It costs $300 SGD to register a company in Singapore. $5000 probably includes cost of other services such as legal and secretary fees.
Also, if you plan to apply for residency using the EntrePass it appears you need to have $50k SGD in "paid up capital", which is about $40,000 USD. I'm not sure what "paid up capital" means, though. (EG: is a business making $4,000 a year in profit valued at $40,000 thus considered to have $40k in paid up capital? Or does it mean you need to put $50k SGD in a local bank to sit there as a form of a bond?)
I believe many countries have restrictions on foreigners incorporating without a local director/shareholder?
But yes, it is a little bit annoying. What we ended up doing is getting a mentor/investor to become a nominee director.