Singapore can boast of highly literacy population and as we all know, people gain knowledge from books, newspapers, magazines, periodicals, etc. If we add to this strong regime of intellectual property protection, ease of starting a business and the availability of competent employee, Singapore becomes an ideal center for the publishing industry.

Licenses for print publication in Singapore

Permission to publish newspapers should be obtained from the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) for:

1. Printing of newspapers in Singapore. By the newspaper is meant any publication that contains news, reports and any observations or comments on the news, messages, or include any other issues with regards to public interest, that is published for the sale and distribution free of charge on a regular basis, but do not include a publication for government.

2. Offshore newspapers in Singapore. These newspapers write about current state of affairs outside the Lion City and are published outside the territory of the country with a circulation of 300 copies or more in Singapore.

3. Malaysian newspaper in Singapore.

The procedure for applying for permission to print newspapers in Singapore include:

1. The owner or the chief editor should apply together with the following supporting documents to Registrar of Newspapers in Singapore:

2. You can get a Newspaper Permit without paying any fees what pleases but for an offshore newspaper a bank guarantee is S $ 200,000.

3. Processing the application usually takes 15 working days and received permit will be valid for one year.

4. During your business anything can happen and due to this you may need to change the name of the newspaper, the nature of the content, language and frequency of publication, etc. In this case it will be required to get new permission.

5. Remember that after obtaining the permission you have 3 months to publish the first issue of the publication. In other case authorities will be interested in your purpose of your Singapore business and obtaining the permission.

Printing Press License in Singapore

If you intend to run the press to print any publications such as newspapers and magazines in Singapore, you will need to obtain a license from the registrar to print newspapers.

1. Before applying for your license to print you must perform the following pre-conditions:

• Workrooms for printing operation must be approved by the URA;

• The business must be registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority ACRA.

2. To complete the procedure and obtain required license you have to submit an application with the following documents to the Registrar of Newspapers in Singapore and:

• If the applicant is a third party, he must submit a Letter of Authorization;

• If you are going to make business not by registered with ACRA address. you will have to contact the Chief Inspector of Factories to approve premises for the purpose of printing.

3. It usually takes three working days to process the successful applications, according to which the license is issued for a period of one year.

4. No license fees.

5. The license is not transferable. If there are any changes to the license holder or a change of the location of the printing you must get a new license.