The Dark Side of Resident Nominee Directors: Don’t Let Your Company Be Held Ransom 本地提名董事的隐患：别让您的公司在不知情中被挟持

One of the key requirements for a Singapore-incorporated company is that at least one of its directors must be a local resident in Singapore (“Local Resident Director Requirement”). To facilitate compliance and provide convenience for clients, various corporate service providers (“CSPs”) in Singapore (i.e., firms that assist with company incorporation in Singapore) offer resident nominee director services (“Local Resident Nominee Director Services”). Under this service, a staff member, officer or an affiliate of the CSP is appointed as the local resident nominee director (the “Local Resident Nominee Director”) of the Singapore company to satisfy the Local Resident Director Requirement.
新加坡注册公司的一个关键要求是，新加坡公司至少必须有一名董事为新加坡本地居民（简称“本地居民董事要求”）。为协助客户遵守该要求并提供便利，新加坡的企业服务提供商（简称“CSP”，指提供公司注册及相关服务的机构）提供本地提名董事的服务（简称“本地提名董事服务”）。根据该服务，CSP 的员工、管理人员或关联方人士将被委任为新加坡公司的本地提名董事（简称“本地提名董事”），以满足本地居民董事要求。

When incorporating a company in Singapore, a client should carefully consider the number of directors to be appointed for that company. In particular, if a client engages a CSP to provide Local Resident Nominee Director Services, the client must ensure that, in addition to the Local Resident Nominee Director, there are at least two additional individuals affiliated with the client who are also appointed as directors. We elaborate below.
在新加坡注册公司时，客户应审慎考虑应公司董事会的具体人数。尤其当客户聘请 CSP 提供本地提名董事服务时，客户必须确保除了那位本地提名董事外，至少另有两名与客户有关联的个人被委任为董事。具体说明如下。

Generally, the day-to-day business of a Singapore company is to be managed by, or under the direction or supervision of, its directors (Section 157A(1) of the Companies Act 1967 of Singapore (the “Companies Act”)), and the directors may exercise all the powers of a company except those which the Companies Act, or the constitution of the Singapore company, reserves for its shareholders (Section 157A(2) of the Companies Act).
一般而言，新加坡公司的日常业务应由董事会管理，或在董事会的指导或监督下进行（新加坡《公司法》（1967 年修订版）（简称“《新加坡公司法》”）第157A(1)条）。董事可行使公司的一切权力 除了《新加坡公司法》或公司章程特别保留给股东的权力除外（《新加坡公司法》第157A(2)条）。

For board decisions, one important principle that clients need to be aware of is the principle of majority rule. The constitutions of many Singapore-incorporated companies specifically state that questions before a meeting of directors must be decided by a majority of votes.
对于董事会决议，客户需注意的一项重要原则是“多数决原则”。许多新加坡注册公司的章程明确规定，董事会会议上提交的议题须以简单多数决。

Considering the above, if there are only two directors on the board of the client’s company (comprising one director who is an affiliate of the client, and the other being the Local Resident Nominee Director (who is typically a staff member, officer or an affiliate of the CSP that is appointed to satisfy the Local Resident Director Requirement), there is a real risk that no decision could be made by the board without the active approval from the said Local Resident Nominee Director. In such a case, if the Local Resident Nominee Director refuses to cooperate or be involved in the company’s decisions (e.g., in cases of disagreement between the client and the CSP (e.g., over fees)), a deadlock would be created since no “majority” is formed. As a result, the client could be effectively held ransom by the CSP.
综上所述，若客户公司的董事会仅有两名董事（其中一名为客户的关联方，另一名为本地提名董事——通常为被委任以满足本地居民董事要求的 CSP 的员工、管理人员或关联方人士），则存在董事会在未经该本地提名董事积极同意的情况下无法作出任何决议的实际操作风险。在这种仅仅只有两名董事的情况下，若本地提名董事拒绝配合或参与公司的决策（例如在客户与 CSP 之间存在费用分歧时），可能导致僵局的产生，因为无法形成“多数票”。因此，客户可能实际上会被 CSP 掌控或受制于其意愿。

To mitigate against such risks, it is important for a client to be mindful of the following, among other things:
为防范此类风险，客户应注意包括但不限于以下事项：

• A client should only engage Singapore CSPs who are officially registered with the relevant authority (i.e., the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority) as a “Corporate Service Provider” for company incorporation and other related services (please see our article on the Corporate Service Providers Act 2024 for further information at: https://www.silkconnections.sg/updates/client-update-corporate-service-providers-act-2024/) ;
  应聘请已在相关主管机关（即新加坡会计与企业监管局，Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority）正式注册为提供公司注册及其他相关服务的新加坡持牌“企业服务提供商”（Corporate Service Provider）（有关详细信息，请参阅我们关于《企业服务提供商法 2024》的文章：https://www.silkconnections.sg/updates/client-update-corporate-service-providers-act-2024/）
• If a client engages a CSP for Local Resident Nominee Director Services, the client must ensure that at least two additional directors, who are affiliated with the client, are appointed. This prevents the Local Resident Nominee Director from creating a deadlock at the board decision-making level.
  若客户聘请 CSP 提供本地提名董事服务，客户必须确保至少另有两名与客户有直接联系的董事被委任以形成董事会存在至少3位董事的局面。此举可防止因本地提名董事的消极不作为而造成董事会决策层的僵局。