Singapore Entity Types: Pte Ltd, LLP, LP and Foreign Branch
ACRA registers several legal structures, and the entity-type chip on a company page shows which one applies. The difference decides who is liable for the business's debts and whether the business is a legal person in its own right.
Private company (Pte Ltd)
A company is a separate legal entity: it can sue, be sued and own property in its own name, and its shareholders are not personally responsible for its debts and losses. ACRA lists four types of private company. The private company limited by shares (Pte Ltd) may have up to 50 shareholders, individuals or corporate entities; the exempt private company may have up to 20 shareholders, all of them individuals. Both require share capital and cannot sell shares to the public. Most private companies on this site are of these types — seeprivate limited companies.
Public company
A public company limited by shares has no limit on the number of shareholders and must register a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore before selling shares to the public; its shareholders lose only the money they invested if it fails. A public company limited by guarantee has no shareholders and no share capital: its members promise to pay a set amount if the company fails, and ACRA lists charities and non-profits as its typical users. The dataset calls both "Local Company" as the entity type, so this site tells a public company from a private one by the company type field — see public companies.
Limited liability partnership (LLP)
An LLP is a separate legal entity from its partners. ACRA states that partners have limited liability and are not personally responsible for debts caused by other partners, and that every LLP must have at least one manager. ACRA lists professional service firms as typical LLPs. This site publishes an LLP only if its name contains a business or legal-form word — see privacy for why. Published LLPs are onthe LLP page.
Limited partnership (LP)
An LP is not a separate legal entity from its partners. A general partner runs the business and has unlimited liability for its debts. Every LP must have at least one limited partner, whose liability is capped at the amount they agreed to contribute; a limited partner who manages the LP is treated as a general partner. The same name-based publication rule as for LLPs applies.Too few limited partnerships are published for a dedicated page yet.
Foreign company branch
ACRA describes a foreign company branch as a direct extension of the parent company, not a separate entity, and states that the parent company is fully responsible. A branch must appoint one authorised representative who meets ACRA's local residency requirements, must have a Singapore registered office address (not a P.O. box, and it need not be where the branch operates), and must comply with the Companies Act's annual filing requirements for foreign companies. Seethe foreign company branches page.
Not on this site: sole proprietorships and partnerships
ACRA registers sole proprietorships and general partnerships too. Neither is a separate legal entity: the owner (or every partner) has unlimited liability. A partnership has 2 to 20 owners, and professional partnerships such as lawyers, engineers and architects can have more. Their registered particulars belong to a natural person, so this site publishes nothing about them — seeprivacy. Look them up on ACRA's Bizfile.