Capital Reduction

Reduction Of Share Capital In Singapore

 

Definition of Share Capital (What is Share Capital?)

Share capital refers to the amount shareholders invest in a company for it to carry out its operations. Share capital may be altered or increased, subject to certain conditions.

How to reduce the Share Capital of your Company in Singapore

There are 2 types of share capital that can be reduced:
Paid-up share capital	Paid-up share capital consists of shares which value has been fully paid for by the shareholder.
Unpaid share capital	Unpaid share capital consists of shares which value have been partly paid, or not paid at all. The shareholder retains the liability to pay the unpaid value at a later date.

 

Ways to reduce your company’s share capital under Act

Three of these are mentioned in the Companies Act	Extinguishing or reducing a member’s liability to pay the amount of unpaid capital on his shares;
	Cancelling any paid-up capital which is lost or unrepresented by assets;
	Returning to shareholders any paid-up capital which is in excess of the needs of the company

 

Ways to reduce your company’s share capital (Not expressly mentioned under Act)

The following actions also amount to a reduction of share capital, although these are not expressly mentioned in the Companies Act as being methods of reducing share capital:

The ways to reduce capital which are not expressly mentioned in the Act	Selling the company’s capital assets and dividing the proceeds among members;
	Surrender of shares to the company;
	Refunding monies subscribed for shares to shareholders; or
	Any other method of reduction

 

Necessities to reduce your Company’s Share Capital

There are multiple reasons why a company might want to reduce its share capital:

Common reasons for reduction of share capital	A company may simply wish to return surplus capital to shareholders which is no longer required.
	A company which does not have distributable profits may be keen to reduce its capital if it cannot afford to pay any future dividends.
	A company may also conduct a capital reduction in order to reorganise, simplify and improve its capital structure. Changing a company’s capital structure may allow a company to engage in greater debt financing, which in turn increases leverage and potentially the company’s growth rate.
	Reducing share capital helps ensure the sufficiency of distributable funds to maintain sustainable dividend payments. This is because where there are less shares, less dividends are expected to be declared generally.

 

Procedure to reduce your Company’s Share Capital

At current, there are only two (2) methods to obtain approval in order to reduce share capital:

• The court-approved method; and
• Non-court approved method

Procedure to reduce your Company’s Share Capital
Method	Procedures
1) Reducing capital with the approval of the court	For a successful court-approved capital reduction, the following actions are required: A special resolution for the reduction must be passed; and The reduction must be confirmed by the court The company must send ACRA a notice stating that the special resolution has been passed. Before the court approves the resolution, it must be satisfied that each qualifying creditor has either consented to the reduction or assured the court that his debt is secured or safeguarded. This is because where a company proposes to reduce its share capital, the court must ensure that its creditors are not adversely affected by such reduction. A qualifying creditor is a creditor whose debt or claim would be admissible in proof, if the company were to hypothetically commence winding up on a certain date fixed by the court. Once the court has approved the reduction, the company, must lodge with ACRA a copy of the approving court order and a notice containing the reduction information within 90 days of the approval. The company is then permitted by ACRA to edit its shareholdings according to the approved capital reduction. The capital reduction will be effective only when ACRA records the information duly lodged with it.
2) Reducing capital without the approval of the court	For a successful non-court approved capital reduction, the following steps need to be carried out: A shareholders’ special resolution must be passed; The board of directors makes a solvency statement (if required to do so); and The company must comply with the publicity requirements.

Solvency Statement

• The solvency statement verifies that the company is presently able to repay its debts in the next 12 months, even if it commences winding up, and that the value of its assets is not less than the value of its liabilities.
• The directors must exercise due diligence and properly consider the company’s financial position when preparing the solvency statement. Any director who provides a solvency statement without having adequate justification for the statements expressed in it may be subject to criminal liability.
• The solvency statement can be made 20 days before the date of passing of the special resolution for reducing share capital at the earliest.
• However, a solvency statement is not required where the reduction of share capital does not involve a reduction or distribution of assets by the company, or a release of any liability owed to the company.

Requirements of Publicity

• The special resolution and the solvency statement (if any) must be publicly available for inspection.
• To satisfy the publicity requirements, the company must lodge with ACRA, within 8 days beginning with the resolution date:
  • A notice containing the text of the special resolution for reducing share capital;
  • The resolution date; and
  • The reduction information
• The company may also publish a notice on the reduction in a Singapore daily newspaper.
• If the capital reduction is successful, the information lodged will be made available for inspection for up to 1 month after the reduction.

 

Opportunity for Creditors to Object to the Capital Reduction

Creditors may apply to court to challenge the company’s application for a non-court approved capital reduction within 6 weeks of the resolution date.

Cancellation of capital reduction

The court will cancel a capital reduction order if:

• Any applicant creditor’s debt or claim is outstanding, and it has not been secured or safeguarded; and
• It is necessary to secure or safeguard these debts or claims in view of the company’s remaining assets after the reduction

With any creditor objections present:

As soon as possible, the company must give notice to ACRA of the creditor objection(s); The creditor objection(s) must be dismissed by the court; and The company must, within 15 days from the date of dismissal of the last creditor objection, lodge a solvency statement, a statement from the directors that all creditor objection(s) have been dismissed, the court order(s) dismissing the objection(s), and a notice containing the reduction information.

Without any creditor objections present:

If there are no creditor objections, the company must submit the following documents with ACRA within 8 weeks of the resolution date: The special resolution, Solvency Statement, Director’s declaration and Notice containing the reduction information.

 

Effect of capital reduction

The capital reduction will only take effect when ACRA has recorded the reduction information in the register.

Comparison of court-approved vs non-court-approved capital reduction method

• The choice between a court-approved or non-court-approved capital reduction method is for the company to make.
• Generally, the court-approved method is preferred by companies due to its finality. Once the capital reduction is approved by the court, it becomes more difficult for creditors to challenge such a decision on the basis of unfairness.
• Furthermore, as previously mentioned, there would be less potential liability on the part of the board of directors, as there is no need to prepare a solvency statement.
• The non-court approved method is simpler, faster, and requires no payment of fees to the court.

 

Click here to learn from our Article about Reduction Of Capital To Increase The Cash Flow

With the above link you can learn in details about:

• What are your options to reduce share capital? 
• Reducing capital with approval of the court?
• Reducing capital without the need for court approval?
• Is it a better way to reduce the Capital to solve the cash flow issue?
• How capital reduction would help increase the cash flow or fix up the cash flow problem?
• How capital reduction would help increase the cash flow or fix up the cash flow problem?
• What would happen after reduction of capital?
• Should the company have sufficient monies to return the shareholders after capital reduction?
• How can we help you?

 

Seeking professional service provider for reduction of share capital in Singapore

Where your Private Limited Company is intending to go ahead with reduction of share capital for whatever the reasons, ACHI BIZ could assist you to make it in adherence with compliance in Singapore. Hence, many shareholders and directors in private companies prefer to engage a Corporate Service Provider (CSP) like ACHI BIZ to assist with reduction of share capital and for various other matters which may arise in the course of the transaction.

Please refer to SERVICES if you wish to proceed or CONTACT us for more information.