Singapore Business Federation Act 2001

The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) Act was passed by Parliament and became law on 5 Oct 2001. SBF was established on 1 April 2002 as the apex business chamber to champion the interests of the Singapore business community in the areas of domestic and international trade, investment, and industrial relations.

Under the Act, all Singapore-registered companies with paid up capital or authorised share capital of S$0.5 million and above will be SBF statutory members.

SBF organises member-only activities, such as briefings on Government policies and changes, seminars, dialogues, surveys, overseas business missions, networking, and business matching sessions with incoming delegations. We encourage businesses to actively participate in the activities organised by SBF. You may find out more about the activities here.

All companies with a paid up capital of S$0.5 million or more are statutory members of the SBF. Smaller companies with paid capital of less than S$0.5 million may still join as Associate members. For fees and payment details, please refer to the SBF website.

SBF membership is compulsory for all Singapore-registered companies with paid-up capital or authorised share capital of S$0.5 million and above. This ensures that SBF has a strong membership base and the support of the business community. The Government has ensured that this requirement will not be difficult on our companies, and have exempted small companies (with a paid-up capital of less than S$0.5 million) and sole proprietorships from the compulsory SBF membership. For details about membership exemption, please refer to the SBF website.

Compulsory membership of business chambers is not without precedence. For example, in France and Germany, Chambers of Commerce have legislative rights to collect fees from businesses; in return, the collected funds help the chambers establish and operate facilities that will further the interests of trade and industry and benefit them.

There is a good correlation between paid-up share capital, profits and employment size. In general, companies with larger paid-up capital usually have higher profits and employ more workers. It is therefore a good estimation of company size. 

Additionally, using paid-up capital provides greater stability for SBF's membership base, as companies' profits may vary. Profit figures are also confidential for non-public companies. Companies' paid-up capital, however, tend to remain steady despite business conditions. Employment figures, while more stable than profits, are difficult to track.

SBF needs adequate resources to be effective. These resources come from membership fees from business associations and chambers, fees collected through companies’ subscriptions, as well as revenue from other activities. SBF has tiers of fees based on a company's paid-up capital/authorised share capital. As prescribed by the Act, changes to SBF’s membership fees must be approved by the Minister for Trade and Industry.

As the apex business chamber in Singapore, SBF addresses major business concerns, including trade and investment, labour management, and wages. Larger companies tend to have higher stakes in these aspects as they employ more workers, export a greater value of goods, and would most likely have overseas assets. Smaller businesses and sole proprietorships in Singapore are primarily represented through the ethnic chambers or their trade-related associations. Smaller businesses and sole proprietorships may also join the SBF as Associate Members, if they wish.