SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: David He, Benjamin Teo, Kinnari Sahita and Binh Vong, Gunderson Dettmer Singapore LLP
Programmes for facilitating expansion Enterprise Singapore is spearheading the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) comprised of Singa - pore and overseas partners in the technology and innovation space. As part of the GIA, start- ups may access: • acceleration programmes for facilitating entry into overseas markets; and • co-innovation programmes for collaborating on research and development with foreign partners. Exit on Singapore Exchange (SGX) Later-stage start-ups seeking exits may find support from SGX’s Strategic Partnership Mod - el, whereby SGX, Singapore’s national stock exchange, charts a bespoke framework for companies moving towards an IPO on SGX. This includes leveraging SGX’s network of investors to: • supplement and strengthen a company’s existing shareholder base; • provide support during the IPO process; and • drive growth post-IPO. The Singapore government further provides sup - port for later-stage start-ups seeking to list on the SGX through growth equity investments via Anchor Fund @ 65 (a co-investment fund with Temasek) and EDBI’s Growth IPO Fund. These funds also assist their portfolio companies with the listing requirements for an IPO on the SGX.
pore private limited companies to their investors are not taxable. 4.3 Government Endorsement See 4.1 Subsidy Programmes . Government Initiatives Institutions such as SGInnovate (a private organ - isation wholly owned by the government) and EDBI (the corporate VC arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB)) have funds available for supporting Singapore-based start- ups and start-ups with a Singapore nexus. SGIn - novate focuses on developing human capital in the Singapore deep tech ecosystem, by con - ducting talent programmes and facilitating the sourcing and hiring of deep tech talent through “Deep Tech Central” platform. In addition, the Ministry of Trade and Industry established the Action Community for Entrepreneurship, which is committed to helping local start-ups fine-tune their business proposals and participate in a suite of incubator and mentorship programmes. Relocating to Singapore In 2023, EDB launched the Global Investor Pro - gramme (GIP), which accords Singapore perma - nent resident status to eligible global investors seeking to relocate and deploy their investments from Singapore. Investors may qualify by dem - onstrating an investment of at least SGD10 mil - lion in a new business entity or in the expansion of an existing business operating in Singapore, by investing SGD25 million in “GIP-select” fund that invests in Singapore-based companies, or by establishing a Singapore-based single fam - ily office with assets under management of at least SGD200 million (a minimum of SGD50 million must be transferred into Singapore and deployed in EDB-specified investments).
5. Employment Incentives 5.1 General
Incentivising Founders and Key Employees Founder equity is issued at incorporation, and investors generally expect such equity to be
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