Doing Business 2018 Singapore
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Doing Business 2018 Singapore
Page 1
Doing Business 2018 Singapore
Economy Profile of Singapore
Doing Business 2018 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, 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 and total tax 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 2018 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 distance to frontier 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.
The distance to frontier (DTF) measure shows the distance of each economy to the “frontier,” which represents the best performance
observed on each of the indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s distance to frontier is
reflected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest performance and 100 represents the frontier. The ease of doing business
ranking ranges from 1 to 190. The ranking of 190 economies is determined by sorting the aggregate distance to frontier scores, rounded to
two decimals.
More about Doing Business (PDF, 5MB)
Page 3Doing Business 2018 Singapore
Ease of Doing Business in DB 2018 Rank
Region East Asia & Pacific
190 1
Singapore
Income Category High income 2
DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF)
Population 5,607,283
0 100
City Covered Singapore 84.57
DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF)
0 100
84.57: Singapore (Rank: 2)
83.92: Korea, Rep. (Rank: 4)
83.44: Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank: 5)
75.68: Japan (Rank: 34)
65.29: China (Rank: 78)
62.70: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)
Note: The distance to frontier (DTF) measure shows the distance of each economy to the “frontier,” which represents the best performance observed on each of the
indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s distance to frontier is reflected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the
lowest performance and 100 represents the frontier. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190.
Rankings on Doing Business topics - Singapore
6 4 2
1 7
16 12
19
29 27
28
42
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
Distance to Frontier (DTF) on Doing Business topics - Singapore
100 96.49
91.33 91.58 89.57
83.57 83.61
80.26 80.00
80 75.00 74.31
60
DTF
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 2018 Singapore
Starting a Business
This topic measures the paid-in minimum capital requirement, number of procedures, time and cost for a small- to medium-sized limited
liability company to start up and formally operate in 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 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 distance to frontier score for each indicator is the average of the scores obtained for each of the component indicators.
The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. 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) business and the procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is
readily available and that the entrepreneur will pay no bribes.
â— Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining
all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and
The business:
certificates
â— Submitting all required notifications and receiving - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type
all necessary inspections of limited liability company in the economy, the most common among domestic firms
is chosen. Information on the most common form is obtained from incorporation
â— Obtaining utility connections for water and
lawyers or the statistical office.
sewerage
- Operates in the economy’s largest business city and the entire office space is
â— Registering and selling the warehouse after its approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet). For 11 economies the data
completion are also collected for the second largest business city.
- Is 100% domestically owned and has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity;
Time required to complete each procedure
and has a start-up capital of 10 times income per capita and has a turnover of at
(calendar days)
least 100 times income per capita.
â— Does not include time spent gathering information - Performs general industrial or commercial activities, such as the production or sale
â— Each procedure starts on a separate day (2 of goods or services to the public. The business does not perform foreign trade
procedures cannot start on the same day) activities and does not handle products subject to a special tax regime, for example,
liquor or tobacco. It does not use heavily polluting production processes.
â— Procedures fully completed online are recorded
- Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate and the
as ½ day
amount of the annual lease for the office space is equivalent to 1 times income per
â— Procedure is considered completed once final capita.
document is received - Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits.
â— No prior contact with officials - Has at least 10 and up to 50 employees one month after the commencement of
operations, all of whom are domestic nationals.
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of - Has a company deed 10 pages long.
income per capita)
The owners:
â— Official costs only, no bribes
â— No professional fees unless services required by - Have reached the legal age of majority. If there is no legal age of majority, they are
law or commonly used in practice assumed to be 30 years old.
- Are sane, competent, in good health and have no criminal record.
Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita - Are married and the marriage is monogamous and registered with the authorities.
â— Funds deposited in a bank or with third party - Where the answer differs according to the legal system applicable to the woman or
before registration or up to 3 months after man in question (as may be the case in economies where there is legal plurality), the
incorporation answer used will be the one that applies to the majority of the population.
Page 5Doing Business 2018 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 Overall Best
Pacific income Performer
Procedure – Men (number) 3 7.0 4.9 1.00 (New Zealand)
Time – Men (days) 2.5 22.7 8.5 0.50 (New Zealand)
Cost – Men (% of income per capita) 0.5 18.4 3.1 0.00 (United Kingdom)
Procedure – Women (number) 3 7.0 4.9 1.00 (New Zealand)
Time – Women (days) 2.5 22.8 8.5 0.50 (New Zealand)
Cost – Women (% of income per capita) 0.5 18.4 3.1 0.00 (United Kingdom)
Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 0.0 15.1 8.7 0.00 (113 Economies)
Figure – Starting a Business in Singapore and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF
DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF)
0 100
98.14: Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank: 3)
96.49: Singapore (Rank: 6)
95.83: Korea, Rep. (Rank: 9)
85.47: China (Rank: 93)
84.37: Japan (Rank: 106)
82.32: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for starting a
business. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators.
Page 6Doing Business 2018 Singapore
Figure – Starting a Business in Singapore – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
2.5 0.5
Cost (% of income per capita)
2 0.4
Time (days)
1.5 0.3
1 0.2
0.5 0.1
0 0
1 2 3
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 2018 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 315
the company incorporation and tax number (GST) (online procedure)
Agency : ACRA
The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) is the national regulator of
businesses and public accountants in Singapore. Incorporation is done through Bizfile, an
electronic filing system. An application for the approval and reservation of a company
name is to be submitted online via Bizfile. Since 2007, 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. An application fee of SGD 15 is payable for each approved company
name. It can generally be completed within an hour after payment online. 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.
Entrepreneurs registering a new business can purchase the Business Profile on line at the
same time of registration, when filling up the incorporation forms. 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 Make a company seal 1 day SGD 70
Agency : Seal maker
The company seal is not mandatory but it is still a common practice for entrepreneurs. It
is generally obtained from the company seal manufacturers. Generally a market rate of
SGD 40 will be charged if the seal is to be collected within 3 days or approximately SGD
70 if the seal is to be collected within 1 day
3 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 2018 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 June 2017. 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.
â— 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
â— Submitting all required notifications and receiving largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second
all necessary inspections largest business city.
- Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a
â— 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
â— 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)
â— Does not include time spent gathering information The warehouse:
â— Each procedure starts on a separate day— - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery.
though procedures that can be fully completed - Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of
online are an exception to this rule approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3
â— Procedure is considered completed once final meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of approximately
document is received 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo, and the
warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita.
â— No prior contact with officials
- Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further
income per capita) documentation or getting prior approvals from external agencies, these are counted
as procedures.
â— Official costs only, no bribes
- Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and
regulatory requirements).
Building quality control index (0-15)
â— Sum of the scores of six component indices: The water and sewerage connections:
â— Quality of building regulations (0-2) - Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there
â— Quality control before construction (0-1) is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is
no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be
â— Quality control during construction (0-3)
installed or built.
â— Quality control after construction (0-3) - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average
â— Liability and insurance regimes (0-2) wastewater flow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of
â— Professional certifications (0-4) 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300
gallons) a day.
- 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 2018 Singapore
Dealing with Construction Permits - Singapore
Standardized Company
Estimated value of warehouse SGD 3,541,360.40
City Covered Singapore
Indicator Singapore East Asia & OECD high Overall Best
Pacific income Performer
Procedures (number) 10 15.2 12.5 7.00 (Denmark)
Time (days) 54 138.2 154.6 27.5 (Korea, Rep.)
Cost (% of warehouse value) 6.2 2.2 1.6 0.10 (5 Economies)
Building quality control index (0-15) 12.0 8.9 11.4 15.00 (3 Economies)
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Singapore and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF
DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF)
0 100
84.86: Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank: 5)
80.26: Singapore (Rank: 16)
77.74: Korea, Rep. (Rank: 28)
73.36: Japan (Rank: 50)
69.60: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)
47.28: China (Rank: 172)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for
dealing with construction permits. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component
indicators.
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Singapore – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
7
50
6
Cost (% of income per capita)
40
5
Time (days)
30 4
3
20
2
10
1
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 2018 Singapore
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Singapore and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
15
12.0 12.0
11.0
Index score
10 9.6
8.9
8.0
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 205,399
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 2018 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://licences.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 2018 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 2018 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 in- 1.0
(0-2) house engineer;
Inspections by
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 2018 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 2018 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 June 2017. 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) construction company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used.
â— Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining
The construction company (BuildCo):
all necessary clearances and permits
â— Completing all required notifications and - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s
receiving all necessary inspections largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second
largest business city.
â— Obtaining external installation works and possibly
- Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a
purchasing material for these works
legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with
â— Concluding any necessary supply contract and the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any
obtaining final supply other employees who are technical or licensed experts, such as geological or
topographical experts.
Time required to complete each procedure
- Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse
(calendar days)
upon its completion.
â— Is at least 1 calendar day
The warehouse:
â— Each procedure starts on a separate day
â— 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
â— Reflects the time spent in practice, with little
approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3
follow-up and no prior contact with officials
meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of approximately
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo, and the
warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita.
income per capita)
- Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed
â— Official costs only, no bribes architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further
â— Value added tax excluded documentation or getting prior approvals from external agencies, these are counted
as procedures.
The reliability of supply and transparency of - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and
tariffs index (0-8) regulatory requirements).
â— Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3)
The water and sewerage connections:
â— Tools to monitor power outages (0–1)
- Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there
â— Tools to restore power supply (0–1)
is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is
â— Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be
(0–1) installed or built.
â— Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1) - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average
wastewater flow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of
â— Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1)
1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300
Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)* gallons) a day.
- Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the
â— Price based on monthly bill for commercial
year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for
warehouse in case study
the sewerage connection.
*Note: Doing Business measures the price of
electricity, but it is not included in the distance to
frontier score nor the ranking on the ease of getting
electricity.
Page 16Doing Business 2018 Singapore
Getting Electricity - Singapore
Standardized Company
Price of electricity (US cents per kWh) 10.0
Name of utility SP PowerGrid Ltd.
City Covered Singapore
Indicator Singapore East Asia & OECD high Overall Best
Pacific income Performer
Procedures (number) 4 4.5 4.7 2 (United Arab
Emirates)
Time (days) 30 71.6 79.1 10 (United Arab
Emirates)
Cost (% of income per capita) 25.3 712.0 63.0 0.00 (Japan)
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff 7 3.7 7.4 8.00 (28 Economies)
index (0-8)
Figure – Getting Electricity in Singapore and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF
DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF)
0 100
99.89: Korea, Rep. (Rank: 2)
99.02: Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank: 4)
91.33: Singapore (Rank: 12)
89.88: Japan (Rank: 17)
72.23: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)
68.83: China (Rank: 98)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting electricity is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for getting
electricity. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators.
Page 17Doing Business 2018 Singapore
Figure – Getting Electricity in Singapore – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
30 30
Cost (% of income per capita)
25 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 3.7
3
2
1
0
Singapore China Hong Kong SAR, China Japan Korea, Rep. East Asia & Pacific
Page 18Doing Business 2018 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 17,794.08
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. SP PowerGrid Ltd will carry out meter fixing once the cable installation work is
started;
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 2018 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 2018 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 1.0
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 2018 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 June 2017.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.
â— 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).
â— Registration procedures in the economy's largest - Are located in the periurban area of the economy’s largest business city. For 11
business citya. economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city.
- Are 100% domestically and privately owned.
â— 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.
â— Does not include time spent gathering information
- Is fully owned by the seller.
â— Each procedure starts on a separate day - though - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past
procedures that can be fully completed online are 10 years.
an exception to this rule
- Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes.
â— Procedure is considered completed once final - Is located in a periurban commercial zone, and no rezoning is required.
document is received - Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6,000
â— No prior contact with officials square feet). A two-story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is
located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is in good condition, has no
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of heating system and complies with all safety standards, building codes and legal
property value) requirements. The property, consisting of land and building, will be transferred in its
â— Official costs only (such as administrative fees, entirety.
duties and taxes). - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase.
- Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of
â— Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit
any kind.
payments are excluded
- Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for
Quality of land administration index (0-30) residential use, industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural
activities, are required.
â— Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) - Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it.
â— Transparency of information index (0–6)
â— Geographic coverage index (0–8)
â— Land dispute resolution index (0–8)
â— Equal access to property rights index (-2–0)
Page 22Doing Business 2018 Singapore
Registering Property - Singapore
Standardized Company
Property value SGD 3,541,360.40
City Covered Singapore
Indicator Singapore East Asia & OECD high Overall Best
Pacific income Performer
Procedures (number) 6 5.5 4.6 1.00 (4 Economies)
Time (days) 4.5 74.5 22.3 1.00 (3 Economies)
Cost (% of property value) 2.9 4.3 4.2 0.00 (5 Economies)
Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 29.0 15.8 22.7 29.00 (Singapore)
Figure – Registering Property in Singapore and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF
DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF)
0 100
83.57: Singapore (Rank: 19)
76.34: Korea, Rep. (Rank: 39)
76.15: China (Rank: 41)
73.92: Japan (Rank: 52)
73.54: Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank: 55)
57.21: Regional Average (East Asia & Pacific)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for registering
property. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators.
Figure – Registering Property in Singapore – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
4.5 3.5
4
3 Cost (% of income per capita)
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 2018 Singapore
Figure – Registering Property in Singapore and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
30 29.0
27.5 27.5
24.5
25
Index score
20 18.3
15.8
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 2018 Singapore
1 Perform due diligence checks about the land plot using Intereq 3 days Legal Requisition
(www.starsinfo.com.sg) Fees (for transaction
Agency : Portal at www.starsinfo.com.sg through the portal
Due diligence checks at several agencies can be done on-line through a one-stop portal www.starsinfo.com.sg
called ‘Intereq’ (www.starsinfo.com.sg). They include:
)
- Inland Revenue
• Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (for Property Tax)
Authority of
• Land Transport Authority (with respect to Rapid Transit System and Street Works on as
to whether property is affected by Public Transport projects) Singapore:
• National Environment Agency (Environmental Health Department and Pollution SDG43.93 +
Control Department on whether the property is affected by public sewerage or SDG3.07GST=
environmental-health related projects) SDG47
• PUB-Water Reclatmation Network Department (to check whether there are any - Land Transport
swewrage regulstaions/requirement/conditions/outstanding liabilities associated Authority : SDG10 +
with/affecting the property) SDG0.70 GST=
• Urban Redevelopment Authority (planning regulations). SDG10.70
- Ministry of
Environment :
SDG16.74 +
SDG1.26 GST =
SDG18.90
- PUB-Water
Reclamation Network
Department
:SDG7+SDG0.49
GST = SDG7.49
- Urban
Redevelopment
Authority :
SDG50+SDG3.50
GST = SDG53.50
Administrative fees
(total SDG18.21) 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 Long-Term
Archive: SSDG 400
per retrieval (if
needed)
* Property Title
Information :
SDG14.95+SDG1.05
GST =SDG16 (using
www.inlis.gov.sg )
* Property Ownership
Information: SDG5.25
(using
www.inlis.gov.sg )
* Property
Encumbrances
Information:
SDG10.28+SDG0.72
GST = SDG11 (using
www.inlis.gov.sg )
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