Singapore recorded 38,146 business cessations from January to July 2026, while 49,305 new entities were formed over the same period.
The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) published the monthly registry totals on its business registry statistics page, last updated on 3 August 2026 and checked on 29 August 2026. The downloadable cessation and formation workbooks carry data as of 1 August 2026.
REGISTRY TOTALS
ACRA’s 2026 table lists monthly cessations of 4,383 in January, 3,901 in February, 9,503 in March, 4,631 in April, 4,674 in May, 5,164 in June and 5,890 in July.
Formations over the same months were 7,408, 5,416, 7,385, 7,275, 7,039, 7,196 and 7,586.
Net of those flows, formations outpaced cessations by 11,159 entities in the first seven months. The live business entity count stood at 634,174 at the end of July 2026, up from 626,040 at the end of January.
By entity type in the cessation workbook, companies accounted for 26,586 of the 38,146 cessations. Sole-proprietorships and partnerships accounted for 10,873. Limited liability partnerships accounted for 610, limited partnerships for 38, variable capital companies for 36, and public accounting firms for 3.
On the formation side, companies made up 35,266 of the 49,305 new entities. Sole-proprietorships and partnerships made up 12,980.
MARCH STRIKE-OFF SPIKE
March’s 9,503 cessations were the highest month in the period. Of those, 7,720 were companies.
ACRA’s footnote on the same statistics page says the increase in the company cessation count that month was due to intensified efforts to strike off defunct companies, which began in the last quarter of 2025, and that cessation numbers in the coming months are expected to be lower.
ACRA defines cessation as entities that have ceased registration, been struck off, amalgamated, cancelled or dissolved. The series therefore mixes voluntary exits with regulator-led register clean-up.
INDUSTRY FILES
ACRA’s cessation workbook by industry shows wholesale trade with the largest volume of cessations in the first seven months at 6,541, followed by professional services at 6,041 and information and communications at 4,605.
Retail trade logged 3,874 cessations. Construction recorded 2,127. Food and beverage services recorded 2,101. Finance and insurance recorded 3,043. Administrative and support services recorded 1,714. Manufacturing recorded 1,582.
On the formation side, professional services led with 8,266 new entities. Information and communications added 7,282, wholesale trade 7,108, and retail trade 5,160. Finance and insurance added 4,354.
Construction formations totalled 2,277, still ahead of that sector’s cessations. Food and beverage services formed 2,594 entities against 2,101 cessations. Manufacturing formed 1,631 entities and recorded 1,582 cessations.
Education, health and social services recorded 1,761 cessations and 2,430 formations. Arts, entertainment, recreation and other services recorded 2,136 cessations and 2,792 formations. Transportation and storage recorded 1,809 cessations and 2,265 formations.
All industry series on the workbooks follow the Singapore Standard Industrial Classification (SSIC) 2020, ACRA notes in the file metadata.
WHAT THE NUMBERS DO NOT SHOW
The registry series does not state why a particular firm shut, whether staff were retrenched, or whether a business stopped trading without filing a cessation. Firms that have closed their doors but remain live on the register sit outside these counts until their status changes.
Bizfile remains ACRA’s portal for registrations, annual returns and status changes. Little Big Red Dot will update this file when ACRA publishes August 2026 monthly totals.
