Opening Q1 2027 Book a structuring consultation

Corporate structuring advisory · Europe to Asia

Corporate structuring for Asia, settled before you sign a lease, hire or raise

One structure that works at home and in Asia.

Corporate structuring for a European business starts with a free 30-minute call. The consultation that follows is a remote session with our founders, S$880, fixed. Within three business days you receive a written summary: the recommended structure, the alternatives, what it takes to run, a cost framework and the questions for your tax or legal adviser.

Book a structuring consultation The five decisions

Opening Q1 2027 Updated 31 October 2026

What we offer today

The structuring consultation is available now. Company set-up and yearly compliance open in Q1 2027.

Available now

What Innaltis can do today

  • A structuring consultation with our founders, held remotely, with a written summary.
  • Guidance on choosing between Singapore and Hong Kong, and on what each company costs to set up and run.
  • Early access to our incorporation and compliance services before they open, with no payment and no commitment.

Planned service

Planned for Q1 2027

  • Company incorporation in Singapore and Hong Kong, with company secretary and registered address.
  • Yearly compliance packages: bookkeeping, accounts, tax filings, annual return and meetings.
  • Atlas, the client platform: group view, cap table, deadlines and documents.

The decisions

What does a European business have to decide?

Five decisions shape the rest: who owns the Asian company, what sits above it, whether it should be a company at all, where the IP and contracts sit, and how your companies pay each other. Each has to work in your home country as well as in Asia.

  1. A subsidiary under your European company

    What it is
    Your European company owns the shares of a new private limited company in Singapore or Hong Kong. One chain of ownership, consolidated in your group accounts.
    When it fits
    You already run an operating business in Europe and Asia is a new market, a team or a supply base.
    What to watch
    The parent’s country applies its CFC and transfer pricing rules to the subsidiary. In Singapore the small-company audit exemption is tested on the whole group, foreign entities included, so the subsidiary of a larger European group may need an audit even when it is small itself.
    What it costs to run
    In Singapore, from S$990 a year (Spark, secretarial only) to S$2,990 (Zenith), plus the S$60 ACRA annual return fee at cost, and S$2,000 a year for a nominee director if no director lives in Singapore. In Hong Kong, from HK$8,900 to HK$23,800 a year, with the statutory audit billed by the partner CPA firm from HK$8,000.

  2. A personal or group holding in Singapore or Hong Kong

    What it is
    A holding company in Singapore or Hong Kong owns one or more operating companies in the region. It can be owned by you personally or by your European company.
    When it fits
    You plan several Asian markets, investors want to buy into a regional entity rather than the European parent, or you may one day sell the Asian business on its own.
    What to watch
    A holding with no people and no decisions is the first structure a tax authority questions. Board meetings, directors and records have to be where the company is, and dividends moving up the chain raise withholding and home-country questions.
    What it costs to run
    Two sets of yearly compliance, one per company. A holding with few transactions usually fits the lightest package: S$990 a year in Singapore, HK$8,900 in Hong Kong, with government fees at cost.

  3. A branch or a representative office

    What it is
    A branch is your European company itself, registered in Asia: no separate legal entity, so local liabilities sit with the parent and the branch’s results are part of the parent’s. A representative office is limited to liaison and market research and cannot trade.
    When it fits
    A representative office can suit a short period of market research. A branch can suit a project with a fixed end, where your home-country rules on foreign branch profits work in your favour.
    What to watch
    It is rarely the right call once you plan to sign local customers, employ a team or bring in investors in Asia. A subsidiary gives you a separate balance sheet, a bank account in its own name and shares investors can buy.
    What it costs to run
    Close to a subsidiary. There is still a local registration, a local representative and yearly filings, and the parent’s accounts carry the branch.

  4. Where the IP and the contracts sit

    What it is
    Which company owns the brand, the software or the know-how, and which one signs with customers, suppliers and staff.
    When it fits
    Always. Decide it before the first contract is signed, because changing it later is a transfer with its own tax consequences.
    What to watch
    Moving IP out of a European company can trigger exit taxation. Licensing it across borders brings withholding on royalties. Contracts signed by the wrong entity, or negotiated by the wrong people, create permanent establishment questions.
    What it costs to run
    Licences and contracts are legal drafting, quoted separately. Our time on the structure is S$220 an hour in Singapore or HK$2,500 in Hong Kong.

  5. Intercompany agreements and management fees

    What it is
    Written agreements for the services, staff, loans and licences that pass between your companies, each priced as independent parties would price it.
    When it fits
    From the first invoice between two companies of the group, including a management fee from the European parent.
    What to watch
    Singapore requires transfer pricing documentation above S$10 million of gross revenue, and Hong Kong a master file and local file above its size tests. Service and management fees paid from Singapore to a non-resident for work done in Singapore attract withholding at the prevailing corporate tax rate.
    What it costs to run
    Drafted once, then reviewed each year with the accounts. Our time is S$220 or HK$2,500 an hour.

Planned launch prices, confirmed in writing before you commit. Government fees are billed at cost. A new company pays a one-off incorporation fee. Statutory audit in Hong Kong is billed by the partner CPA firm.

We do not promise lower tax. We set up structures that stand up to investor due diligence and to tax authorities. If someone promises you zero tax, ask them where the substance is.

Operating requirements

What does it take to run a company in Singapore or Hong Kong?

Six local rules that change which structure makes sense.

What does it take to run a company in Singapore or Hong Kong?
RequirementSingaporeHong Kong
Local director At least one director ordinarily resident in Singapore. A nominee costs S$2,000 a year if none of you lives there. At least one director who is an individual. No residency requirement.
Company secretary Appointed within six months of incorporation, and resident in Singapore. An individual ordinarily resident in Hong Kong, or a company with an office in Hong Kong.
Statutory audit Exempt if the company, and its group, meets two of three tests: revenue up to S$10 million, assets up to S$10 million, up to 50 employees. Audited financial statements are filed with the profits tax return.
Corporate tax 17% of chargeable income. 8.25% on the first HK$2 million of assessable profits, 16.5% above.
GST or VAT GST at 9%. Registration is required above S$1 million of taxable turnover. No VAT, GST or sales tax.
Withholding on dividends None. None.

For banking, timelines, visas and yearly costs, see our Hong Kong and Singapore comparison.

The service

The structuring consultation

We agree the agenda with you beforehand. Within three business days you receive a written summary: the recommended structure, the alternatives we considered, what it takes to run, what it costs, and the questions to put to a tax or legal adviser.

How it works

  1. Introductory call

    A 30-minute call to understand your owners, activity and timeline, and to tell you whether a structuring consultation is worth your time. No commitment. The call is free.

  2. Questionnaire and agenda

    You answer a short questionnaire on owners, existing entities, activity and dates, and send any organisation chart or contracts you already have. We send you the agenda to approve before the session.

  3. The session

    2 hours with our founders, remote. We work through the agreed agenda, and your CFO, accountant or lawyer is welcome to join.

  4. Written summary

    Within three business days you receive the recommended structure, the alternatives we considered, the operating requirements, a cost framework, and the questions for a licensed tax or legal adviser with why each one matters to you.

  5. Next steps

    The decision is yours. Take the summary to your own advisers, ask us for follow-up at S$220 an hour, or register for our set-up service before it opens.

What it costs

Introductory call
Free 30 minutes
Structuring consultation
S$880, fixed Written summary included
Follow-up advisory
S$220 an hour (Singapore) · HK$2,500 an hour (Hong Kong) Hours agreed in writing before we start
Government fees
At cost Only when you incorporate

Planned service

Incorporation and ongoing compliance open in Q1 2027. Registering now reserves your founding-client terms. Nothing is filed and nothing is charged before then.

Your agenda

Build your agenda

The agenda becomes the table of contents of your written summary. Tick what applies to you. Nothing leaves your browser until you send the form.

Your situation

What do you want the Asian company to do?
Who will own it?
Is a founder relocating to Asia?
Where will you sell?

Book with this agenda

Written summary

Structuring consultation: contents

Prepared for
Your company
Based on
All sections shown. Tick what applies to you.
  1. 1

    Recommended structure with the alternatives considered

    • Entity chart: each company, its owners and the percentages
    • The alternatives considered, and why each was set aside
    • Your objectives restated, and the criteria for choosing Singapore or Hong Kong For: objective still open
    • Subsidiary directly under your European company, or an intermediate holding For: owned by a European company
    • Holding layer in Singapore or Hong Kong above the operating company For: a regional holding or owned by individuals
    • Which entity signs customer contracts and issues invoices For: a sales or service entity
    • Which entity buys from suppliers, which resells, and where stock sits For: sourcing or trading
    • Singapore as the base for customers across Southeast Asia For: customers in Southeast Asia
    • A Hong Kong company, a mainland entity, or both, for customers in China For: customers in mainland China
    • Where IP and global customer contracts sit For: customers worldwide
  2. 2

    Investor readiness: cap table and shareholders’ agreement

    For: investors on the cap table
    • Share classes and the cap table after the move
    • Where investors buy shares: the holding or the operating company
    • Shareholders’ agreement and investor rights, for review by a licensed lawyer
  3. 3

    Operating requirements: directors, secretary, audit, banking, visas, substance

    • Directors and company secretary, and who can hold each role
    • Statutory audit, or whether an audit exemption is available
    • Bank account: what the bank will ask to see
    • Resident director in Singapore: a nominee at S$2,000 a year if no one lives there For: no one relocating
    • Substance in the subsidiary: people, premises and decisions taken locally For: owned by a European company or a regional holding
    • Import, export and customs set-up to raise with your forwarder For: sourcing or trading
  4. 4

    Relocation plan for the founder or team

    For: a founder moving to Asia or a planned relocation
    • Employment Pass and Dependant’s Pass: which entity sponsors, and when
    • Timing of the move against the company set-up
    • Handing the resident-director role from a nominee to the relocating founder
  5. 5

    Cost framework for setup and the first two years

    • One-off incorporation fee, with government fees billed at cost
    • Yearly compliance package for each entity
    • Running costs of the holding and the operating company, side by side For: a regional holding
    • Legal review of the shareholders’ agreement, quoted separately by the lawyer For: investors on the cap table
  6. 6

    List of questions for a licensed tax or legal adviser, with why each matters

  7. 7

    Next steps and timeline

    • What to sign first, and in which order
    • Timeline to your first lease, hire or closing
7 sections · 9 adviser questions

Where we stop

Questions for your tax or legal adviser

Innaltis provides consulting and corporate services, not legal or tax advice. Where your situation needs a formal opinion, we name the question and refer you to a licensed adviser. Your summary lists each question and why it matters to you, so your adviser can start straight away.

Two people going through a printed summary at a meeting table, only hands and papers in view

  1. Home-country controlled foreign company (CFC) rules

    Your home country may tax the Asian company’s profits in the hands of its parent, or of the people who control it, when those profits are taxed at a lower rate abroad. EU member states must apply CFC rules to companies under the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive; some countries apply similar rules to individuals. Whether they bite depends on substance and on the type of income.

  2. Permanent establishment

    If people in Europe negotiate or sign contracts for the Asian company, or a team in Asia works for the European one, a taxable presence can arise where those people are, whatever the company papers say.

  3. Transfer pricing documentation thresholds

    Prices between your companies must match what independent parties would agree. Singapore requires transfer pricing documentation when gross revenue exceeds S$10 million. Hong Kong requires a master file and a local file unless the entity meets two of three size tests (revenue up to HK$400 million, assets up to HK$300 million, up to 100 employees) or its intra-group transactions stay under set thresholds. Below those lines the prices must still be arm’s length.

  4. Withholding tax on dividends, interest and royalties

    Cash that moves between countries can be taxed on the way out. Singapore does not withhold tax on dividends, but applies 15% to interest and 10% to royalties paid to non-residents, before any treaty reduction. Hong Kong has no withholding tax on dividends or interest; royalties paid to non-residents are taxed through the payer. What the receiving country then charges is a question for your adviser.

  5. Exit tax

    Moving tax residence, or moving assets such as IP out of a European company, can trigger tax on gains that have not been realised. EU rules require exit taxation for companies, and several European countries also apply it to individuals who leave.

  6. Personal tax residency of a relocating founder

    A founder who moves to Asia does not automatically stop being tax resident at home. Days spent, the family home and where the centre of interests sits all count, and the answer decides where salary and dividends are taxed.

  7. VAT and GST on cross-border services

    Services sold across borders may carry VAT or GST in the customer’s country. Singapore requires GST registration once taxable turnover exceeds S$1 million, and the rate is 9%; Hong Kong has no VAT or GST. Your European VAT position on services bought from, or sold to, Asia still has to be checked.

  8. Selling into mainland China

    A Hong Kong company with mainland customers can raise mainland tax and licensing questions. Whether you need a mainland entity, and how the double taxation arrangement between Hong Kong and the mainland applies, needs a mainland-qualified adviser.

  9. Shareholders’ agreement and investor protections

    Investor rights, vesting, leaver clauses and share classes are legal drafting. We prepare the structure and the term outline; a licensed lawyer reviews before anyone signs.

The team

Who you will work with

Innaltis is run by its founders, who come from corporate consulting and business law. You deal with them directly, from the first call to the written summary. Structuring questions are part of the job, never a surprise invoice. Regulated filings are executed by licensed firms we appoint and supervise, each named in your engagement letter. We introduce the team by name at launch.

  • Substance before slogans

    We do not sell zero tax. We build structures that stand up to an auditor, an investor and a tax authority.

  • Singapore and Hong Kong, one team

    One team for both places, including moving from one to the other if your business changes.

  • Our prices are published

    You know the hourly rate and the consultation price before the first call.

  • During your morning

    Our team is in Asia and answers during the European morning.

How we work

  1. Scope

    A 30-minute call on your owners, activity, target market and timeline. We then agree the agenda and the price in writing.

  2. Structure

    We write up the structure: entities, ownership, directors, substance and the questions that need a specialist tax or legal opinion.

  3. Set up

    Once we open: incorporation, company secretary, registered address and resident director where required, executed by licensed firms we appoint and supervise.

  4. Run

    Bookkeeping, accounts, tax, annual return and meetings tracked in Atlas and reviewed by people, with a reminder before every deadline.

Book

Book a structuring consultation

Start with the free introductory call (30 minutes). Tell us who you are and what you are deciding, and give two slots that suit you.

We confirm one of your slots by email, in your timezone.

Your agenda

No agenda yet. We can agree it on the call.

    Your role
    Company size
    Main expansion objective
    When do you need the structure in place?

    We reply within one business day. No payment and no commitment: this request only starts a conversation. We never share your data, and you can ask us to delete it at any time.

    Before you book

    Is this legal or tax advice?

    No. Innaltis provides consulting and corporate services, not legal or tax advice. Where your situation needs a formal opinion, we name the question and refer you to a licensed adviser. The written summary names each of those questions and why it matters, so the adviser you choose can answer it quickly.

    Do you work with our existing accountant or lawyer?

    Yes. Invite them to the session, and we write the summary so they can pick it up. If your situation needs a tax adviser you do not have yet, we can introduce partner tax advisers.

    Which languages do you work in, and when?

    English, French and Vietnamese. Our team is in Asia and answers during the European morning. Official documents in Singapore and Hong Kong are in English, and we explain them in your language.

    What happens after the consultation?

    You receive the written summary within three business days, and then you decide. There is no obligation to go further. Follow-up work is S$220 an hour in Singapore or HK$2,500 in Hong Kong, with the hours agreed in writing first.

    Can you also set the company up?

    Not yet. Incorporation and ongoing compliance open in Q1 2027. Registering now reserves your founding-client terms. Nothing is filed and nothing is charged before then. The structuring summary is written so that any licensed provider, or Innaltis once it opens, can execute it. Our guides to Singapore company formation and Hong Kong company formation set out what each one requires.

    How do you choose between Singapore and Hong Kong?

    It depends on your customers, your supply chain, your fundraising plans and your tax position in Europe. Southeast Asian customers usually point one way, mainland Chinese customers and suppliers the other, and the home-country rules can override both. That choice is the first part of the consultation. You can read the Hong Kong vs Singapore comparison before the call.

    Do you promise lower tax?

    We do not promise lower tax. We set up structures that stand up to investor due diligence and to tax authorities. If someone promises you zero tax, ask them where the substance is.

    What should we prepare?

    The current ownership of your European company, the decision you are facing (a lease, a hire, a contract, a round) and its date, and any advice you have already received. A one-page organisation chart is enough; we build the rest in the questionnaire.

    References
    1. IRAS, Transfer pricing
    2. IRAS, Types of payment and withholding tax rates
    3. IRAS, Payments that are not subject to withholding tax
    4. IRAS, Corporate income tax rates
    5. IRAS, Do I need to register for GST?
    6. IRAS, Goods and Services Tax: what it is and how it works
    7. ACRA, Appointing company directors and other key officers
    8. ACRA, Audit exemptions
    9. Companies Registry, Directors and company secretary of a local company
    10. IRD, Profits tax
    11. IRD, Transfer pricing
    12. IRD, Profits tax returns
    13. Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, Prevailing tax policy
    14. European Commission, Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive

    Information current as of 31 October 2026. It is general and not tax or legal advice.

    Settle the structure before the first signature

    The introductory call is free and takes 30 minutes. You will know whether a structuring consultation is worth your time before you pay for anything.

    Book a structuring consultation

    We reply within one business day. No payment and no commitment: this request only starts a conversation. We never share your data, and you can ask us to delete it at any time.

    Incorporation and ongoing compliance open in Q1 2027. Registering now reserves your founding-client terms. Nothing is filed and nothing is charged before then.

    Opening Q1 2027 Book a structuring consultation