Volume 3, I ssue 6. June 2014.

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CONNECTThe Employment Issue

© 2014 Rikvin Pte Ltd | www.rikvin.com2 | RikvinCONNECT June 2014

F O R E W O R DThe first half of the year has passed and it is time to take stock. “

RIKVIN PTE LTD20 Cecil Street, #14-01 Equity PlazaSingapore 049705

Phone: (+65) 6320 1888Fax: (+65) 6438 2436Email: info@rikvin.comWebsite: www.rikvin.com

We’ve Launched A New Services Site

Singapore to Comply with FATCA, Sign Model 1 IGA in H2 2014

6 Things You Should Know about the Jobs Bank

What Happened to the Employment Pass Categories?

Hiring Outlook for Q3 2014 Looking Good: Survey

8 Steps to Working in Singapore

Have you read our blogs on Singapore Business Review?

Pros and cons of doing business in Singapore

IN THIS ISSUE

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04

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06

07

08

09

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RIKVIN SERVICES

• CompanyRegistration• Singapore Work Visas• Business Services• AccountingServices• OffshoreCompanySetup

Two major developments in the coming months will affect your business - FATCA and the Jobs Bank. For better or worse, FATCA will affect financial institutions as well as entrepreneurs or investors from the US with bank accounts in Singapore. The Jobs Bank too will compel many companies in Singapore to be more transparent about their hiring procedures. Compliance with both is required.

It is clear that Singapore is not going to back pedal and is willing to accept slower growth and keep its foreign workers to a third of its total workforce. As DPM Tharman told Reuters early this month, companies must adjust and find more productive ways of working. Furthermore, giving them some respite will delay the long term transition.

Adjustment is never easy, but resistance is futile.

Compliance with both may benefit not just Singapore, but your company or the company you work for. It remains to be seen how everything will pan out, but at the end of the day, every business wants the right talent (at a reasonable price) and reliable partners (who won’t burn them).

If we focus on the bigger picture, then maybe these ‘pills’ won’t be so hard to swallow.

Yours sincerely,

Christine Lim General Manager, Rikvin

© 2014 Rikvin Pte Ltd | www.rikvin.com3 | RikvinCONNECT June 2014

We’ve Launched A New Services Site

We’ve launched a new and simplified website, specifically to provide Singapore

company registration services as well as other post-incorporation services and tools.

Instead of going through lengthy pages for information, you can now find the necessary

information within minutes. We hope the new website will be helpful to you.

Have a look at the new site! www.rikvin.com.sg

© 2014 Rikvin Pte Ltd | www.rikvin.com4 | RikvinCONNECT June 2014

Singapore to Comply with FATCA, Sign Model 1 IGA in H2 2014Last month, Singapore and the US have concluded discussions on a Model 1 IGA (Intergovernmental Agreement).

The IGA will help Singapore-based financial institutions (FIs) comply with Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act

(FATCA).

What is FATCA?

FATCA is a US law that targets US persons who use foreign accounts to evade complying with US tax laws. Hence,

FATCA affects all FIs worldwide. They are expected to regularly submit information to the US Internal Revenue

Service (IRS) regarding financial accounts held by US persons.

How does this affect Singapore financial institutions?

Under the Model 1 IGA, Singapore-based FIs will report this information to the Inland Revenue Authority of

Singapore (IRAS). Once they have done so, FIs would be deemed to have met their reporting obligations.

IRAS will in turn provide the information to the IRS. As such, the Model 1 IGA will help ease the compliance burden

on Singapore-based FIs. Failure to comply results in a 30% FATCA-related withholding tax on certain payments

made from the US to said FIs.

Further action

To ensure that Singapore based FIs will not face this withholding tax, they should register as a Foreign Financial

Institution within a Model 1 IGA jurisdiction at the FATCA Registration Portal by 31 December 2014. Upon

registration, they will then obtain a 19-character Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN) from the IRS.

The Singapore-US IGA is expected to be signed in the second half of 2014. Further guidance for FIs will be issued

by IRAS, MAS and MOF by then.

© 2014 Rikvin Pte Ltd | www.rikvin.com5 | RikvinCONNECT June 2014

6 Things You Should Know About the Jobs Bank

Following its announcement last September, MOM is on

track to fully roll out the Fair Consideration Framework

(FCF). Part of this includes the Jobs Bank and the

Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) has

started to invite companies to register with the portal

before 1st August.

While it is meant to help companies like yours source

for local candidates you never knew existed, it is also a

source of concern to some.

Why must companies be a part of it and is it fair to them?

Find out these and more in http://www.rikvin.com.sg/

blog/6-things-know-jobs-bank/

“MOM is on track to fully roll out the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF).”

© 2014 Rikvin Pte Ltd | www.rikvin.com6 | RikvinCONNECT June 2014

What Happened to the Employment Pass Categories?Have you noticed anything new on the Employment Pass (EP) page of the MOM website? We’re not sure why, but the categories for the EP are no longer there. In gist, to be eligible for an EP, you will need to have a job offer in Singapore, have acceptable qualifications, and earn at least S$3,300.

Successful applicants who earn S$4,000 or more a month enjoy Dependant’s Pass (DP) as well as Long Term Visit Pass (LTVP) benefits. However, even those benefits have changed.

In gist, these are the DP and LTVP benefits:

Monthly Salary Dependant’s Pass (DP) Long-Term Visit Pass (LTVP)

S$4000 - S$8000 • Legally married spouse• Unmarried children under 21

years old

• Common law spouse• Unmarried handicapped children

older than 21 years old • Unmarried step-children under 21

years oldS$8000 or more • Legally married spouse

• Unmarried children under 21 years old

• Common law spouse• Unmarried handicapped children

older than 21 years old • Unmarried step-children under 21

years old• Parents

What does this mean for you?

It remains to be seen how this will affect current EP holders. However, the latest form 4A on the ICA website shows that the Employment Pass category is still required to process a Permanent Resident application under the PTS (Professionals, Technical Personnel and Skilled Workers) Scheme.

In any case, the former EP category system may still be useful to help you gauge the market rate for different levels of professions.

Read the rest of the blog at http://www.rikvin.com.sg/blog/happened-employment-pass-categories/

© 2014 Rikvin Pte Ltd | www.rikvin.com7 | RikvinCONNECT June 2014

Driven by a positive business outlook for 2014, Singapore-based

companies have indicated strong hiring plans for Q3 2014. This is

according to the Employment Outlook Survey: Q3 2014 released

by the Manpower Group released this month.

700 employers across 7 industries were interviewed about hiring

prospects between July and September 2014. The industries

include 1) finance, insurance & real estate, 2) manufacturing, 3)

mining & construction, 4) public administration & education, 5)

services, 6) transportation & utilities and 7) wholesale trade &

retail trade.

According to the survey, 22% of the employers surveyed expect to

increase employment. 2% expect to cut their headcount and 60%

of employers said there will be no change in employment. 16%

responded that they don’t know.

Will Singapore maintain its position as a top destination for global

professionals?

Find out at http://www.rikvin.com.sg/press-releases/hiring-

outlook-singapore-remains-strong-q3-2014-rikvin/

“Driven by a positive business outlook for

2014, Singapore-based companies have indicated strong hiring

plans for Q3 2014.”

Hiring Outlook for Q3 2014 Looking Good: Survey

© 2014 Rikvin Pte Ltd | www.rikvin.com8 | RikvinCONNECT June 2014

8 Steps to Working in Singapore

Working in Singapore is an ambition for many professionals around the world. The city

is known to be Asia’s business epicentre and is home to thousands of multinational

corporations and a growing number of tech start-ups.

This blog will tell you the 8 steps towards realising this dream.

Read on at http://www.rikvin.com.sg/blog/8-steps-working-singapore/.

“Working in Singapore is an ambition for many professionals around the world.”

© 2014 Rikvin Pte Ltd | www.rikvin.com9 | RikvinCONNECT June 2014

Have you read our blogs on Singapore Business Review?

If you’re interested in applying for a PR or know someone who wants to work in

Singapore, please feel free to pass these links to them:

• 10 things to keep in mind for a successful Singapore Employment Pass application

• 10 biggest factors towards getting a Singapore PR status under the PTS scheme

© 2014 Rikvin Pte Ltd | www.rikvin.com10 | RikvinCONNECT June 2014

Pros and Cons of Doing Business in Singapore

Singapore has consistently appeared on the international news for the right

reasons. Topping tables and ranking high on international surveys and reports,

Singapore is often lauded as an entrepreneur’s paradise in Asia Pacific. Is Singapore

really such an utopia for businesses? There are always two sides to a coin, and

likewise, there are pros and cons to doing business in Singapore.

Examine what they are at http://www.rikvin.com.sg/blog/pros-and-cons-doing-

business-singapore/.

“Topping tables and ranking high on international surveys and reports, Singapore is often lauded as an entrepreneur’s paradise in Asia Pacific.”