SINGAPORE - A total of 16,190 new businesses were formed here in the first three months of the year, up 14.4 per cent over the same period last year.

Three quarters of these new businesses were formed with less than $10,000 in share capital, while about a third had foreign shareholders, a report released on Tuesday by Janus Corporate Solutions showed.

The new businesses were mostly from the wholesale trade and financial services sectors, though more new companies are also being formed in IT and retail.

The British Virgin Islands, United States, Hong Kong, China, Japan and India were among the top investors in Singapore during the quarter.

The "significant growth" is in line with the gradual recovery of the global economy, said Ms Jacqueline Low, the chief operating officer of Janus Corporate Solutions.