Instrument and purpose-specific definitions
Made on 22 June 2015, gazetted on 23 June and effective 1 July, the Second Amendment replaces regulations 89/89A and adds 89B to Rg 1. The secretary provision implements section 171(1AA)(b); the public-interest definition is expressly for section 205AA(4); the inactivity indicators are for section 344(1A). This historical definition should not be transplanted to every other legal use of public interest.
Seven alternative secretary routes
A public-company secretary satisfies any one of these routes: company-secretary service for at least three of the immediately preceding five years; qualified person under the Legal Profession Act; public accountant; ISCA membership; membership of the Singapore Association of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators; Association of International Accountants (Singapore Branch) membership; or Institute of Company Accountants, Singapore membership. These are alternatives, not seven cumulative requirements, and retain the original organisation names.
Three public-interest categories
The definition includes a company listed or issuing debt/equity for trading on an exchange outside Singapore; a relevant financial institution; or a charitable company/institution of public character under the Charities Act with gross annual receipts of at least S$10 million in each of the immediately preceding two financial years. The charity threshold applies to both consecutive years, not their combined total.
Financial institutions: banking, advice and payment categories
The first nine categories are a licensed bank; licensed finance company; financial-adviser licence holder; registered insurance broker; licensed insurer; MAS Act section 28 approved institution; remittance-license holder under the then Money-changing and Remittance Businesses Act; operator of a designated payment system under section 7 of the then Payment Systems (Oversight) Act; and approved holder of a widely accepted stored-value facility under that Act section 2(1). Historical payment statutes and licences are retained, not replaced by newer classifications.
Financial institutions: market and trust categories
The remaining ten are licensed trade repository; approved exchange under Securities and Futures Act 8(1); recognised market operator under 8(2); approved clearing house under 51(1)(a); recognised clearing house under 51(1)(b) or (2); approved holding company under 81W; capital-markets-services licensee under 86; public company approved as collective-investment-scheme trustee under 289; Registered Fund Management Company under regulation 2 of the licensing/conduct regulations; and licensed trust company under Trust Companies Act 2. All nineteen categories appear in the source.
Six indicators of non-operation
The Registrar may consider failure to file annual returns; no required response to registered-post correspondence; mail returned undelivered from the registered office; credible information of non-operation; no locally resident director located/contacted despite reasonable efforts; or the registered sole/last remaining director being dead or disqualified. They are circumstances informing reasonable belief, not a statement that any isolated indicator automatically completes striking off.
Official source
This article independently explains the substantive contents of the official PDF, including the relevant conditions, procedures and annexes. The linked document remains the authoritative source for its original wording, and later changes should be checked separately.
Read the official PDF ↗