A Singapore citizen and a wholly Singapore-owned Singapore company are not foreign persons
A worked RES examination question on foreign ownership rpa, from our Paper 2 bank — with the rule it turns on, and why each of the four options is right or wrong.
The question
A conveyancing team is checking, for the Residential Property Act, which of several prospective buyers of a landed house count as a "foreign person" who would need approval before buying.
Consider the following statements.
- (i) A Singapore citizen is a foreign person under the Act.
- (ii) A Singapore Permanent Resident is a foreign person under the Act.
- (iii) A company incorporated in Singapore and wholly owned by Singaporeans is a foreign person under the Act.
- (iv) A company with foreign shareholders is a foreign person under the Act.
The answer, and why
Answer: C
The rule. Under the Residential Property Act a "foreign person" is anyone who is not a Singapore citizen, a Singapore company, a Singapore LLP or a Singapore society. A Singapore Permanent Resident is a foreign person, and so is a company with any foreign shareholders. A Singapore citizen and a wholly Singapore-owned Singapore company are not foreign persons.
Why C is correct. (ii) the SPR and (iv) the company with foreign shareholders are foreign persons. (i) is false (a citizen is not) and (iii) is false (a wholly Singapore-owned company is not).
The other options.
- B adds the false (iii), the Singapore-owned company as foreign.
- A drops (ii), the SPR.
- D adds the false (i), the citizen as foreign.
Exam note. SPR = foreign person under the RPA; a citizen and a wholly Singapore-owned company are not.
More on Foreign ownership RPA
Want a full paper instead of one question?
The free half-paper is 20 questions with a Section B case study, explained to this same depth. The paid sets are ten full 80-question papers across Paper 1 and Paper 2, every figure checked against the current IRAS, CEA, HDB, URA and SLA position.
Looking for past-year papers? CEA doesn't publish them — here's what it does publish.
Independent study material. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Council for Estate Agencies. No pass guarantee — for study use only.