Doing business in Singapore for clients from Malaysia

Next door, and soon closer

A Malaysian company may split production in Johor from finance and management in Singapore, and the RTS Link will add a rail crossing. It is not yet open, and passenger service is expected in February 2027. The law will feel familiar. Singapore’s Companies Act traces its ancestry through the Malaysian Companies Act 1965, and the colonial codes left the two countries with case law that still informs each other. Crypto-asset firms should compare the Securities Commission’s 2019 order with Singapore’s licensing rules.

Tax treaty and trade agreements

Singapore and Malaysia have a comprehensive double taxation agreement, modified by the Multilateral Instrument, in a text dated 1 June 2021. Both belong to the ASEAN trade agreement (ATIGA, in force 2010) and the CPTPP, which has been in force for its first group since 30 December 2018. RCEP has applied to Malaysia since March 2022.

Below you will find the articles written for clients from Malaysia as they are published, followed by the sections of the book Singapore as an International Financial Centre. Your own lawyers advise you on the law of Malaysia.