Requirement to maintain a Register of Nominee Shareholders under the Companies Act comes into effect
October 2022
Companies (including foreign companies) are required to maintain a Register of Nominee Shareholders at their registered office or at the registered office of their appointed registered filing agent by 5 December 2022. ACRA has also issued guidance for companies which can be found at https://www.acra.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/compliance/register-of-controllers/acra-guidance-on-register-of-nominee-shareholders-for-companies-(v1-0)-(4-oct).pdf
A nominee of a shareholder must inform the company of that fact within 30 days (if the company is incorporated after 4 October 2022) or 60 days (if the company is incorporated before 4 October 2022) after incorporation or becoming a nominee, and providing the company with the following information about his nominator for inclusion in the Register of Nominee Shareholders:
For nominators who are individuals, the full name; aliases, if any; residential address; nationality; identity card number or passport number; date of birth; and date on which the shareholder became the individual’s nominee.
For nominators which are legal entities, the name; unique entity number issued by the Registrar, if any; address of registered office; legal form of the legal entity; jurisdiction where, and statute under which, the legal entity is formed or incorporated; name of corporate entity register of the jurisdiction where the legal entity is formed or incorporated, if applicable; identification number or registration number of the legal entity on the corporate entity register of the jurisdiction where the legal entity is formed or incorporated, if applicable; and date on which the shareholder became the legal entity’s nominee.
A nominee must inform the company of any change in the information contained in the register, or cessation of the person as a nominee, within 30 days of such change or cessation.
A company must update the register within 7 days of receipt of any information from a nominee. The register may be in electronic or hard copy.
Companies must not disclose or make available for inspection the register or any particulars contained in the register to any member of the public. Auditors are also not entitled to have access to the register.
Companies must make available their registers of nominee shareholders, the information contained in the registers, and any document relating to the registers and the keeping of the registers to officers of ACRA and other public agencies.