Selling a Business in Singapore

Starting a business from scratch is everything but easy, but some owners still end up selling their companies. No matter where your business is located, the reasons for handing it over to another entrepreneur remain the same:

  • You decided to relocate and start a brand new business somewhere else.
  • The company is not generating enough revenue.
  • You are not interested in working the same job anymore.
  • The business has reached the highest point, so you can earn a lot by selling it.
  • You recognized another business opportunity.

These and many other reasons are enough to convince a lot of entrepreneurs in Singapore to sell their organizations, but many don’t know how to negotiate the best deal. Our job is to give you a hand here, so keep reading to learn more about Singapore and how to sell your business in this country.

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Basic facts about Singapore

Before we start discussing different ways to sell your business, it is necessary to mention a few basic facts about this city-state in Southeast Asia.

Businesses for Sale in Singapore

Jake Gardner, a business analyst at Assignment Helper, explains that the country consists of one major island and nearly 60 other islets: "It has a population of 5.9 million, with almost 40% of foreign residents, which is exactly why English is one of the official languages in Singapore along with Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil."

Video: Doing business in Singapore | The Airport Economist

Singapore is a parliamentary republic with a very stable political ambiance. What is even more important for potential buyers of a business is the fact that Singapore ranks as the most competitive economy in the world. As such, the city-state is extremely attractive for international clients looking for a safe place to invest in.

9 ways to sell a company in Singapore

There are so many ways to sell your company in Singapore, but we selected the nine most practical suggestions that proved to function well in most cases. Without further ado, let’s check them out here:

1. Build a powerful brand

Selling a business in Singapore (or any other country for that matter) is not a short-term process. On the contrary, you have to prepare it well in advance in order to make the most of your company. The idea is to build a powerful brand in the long run and make it recognizable among the target audience.

You can do it through a carefully-planned marketing strategy that consists of various elements. For example, you can do the following:

  • Create a strong social presence with lots of loyal followers.
  • Build relationships with customers through email newsletters.
  • Consult with an essay writer or resume help agencies to help you publish lots of quality content.
  • Organize corporate events to meet potential buyers willing to invest in Singapore.

2. Prepare your financials

Another thing you need to do is to prepare your financials and keep all the records neat and clean. Stay in touch with your accountant and get the paperwork done before talking to potential purchasers because they will be asking for your financial statements instantly.

3. Give your sales a boost

Every company sells something. It can be a simple product or a service, but the main idea is to give your sales results a big boost in the months preceding the sale of your business. What makes it such an important detail?

Well, business persons who come to Singapore to purchase a company will want to know how your business is doing at the moment. After all, they don’t want to buy a brand with little to no customers whatsoever.

In such circumstances, you should do all it takes to promote the brand through marketing activities and seal as many deals as possible before you begin negotiating.

4. Prepare the exit strategy

Another detail you should keep an eye on is the exit strategy. What do you want to do next? Are you going to start a new business immediately or take some rest first? Do you plan to move from Singapore or stay there? The way you answer these and many other questions can make a substantial impact on your sales plan, which is why you need to answer them correctly and honestly.

5. Determine the lowest price

One more thing to do before selling a business in Singapore is to determine the lowest price of your company. It is the bare minimum under which you will not go no matter what.

This is very important because you don’t want to end up losing money. The goal is to calculate your investments and future earnings because the business is usually worth a multiple of its revenue. You can eventually sell it up to 10 times higher than the estimated value of the company.

Related: Setting a Realistic Asking Price for Your Business

6. Offer the business to your employees

A lot of business owners find a buyer among their current employees. How come? The answer is simple – your staff understands the peculiarities of the business, knows the real value, and correctly estimates its profit-generation potential.

At the same time, they already know how to run the company and have strong connections with the existing clients. All of these factors can encourage your workers to think about purchasing the company, so you probably won’t even have to search for another investor.

Related: Selling Your Business to Key Employees

7. Use online sales platforms

An easy way to sell a business in Singapore is through online sales platforms. This solution is simple because the Internet is packed with user-friendly tools that can identify perfect candidates for buying your company.

For example, you can check out a website called Business for Sale. It is the largest buy-and-sell platform in Singapore with a database of over 17 thousand businesses in dozens of industries. The platform attracts more than 100 thousand buyers from all over the world.

We strongly encourage you to test Business for Sale, but you can also run a search online to look for other interesting tools.

Related: Online FSBO Solution for Sole Owners - ExitAdviser

8. Hire a business broker

The eighth tip on our list is probably the simplest. Namely, you can just hire a professional to assist you in finding a perfect deal. There are so many business brokers in Singapore with strong business connections, a feature particularly useful for foreigners who want to sell a company in this city-state.

LNT Global is one of the most popular business brokerage services in Singapore because it administers a large database of local and international buyers from China, Australia, Russia, Malaysia, South Africa, and many more. Over 80% of their clients are international buyers.

Of course, there are dozens of other business brokers to check out online, so make sure to do so before hiring anyone.

9. Make use of display advertising

The last solution is to utilize display advertising to promote the business and invite potential buyers to get in touch with you. It’s a very productive strategy because modern professionals usually conduct online searches before making any concrete moves.

As the largest search engine in the world, Google should be your number one choice advertising-wise. The platform generates the majority of Internet traffic, which means it gives you the chance to approach pretty much any user interested in purchasing a company in Singapore.

Related: Online Advertising Tool

The Bottom Line

Singapore is one of the world’s most powerful economies, which makes the country ideal for launching, buying, or selling a business. If you own a company in this city-state, you can take advantage of it to earn a lot of money simply by selling your business to local or international buyers.

In this article, we discussed nine practical ways to sell a business in Singapore. The tips we mentioned above proved to work very well in real-life situations, so make sure to remember our suggestions and use them to negotiate the highest price for your organization.

Besides that, do not hesitate to write a comment if you have other interesting ideas or experiences with business purchases in Singapore – we would love to hear more about it!



Published by ExitAdviser

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