New businesses established dip 0.8%

Good news 66% of these young firms are purely Singaporean-owned.

According to GuideMeSingapore.com's  Singapore Company Registration Statistics Report for Q2 2012,  a total of 14,481 business entities were formed in Singapore during Q2 2012. This was a slight decrease compared to the 14,596 during Q1 2012, but still an impressive number when considering that the fragile economic situation has effectively put the brakes on business growth in many parts of the world.

Here's more from GuideMeSingapore.com:

Among the various types of business entities formed in Q2, private limited company registrations comprised 56% showing an increase of 2% over the previous quarter. Sole proprietorship registrations on the other hand dipped to 35% showing a decrease of almost 5%. This could be due to the fact that entrepreneurial scene in Singapore is slowly maturing and more entrepreneurs are learning about the benefits of incorporating a private limited company over a sole proprietorship.

84% of the private limited companies registered during the second quarter of 2012 were of type exempt private limited companies (EPC). An EPCs is a company that is owned by individual shareholders (as opposed to corporate bodies) and has less than 20 shareholders. This number is not surprising because most new business ventures usually start with a small number of initial investors.

Another notable figure in the report is that a total of 66% of all new business formations in Singapore during Q2 2012 were 100% locally owned. The percentage, which showed no change from Q1 2012, affirms that local entrepreneurship climate in Singapore is alive and well and with no signs of slowing down regardless of the uncertain global outlook.

In terms of business formation by industry, wholesale trade and financial services dominated with 21% and 14%, respectively. The figures are an accurate representation of Singapore’s strengths. It is considered by the World Economic Forum as the ‘Country Most Open to International Trade’ due to factors such as its strategic location, open economy, transportation and communication infrastructure, which makes it an excellent location for setting up a wholesale trade business. At the same time, it is also popular as an international financial services hub due to its stable banking sector, low corporate taxes, and proximity to Asia’s big emerging markets.