
Which third-party entities are required by law to verify that the building plans are in Licensed 1.0
compliance with existing building regulations? (0-1) architect; Private
firm.
Quality control during construction index (0-3) 2.0
What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out during construction? Inspections by 1.0
(0-2) external engineer
or firm;
Inspections at
various phases.
Do legally mandated inspections occur in practice during construction? (0-1) Mandatory 1.0
inspections are
always done in
practice.
Quality control after construction index (0-3) 3.0
Is there a final inspection required by law to verify that the building was built in accordance Yes, final 2.0
with the approved plans and regulations? (0-2) inspection is
done by
government
agency.
Do legally mandated final inspections occur in practice? (0-1) Final inspection 1.0
always occurs in
practice.
Liability and insurance regimes index (0-2) 0.0
Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural flaws or problems in the building No party is held 0.0
once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1) liable under the
law.
Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover possible No party is 0.0
structural flaws or problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability Insurance required by law
or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1) to obtain
insurance .
Professional certifications index (0-4) 4.0
What are the qualification requirements for the professional responsible for verifying that the Minimum number 2.0
architectural plans or drawings are in compliance with existing building regulations? (0-2) of years of
experience;
University degree
in architecture or
engineering;
Being a
registered
architect or
engineer;
Passing a
certification
exam.
Page 14Doing Business 2019 Singapore
What are the qualification requirements for the professional who supervises the construction Minimum number 2.0
on the ground? (0-2) of years of
experience;
University degree
in engineering,
construction or
construction
management;
Being a
registered
architect or
engineer;
Passing a
certification
exam.
Page 15Doing Business 2019 Singapore
Getting Electricity
This topic measures the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly
constructed warehouse. Additionally, the reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index measures reliability of supply, transparency of
tariffs and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology
for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to obtain an electricity connection To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
(number) warehouse, the electricity connection and the monthly consumption are used.
• Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining The warehouse:
all necessary clearances and permits
- Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods.
• Completing all required notifications and - Is located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are
receiving all necessary inspections
also collected for the second largest business city.
• Obtaining external installation works and possibly - Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and is in an
purchasing material for these works area with no physical constraints. For example, the property is not near a railway.
- Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the first time.
• Concluding any necessary supply contract and
- Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square meters
obtaining final supply
(14,000 square feet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929 square meters
Time required to complete each procedure (10,000 square feet).
(calendar days)
The electricity connection:
• Is at least 1 calendar day
- Is a permanent one with a three-phase, four-wire Y connection with a subscribed
• Each procedure starts on a separate day capacity of 140-kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) with a power factor of 1, when 1 kVA = 1
• Does not include time spent gathering kilowatt (kW).
information - Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- or medium-voltage
distribution network and is either overhead or underground, whichever is more
• Reflects the time spent in practice, with little common in the area where the warehouse is located and requires works that involve
follow-up and no prior contact with officials
the crossing of a 10-meter road (such as by excavation or overhead lines) but are all
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of carried out on public land. There is no crossing of other owners’ private property
income per capita) because the warehouse has access to a road.
- Does not require work to install the internal wiring of the warehouse. This has
• Official costs only, no bribes already been completed up to and including the customer’s service panel or
• Value added tax excluded switchboard and the meter base.
The reliability of supply and transparency of The monthly consumption:
tariffs index (0-8)
- It is assumed that the warehouse operates 30 days a month from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00
• Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3) p.m. (8 hours a day), with equipment utilized at 80% of capacity on average and that
• Tools to monitor power outages (0–1) there are no electricity cuts (assumed for simplicity reasons) and the monthly energy
consumption is 26,880 kilowatt-hours (kWh); hourly consumption is 112 kWh.
• Tools to restore power supply (0–1) - If multiple electricity suppliers exist, the warehouse is served by the cheapest
• Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance supplier.
(0–1) - Tariffs effective in January of the current year are used for calculation of the price of
electricity for the warehouse. Although January has 31 days, for calculation
• Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1) purposes only 30 days are used.
• Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1)
Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)*
• Price based on monthly bill for commercial
warehouse in case study
*Note: Doing Business measures the price of
electricity, but it is not included in the ease of doing
business score nor the ranking on the ease of
getting electricity.
Page 16Doing Business 2019 Singapore
Getting Electricity - Singapore
Standardized Connection
Price of electricity (US cents per kWh) 10.2
Name of utility SP PowerGrid Ltd.
City Covered Singapore
Indicator Singapore East Asia & OECD high Best Regulatory
Pacific income Performance
Procedures (number) 4 4.3 4.5 3 (25 Economies)
Time (days) 30 65.0 77.2 18 (3 Economies)
Cost (% of income per capita) 23.3 625.1 64.2 0.0 (3 Economies)
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff 7 4.0 7.5 8.0 (27 Economies)
index (0-8)
Figure – Getting Electricity in Singapore and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Getting Electricity Score
0 100
99.89: Korea, Rep. (Rank: 2)
99.34: Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank: 3)
92.01: China (Rank: 14)
91.33: Singapore (Rank: 16)
89.88: Japan (Rank: 22)
75.06: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting electricity is determined by sorting their scores for getting electricity. These scores are
the simple average of the scores for all the component indicators except the price of electricity.
Page 17Doing Business 2019 Singapore
Figure – Getting Electricity in Singapore – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
30 25
Cost (% of income per capita)
25
20
20
Time (days)
15
15
10
10
5
5
0 0
1 2 *3 *4
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
Figure – Getting Electricity in Singapore and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
8 8 8
8
7
7
6
6
Index score
5
4.0
4
3
2
1
0
Singapore China Hong Kong SAR, China Japan Korea, Rep. East Asia & Pacific
Page 18Doing Business 2019 Singapore
Details – Getting Electricity in Singapore – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Submit application to SP Services Ltd. and await estimate 9 calendar days SGD 0
Agency : SP Services Ltd
The customer has to engage and appoint an Electrical Worker licensed (LEW)
with the Energy Market Authority (EMA) to design the internal electrical
installation, a LEW for the electrical installation works, and a LEW to operate on
the installation. The client can appoint the same LEW for all three duties. The
LEW essentially acts as the client's agent for the connection to the grid system.
There are three classes of LEWs, namely licensed electricians (load < 45kVA),
licensed electrical technicians (load design < 150kVA) and licensed electrical
engineers (no limit on load). Based on the case study's load (140kVA), the
customer needs to appoint either a licensed electrical technician or licensed
electrical engineer.
The appointed LEW submits an application to SP Services Ltd to connect to the
grid system, along with 2 copies of the site plan. SP Services Ltd advises the
appointed LEW on the approval of the application and provides them with a
quotation for the premises to receive service connection from the streets mains.
SP Services Ltd serves as a one-stop customer center for electricity connections.
It receives electricity supply applications, payment of connection fees, opens
electricity accounts and makes turn-on appointment with customers. Direct
service connection from SP PowerGrid's LV network to the client's installation is
available for a small load requirement not exceeding 280kVA (400A) in
commercial or industrial areas.
2 Open electricity account, pay connection fee and receive external works 21 calendar days SGD 17,783.69
Agency : SP Services Ltd (works by SP Power Grid Ltd)
Once SP Power Group offers the terms and conditions of the connection, SP
Services will liaise with the LEW so he/she can open an account and pay the
connection fee - which are done on the same day. The external works from SP
PowerGrid Ltd commence automatically upon payment of the connection fee. No
further action is required from the customer.
The documents required for opening of account are:
- Completed and signed application form;
- Copy of business/company registration certificate;
- Copy of NRIC/FIN (National Registration Identity Card / Foreign Identification
Number) for the authorized signatory of company representative or a letter of
authorization issued by the company indicating the company representative’s
name and NRIC/FIN, proof of ownership or tenancy agreement;
- Letter from the Authority (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore) confirming
the official address of the premises, and
- Initial security deposit in cash (which is refundable when the customer
terminates the account) or by the form of banker Guarantee (BG) at the point of
application;
For the warehouse, a direct connection is applicable as the applied load is 140
kVA. Services for the provision of electricity supply from the existing overground
box to the industrial premises with load demand between 76 kVA and 140 kVA
will be managed as follows by SP Services Ltd and SP PowerGrid Ltd:
a. Upon receipt of the connection fee payment by SP Services Ltd, SP
PowerGrid Ltd will commence work and inform the appointed LEW and the client
about the date for fixing meter and turn-on of electricity supply. The customer’s
appointed LEW has to submit the document required for turn-on of supply before
the turn-on date.
b. The service provided is underground. An excavation permit is thus needed
before SP PowerGrid Ltd can start laying cables. For pragmatic reasons, SP
PowerGrid will only apply for the permit after the client has made the connection
fee payment and had their intake point ready for connection. SP PowerGrid Ltd
works closely with the agencies to have the road openings approved within 7
calendar days and then commence the physical cable installation work;
c. Once the consumer switchboard is ready for meter installation, SP PowerGrid
Ltd will carry out meter fixing in conjunction with the cable installation work;
d. The service cable will be energised on the next day after the cable installation
work is completed -- provided that a certificate of compliance (COC) has been
lodged.
Page 19Doing Business 2019 Singapore
3 Obtain electrical installation license 2 calendar days SGD 100
Agency : Energy Market Authority (EMA)
The appointed licensed electrical worker (LEW) obtains an electrical installation
license from the Energy Market Authority (EMA) on behalf of the customer.
Indeed, for safety reasons, an electrical installation license issued by EMA is
required for the use or operation of an electrical installation with an approved
load exceeding 45kVA in a non-domestic premises.
The customer has to engage and appoint a LEW who will inspect and certify the
fitness of the electrical installation. Thereafter the LEW will submit an application
for the electrical installation license online through the EMA's ELISE portal at
www.ema.gov.sg. The license fee of SGD100/= (for a 12-month license) is to be
paid online together with the application. The EMA will check the completeness
of the application before issuing the electrical installation license.
The application for the license may be submitted in advance of the electricity
supply connection date.
4 Submit installation license and COC to SP PowerGrid Ltd to have electricity 1 calendar day SGD 0
turned on
Agency : SP Services Ltd
The customer’s appointed LEW needs to submit to SP Services Ltd the following
documents to confirm the turn-on appointment:
- Certificate of Compliance (COC) issued by the appointed LEW certifying that
the (internal) electrical work is conforming to the requirements of the Electricity
Regulations and the relevant Singapore Standard Code of Practice; and
- A copy of valid electrical installation licence obtained from the Energy Market
Authority (EMA).
Both documents are typically submitted to SP Services Ltd right before the
electricity turn-on and not when the electricity account and connection fees are
paid.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 20Doing Business 2019 Singapore
Details – Getting Electricity in Singapore – Measure of Quality
Answer
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 7
Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year (0-3) 3
System average interruption duration index (SAIDI) 0.0
System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) 0.0
What is the minimum outage time (in minutes) that the utility considers for the calculation of SAIDI/SAIFI 0.0
Mechanisms for monitoring outages (0-1) 1
Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages? Yes
Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1) 1
Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service? Yes
Regulatory monitoring (0-1) 1
Does a regulator—that is, an entity separate from the utility—monitor the utility’s performance on reliability of Yes
supply?
Financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages (0-1) 1
Does the utility either pay compensation to customers or face fines by the regulator (or both) if outages Yes
exceed a certain cap?
Communication of tariffs and tariff changes (0-1) 0
Are effective tariffs available online? Yes
Link to the website, if available online https://www.emcsg.c
om/
Are customers notified of a change in tariff ahead of the billing cycle? No
Note:
If the duration and frequency of outages is 100 or less, the economy is eligible to score on the Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff
index.
If the duration and frequency of outages is not available, or is over 100, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.
If the minimum outage time considered for SAIDI/SAIFI is over 5 minutes, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.
Page 21Doing Business 2019 Singapore
Registering Property
This topic examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to
purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute. In addition, the topic also measures the quality of the land
administration system in each economy. The quality of land administration index has five dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency
of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for
the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally transfer title on To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
immovable property (number) parties to the transaction, the property and the procedures are used.
• Preregistration procedures (for example, The parties (buyer and seller):
checking for liens, notarizing sales agreement,
paying property transfer taxes) - Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent).
- Are located in the periurban area of the economy’s largest business city. For 11
• Registration procedures in the economy's largest economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city.
business city.
- Are 100% domestically and privately owned.
• Postregistration procedures (for example, filling - Have 50 employees each, all of whom are nationals.
title with municipality) - Perform general commercial activities.
Time required to complete each procedure The property (fully owned by the seller):
(calendar days)
- Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price.
• Does not include time spent gathering - Is fully owned by the seller.
information - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past
• Each procedure starts on a separate day - 10 years.
though procedures that can be fully completed - Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes.
online are an exception to this rule - Is located in a periurban commercial zone, and no rezoning is required.
- Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6,000
• Procedure is considered completed once final square feet). A two-story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is
document is received
located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is in good condition, has no
• No prior contact with officials heating system and complies with all safety standards, building codes and legal
requirements. The property, consisting of land and building, will be transferred in its
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of entirety.
property value) - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase.
- Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of
• Official costs only (such as administrative fees,
duties and taxes). any kind.
- Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for
• Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit residential use, industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural
payments are excluded activities, are required.
- Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it.
Quality of land administration index (0-30)
• Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8)
• Transparency of information index (0–6)
• Geographic coverage index (0–8)
• Land dispute resolution index (0–8)
• Equal access to property rights index (-2–0)
Page 22Doing Business 2019 Singapore
Registering Property - Singapore
Indicator Singapore East Asia & OECD high Best Regulatory
Pacific income Performance
Procedures (number) 6 5.4 4.7 1 (4 Economies)
Time (days) 4.5 72.6 20.1 1 (New Zealand)
Cost (% of property value) 2.9 4.5 4.2 0.0 (Saudi Arabia)
Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 28.5 16.3 23.0 None in 2017/18
Figure – Registering Property in Singapore and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Registering Property Score
0 100
83.14: Singapore (Rank: 21)
80.80: China (Rank: 27)
76.34: Korea, Rep. (Rank: 40)
74.21: Japan (Rank: 48)
73.55: Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank: 53)
57.56: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their scores for registering property. These
scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
Figure – Registering Property in Singapore – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of property value)
4.5 3.5
4
3
Cost (% of property value)
3.5
2.5
3
Time (days)
2.5 2
2 1.5
1.5
1
1
0.5
0.5
0 0
1 *2 *3 4 5 6
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
Page 23Doing Business 2019 Singapore
Figure – Registering Property in Singapore and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
30 28.5 27.5 27.5
24.8
25 23.7
Index score
20
16.3
15
10
5
0
Singapore China Hong Kong SAR, China Japan Korea, Rep. East Asia & Pacific
Details – Registering Property in Singapore – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
Page 24Doing Business 2019 Singapore
1 Perform due diligence checks on the land plot using Intereq 3 days SGD 159.93; (Legal
Agency : Portal at www.starsinfo.com.sg Requisition Fees (for
Due diligence checks at several agencies can be done on-line through a one- transaction through
stop portal called ‘Intereq’ (www.starsinfo.com.sg). They include:
the portal
www.starsinfo.com.sg
• Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (for Property Tax)
):
• Land Transport Authority (with respect to Rapid Transit System and Street
Works on as to whether property is affected by Public Transport projects)
• National Environment Agency (Environmental Health Department and Pollution - Inland Revenue
Control Department on whether the property is affected by public sewerage or Authority of
environmental-health related projects) Singapore:
• PUB-Water Reclamation Network Department (to check whether there are any SDG37.38 +
sewerage regulations/requirement/conditions/outstanding liabilities associated SDG2.62 GST =
with/affecting the property) SDG40
• Urban Redevelopment Authority (planning regulations). - Land Transport
Authority : SDG10 +
SDG0.70 GST=
SDG10.70
- National
Environment Agency
(Environment Health
Department):
SDG7.20 + SDG0.50
GST = SDG7.70
- PUB-Water
Reclamation Network
Department
:SDG7+SDG0.49
GST = SDG7.49
- Urban
Redevelopment
Authority :
SDG50+SDG3.50
GST = SDG53.50
Administrative fees to
use the portal,
calculated on the
following basis:
- Acknowledgement:
SDG 0.20 per
acknowledgement
=SDG1.54
- Transaction Fee:
SDG 1.5 per legal
requisition per
Government Agency
=SDG11.27
- Transmission
Charge SSDG 0.5
per kbyte =approx
SDG5.40
Fees for documents
obtained from
(https://www.sla.gov.s
g/inlis/#/productprices
):
* Property Title
Information :
SDG14.95+SDG1.05
GST =SDG16
* Property Ownership
Information: SDG5.25
* Property
Encumbrances
Information:
SDG10.28+SDG0.72
GST = SDG11)
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