Companies (Identical Names) Regulations 2015

Status:

Current version
as at 18 Dec 2024

No. S 837

Companies Act

(CHAPTER 50)

Companies (Identical Names)
Regulations 2015

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 411(1)(ee) of the Companies Act, the Minister for Finance makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Companies (Identical Names) Regulations 2015 and come into operation on 3 January 2016.

Identical names

2.—(1) This regulation sets out the rules for determining whether a name is identical to —

(a)	the name of any other company, limited liability partnership, limited partnership or corporation or to any registered business name, referred to in section 27(1)(b) of the Act;
(b)	a name reserved under any of the provisions referred to in section 27(1)(c) of the Act;
(c)	any name of a company, business name, name of a foreign company, name of a limited liability partnership or name of a limited partnership, referred to in section 27(1A) of the Act; and
(d)	any name of a foreign company, or name of a limited partnership, referred to in section 27(1B) of the Act.

(2) Subject to paragraph (4), the following are to be disregarded:

(a)

“The”, where it is the first word of a name;

(b)

the following words where they appear at the end of a name:

(i)	“Berhad” or “Bhd”;
(ii)	“Limited” or “Ltd”;
(iii)	“Limited Liability Partnership” or “LLP”;
(iv)	“Limited Partnership” or “LP”;
(v)	“Private” or “Pte”;
(vi)	“Public Accounting Corporation” or “PAC”;
(vii)	“Sendirian” or “Sdn”;

(c)

the following words or expressions where they appear at the end of a name:

(i)	“Asia”;
(ii)	“Asia Pacific”;
(iii)	“Associates”;
(iv)	“company” or “and company”;
(v)	“corporation”;
(vi)	“Group”;
(vii)	“Holding” or “Holdings”;
(viii)	“Incorporated”;
(ix)	“International”;
(x)	“Partner” or “Partners”;
(xi)	“Partnership” or “Partnerships”;
(xii)	“Singapore”;
(xiii)	“South Asia”;
(xiv)	“South East Asia”;
(xv)	“Trading”;
(xvi)	“Worldwide”;
(xvii)	“.co”;
(xviii)	“.com”;
(xix)	“.edu”;
(xx)	“.gov”;
(xxi)	“.net”;
(xxii)	“.org”;
(xxiii)	“.sg”;

(d)

any word or expression which, in the opinion of the Registrar, is intended to represent any word or expression in —

(i)	sub‑paragraph (a) or (b); or
(ii)	sub‑paragraph (c);

(e)

the plural version of any name;

(f)

the type and case of letters, accents, spacing between letters, brackets, parentheses and punctuation marks.

(3) The symbol “&” is to be treated as having the same meaning as the word “and”.

(4) Paragraph (2)(c) and (d)(ii) does not apply if the relevant corporation —

(a)	will be related within the meaning of section 6 of the Act to the proposed company to be registered under a proposed name; or
(b)	is related within the meaning of section 6 of the Act to the company applying to change its name to a proposed name.

(5) In paragraph (4), “relevant corporation” means a corporation carrying on business or operating under a name which would be identical to a proposed name of a company after the application of the rules set out in paragraphs (2) and (3).

Revocation

3. The Companies (Identical Names) Rules (R 3) are revoked.

Made on 21 December 2015.

LIM SOO HOON

Permanent Secretary
(Finance) (Performance),
Ministry of Finance,
Singapore.

[F14.1.43; AG/LEGIS/SL/50/2015/8 Vol. 1]

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