Singapore VCC statistics: September 2026 registry update
Singapore had 1,385 active variable capital companies at the end of September 2026. We extracted ACRA’s monthly formation, cessation and live-count workbooks to show what changed, how the figures reconcile and what a registration count cannot tell you.
Data cut-off: 30 September 2026. Workbook release: 1 October 2026. This is an independent calculation from public ACRA tables; definitions and downloadable observations appear below.
The live register is larger; the pace of formation is slower
ACRA counted 1,385 live VCC entities in September 2026, compared with 1,303 at the end of 2025 and 1,266 in September 2025. That is an increase of 82 in the first nine months of this year, and 119 over twelve months. The active register therefore kept expanding even though fewer new vehicles were formed than in the same months of 2025.
From January through September 2026, ACRA recorded 136 formations and 54 cessations. The subtraction, 136 − 54 = 82, exactly reconciles the December-to-September change in live entities. The same monthly identity holds throughout 2024–2026 in the downloaded series; it makes the register a useful check on reported flows.
Source: ACRA live-count workbook. Period-end stock, not cumulative incorporations.
| Period | Formations | Cessations | Live at end |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 240 | 9 | 1,002 |
| 2024 | 171 | 34 | 1,139 |
| 2025 | 206 | 42 | 1,303 |
| Jan–Sep 2026 | 136 | 54 | 1,385 |
2023 is included for context. January 2023 records an unusually high 79 formations; do not treat its full-year count as a stable monthly run rate. The 2026 row covers nine months only and is not an annual forecast.
Every month in 2026
The monthly formation range was 8 to 23 through September. March had the most new VCCs at 23; February had the fewest at 8. There is no basis in these official observations for saying that 25–35 VCCs were being incorporated each month in 2026.
| 2026 month | Formed | Ceased | Live at end |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16 | 4 | 1,315 |
| February | 8 | 3 | 1,320 |
| March | 23 | 5 | 1,338 |
| April | 9 | 10 | 1,337 |
| May | 15 | 2 | 1,350 |
| June | 20 | 10 | 1,360 |
| July | 14 | 2 | 1,372 |
| August | 14 | 8 | 1,378 |
| September | 17 | 10 | 1,385 |
The active count briefly fell by one in April: nine formations and ten cessations. One negative month is not a reversal of the longer trend. By September, the register stood 47 higher than its March level.
The complete January 2023–September 2026 series is available as machine-readable JSON, with month, formation, cessation and live count for all 45 months, plus a checksum for each source workbook. It is intended to make the figures easy to check and cite.
Compare the same nine months
Through September, formations fell from 156 in 2025 to 136 in 2026, a 13% decrease. Cessations rose from 29 to 54, an increase of 25. Net additions were 127 in January–September 2025 and 82 in January–September 2026. Both windows cover the same calendar months; neither explains why managers chose one structure over another.
January–September 2025
156 formed − 29 ceased = 127 net additions.
January–September 2026
136 formed − 54 ceased = 82 net additions.
Comparing a full 2025 year with nine months of 2026 would exaggerate the slowdown. The appropriate like-for-like window is above. For 2025 as a whole, ACRA recorded 206 formations and 42 cessations.
The full-year context is different. Formations rose from 171 in 2024 to 206 in 2025, while cessations rose from 34 to 42; annual net additions increased from 137 to 164. That history does not establish a permanent growth rate. In the first quarter of 2026 there were 47 formations and 12 cessations; in the second, 44 and 22. The third quarter recorded 45 formations and 20 cessations, against 54 and seven in the same quarter of 2025. Neither quarter alone establishes a lasting trend.
These quarterly comparisons locate the change: the first half of 2026 produced 57 net additions, versus 80 in the first half of 2025. The arithmetic is informative, but the public tables contain no reason codes, fund assets or manager-level data that could explain the gap.
Two VCC counts answer different questions
ACRA’s 1,385 is the number of VCC entities still live on the register at September 2026 month-end. MAS’s Asset Management Survey reports VCCs incorporated or re-domiciled as at its own survey date. The 2025 survey headline of 1,406 describes a cumulative end-2025 measure; ACRA’s end-2025 live count was 1,303. The 103 difference is not evidence that either agency made a mistake. It reflects different populations and should never be presented as a change between September 2026 and December 2025.
The distinction already appears in the earlier official record: the MAS 2023 survey reported 1,029 incorporated or re-domiciled VCCs as at December 2023, while ACRA’s live count for that month was 1,002. That gap is 27. The published ACRA cessation totals for 2024 and 2025 are 34 and 42; 27 + 34 + 42 = 103, the end-2025 difference. This arithmetic is consistent with a cumulative-versus-live interpretation, but aggregate tables cannot trace each individual vehicle or fully explain every classification difference.
Neither number counts underlying sub-funds. ACRA registers sub-funds beneath umbrella VCCs separately; its post-registration guide describes the registration step. MAS reported 2,158 sub-funds represented by 1,029 VCCs at end-2023. Dividing one aggregate by the other is not an average number of sub-funds per umbrella: the denominator includes standalone VCCs and the survey does not disclose the umbrella subset in that headline.
What this means for a fund decision
Registry growth establishes that the legal vehicle continues to be used; it does not tell a manager whether a standalone VCC or an existing umbrella is preferable. A single umbrella can host several sub-funds. For an allocator, the entity count says nothing about a fund’s assets, governance or service quality. For a sponsor, the relevant questions are who will act as the permissible fund manager, how investor records and valuations will be administered, and which expenses sit at umbrella or sub-fund level.
Read the structure guide for the legal architecture, the umbrella guide for platform decisions, and our separate analysis of cessations before drawing conclusions from the flow data. The 2025 MAS survey covers broader fund-management and sub-fund activity; it does not update ACRA’s monthly live register.
Sources and method
Downloaded from ACRA’s business registry statistics page on 5 October 2026. The linked workbooks are labelled 1 October 2026 and contain observations through September 2026. We select the “Variable Capital Companies” row from the formation, cessation and live-count worksheets; sum monthly flows for each stated period; and take the live count at the period end. Blank future months are excluded. Numbers in the charts are our calculations from ACRA data.
- ACRA formation workbook
- ACRA cessation workbook
- ACRA live-count workbook
- Machine-readable monthly series and source checksums
- The same monthly series as CSV
- October data and formation report (PDF)
- MAS Asset Management Survey 2023, hosted by the Singapore Venture Capital & Private Equity Association
- MAS Asset Management Survey 2025 (cumulative headline; MAS site may be temporarily unavailable)
The series records legal entities. It does not contain fund assets, investors, performance, strategy, manager identities or the number of sub-funds. ACRA may revise its published workbooks; this article is a dated snapshot, not a live feed.
Questions
How many active VCCs were registered in Singapore in September 2026?
ACRA reports 1,385 live variable capital companies at September 2026 month-end. This is a registry count, not a count of sub-funds or operating funds with investors.
How many new VCCs were formed from January to September 2026?
ACRA records 136 VCC formations in January–September 2026, compared with 156 in the same months of 2025.
Why does the ACRA active count differ from the MAS VCC headline?
ACRA reports entities still live on its register at a given month-end. MAS has reported cumulative incorporations or re-domiciliations for a survey date. Dates and definitions must match before comparing either series.
Does a VCC registration show fund size or investor activity?
No. ACRA’s entity series contains no VCC AUM, investor count or sub-fund count. Those questions need separate evidence.
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