1 Constructing and Maintaining a Business Register: Singapore’s Experience By Ong Lai Heng Singapore Department of Statistics International Workshop on Economic Census, Beijing, China, July 2005

2 Outline Background Overview of CEIS Uses of CEIS Coverage of Business Units Types of Statistical Units Definitions of Statistical Units Use of Central Registration Number Industrial Classification Data Items in CEIS Sources of Information Main Sources of Updates Quality Control Legal Authority Access to CEIS Challenges and Plans

3 Background of Business Register in Singapore Developed and Maintained by the Singapore Department of Statistics (SDOS). First set up in 1986, known as the Establishment Hub. Re-developed in 1996 as the Commercial Establishment Information System (CEIS).

4 Overview of CEIS Database maintained by SDOS with data from different data sources. Contains a wide range of basic information pertaining to establishments in Singapore.

5 Uses of CEIS Provides up-to-date and basic data on establishments Serves as a survey frame Provides Statistical analyses, eg formation and cessation rates, survival rates.

6 Coverage of Business Units Companies Businesses Professional bodies Representative offices of foreign companies Government and quasi-government institutions Non-commercial establishments eg societies, co- operatives

7 Types of Statistical Units Enterprise Establishment vs Division 1 Division 2 Location 1 Location 2 Business Entity Holding Company

8 Definitions of Statistical Units Enterprise: defined as a legal entity registered under the Singapore Companies Act etc. It includes branches of foreign companies. Establishment: defined as a business or organization unit engaged in one activity and operating in a single location:  Multi-branch organization: Each branch at a different location is a different establishment.  Multi-activity organization: Units engaged in separate activities constitute distinct establishments.

9 Use of Central Registration (CR) Number Conversion of ACRA No. to CR-No. The CR-Number is a unique reference number assigned by the CEIS system to each establishment comprises 11 alpha-numeric characters and a check alphabet.

10 Industrial Classification Classification of Industry based on Singapore Standard Industrial Classification 2005 (SSIC 2005) SSIC 2005 adopts the basic framework of the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) Revision 4.

11 Industrial Classification (cont’d) The industrial classification code is provided by the business when registering with ACRA. The industrial code is updated when new information is made available from SOE and other industry surveys.

12 Data Items in CEIS Key Establishment Particulars: Name Address Central Registration (CR) Number Industrial classification Registration date Commencement date Paid-up capital Person of authority Legal organization

13 Data Items in CEIS (cont’d) Types of Legal Organizations: Public listed Company Private Company Foreign Company (registered in Singapore) Sole Proprietorship Partnership Limited Liability Partnership Non-profit Organization Representative Office Statutory Boards / Government Institutions

14 Internal External CEIS Sampling and Data Requests Statistical Reports Subscribers Online Enquiry Sources of Updates Sources of Information

15 Sources of Information (cont’d) ACRA IES ROS PA Others EDB MAS Others External Admin Surveys Various Annual Surveys SOE Internal

16 Sources of Information (cont’d) External Sources (Administrative)Type of Establishment Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) Companies, Businesses Professional Associations (PA)Professional bodies International Enterprise Singapore (IES) Representative offices of foreign companies Government gazettesGovernment and quasi-government institutions Registry of Societies (ROS)Non-commercial establishments e.g. societies, co-operatives

17 Sources of Information (cont’d) Internal Survey Sources: Survey of Establishments (SOE) Annual Surveys of Commerce Annual Surveys of Services Foreign Investment Surveys International Trade in Surveys Other Surveys

18 Main Sources of Updates ACRA: Primary source of updates Provides information on newly registered/ceased companies and businesses on a regular basis Frequency of Updates: Weekly

19 Main Sources of Updates (cont’d) Survey of Establishments (SOE): Regular mail survey of newly registered companies & businesses for updates of:  Mailing address  Commencement date  SSIC/business activity description  estimated gross receipts  employment  screening questions on overseas investments, international trade in services, electronic commerce transactions.

20 Quality Control To pre scan incoming ACRA data and survey updates to detect possible errors eg out of bound records etc. Various surveys will also feedback ‘out-of-scope’ cases for further investigation. Joint Staff Working Group: Meets on a regular basis to discuss the industrial classification for relatively more complex and significant units which affects two or more surveys.

21 The SOE and other short-term & annual surveys conducted by SDOS under the Statistics Act. The Act also stipulated that the contents of individual returns received would be kept confidential and used only for statistical purposes, i.e. provide only aggregated data. Legal Authority

22 Access to CEIS No Public Access on Individual Records. Users may obtain summary information on company from ACRA at a fee. Private sector requests for sample listing, normally by Industry, can be provided at a fee. The sample list includes: name, address and business activity which are obtainable from ACRA.

23 Access to CEIS (cont’d) Available for subscription to only government departments and statutory boards. Only basic establishment information obtainable from ACRA are available. Individual establishment survey information obtained under the Statistics Act are not available to subscribers.

24 Challenges and Plans Providing more up-to-date information of business population, particularly for “live” cases whether they are “active” or “dormant”. Exploring the use of administrative records eg tax records to reduce respondent burden for statistical aggregation purpose.

25