Company Incorporation Guide

Private limited company registration Malaysia

Applicable country/region: MY - Malaysia

Published: September 30, 2026Updated: September 30, 2026

Written by our advisory team
Malaysia rules and requirements
Checked against official sources

Guide overview

From the company name to the notice of registration

For private limited company registration Malaysia uses an online application to the Companies Commission of Malaysia (Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia, SSM). It sets up a Sendirian Berhad (Sdn Bhd), a private company limited by shares, under the Companies Act 2016. The process starts with the company's name, reserved first or confirmed in the same application. It ends when SSM issues a notice of registration. A founder or parent abroad first decides whether a Sdn Bhd is the right business structure and how much of it a foreign owner may hold. Then come what the application states about the company's directors and shareholders, what must be in Malaysia, the first tax registrations and filings, and what the company owes each year.

COMPANY TYPES

A new company or a branch, and who may own the shares

A Sdn Bhd company is a separate legal entity owned through shares. Registering the parent as a foreign company, commonly called a branch, creates none. Private status caps shareholders at 50 and generally bars public share offers, which need a public company (Berhad). SSM registers sole proprietorships and partnerships only for citizens and permanent residents. The Companies Act 2016 sets no nationality condition on shareholders, so this company type can be wholly foreign-owned. The approval an activity needs, like the domestic trade ministry's for foreign-owned wholesale, retail or trading, may limit foreign ownership. Often-quoted capital figures are immigration policy. The Expatriate Services Division (ESD) guidebook lists paid-up capital of RM 500,000 (ringgit) for a wholly foreign-owned business hiring expatriates.

Reading the company types

Rows cover ownership, shareholder and director rules, capital and notes for each company type.

Malaysia Sdn Bhd Basic Information

Ownership:

Private Ownership

Limited Liability:

Positive

Publicly Participates In Capital Market:

Negative

Malaysia Sdn Bhd Shareholder / Director / Secretary Requirements

Requirements For Shareholders:

At least one.

Requirements For Directors:

At least one.

Legal Representative Not Mandatory:

Positive

Local Directors Not Mandatory:

Negative

Local Secretaries Not Mandatory:

Negative

Malaysia Sdn Bhd Registered Capital Requirement

Minimum Registered Capital Requirement:

No minimum set by law; at least one share

Capital Injection Requirement:

No requirement for capital injection.

REQUIREMENTS AND ESTIMATED COST

Requirements for private limited company registration Malaysia

The Malaysian address a company needs is its registered office, separate from any business address and more than a mailing address. It must be in Malaysia, open to the public during ordinary business hours, and home to the statutory records. The law fixes two more requirements. The minimum number of directors must ordinarily reside in Malaysia, a test of residence, not nationality, so the resident director can be a foreigner. As SSM's Starting a Company page sets out, the board must appoint a company secretary within 30 days of incorporation, a citizen or permanent resident living in Malaysia who belongs to a prescribed professional body or is licensed by SSM. What varies is whether a founder has all three.

Reading the requirements

Base cost is the service and government fees; each requirement shows if it is included and what solving it costs; the estimate adds them up.

Base Cost

Service Fee:

CNY 14,750

Requirements

Registered Address: A Malaysian address is needed

To register a company in Malaysia, a Malaysian address is required. If you do not have a Malaysian address, you can choose the registered address service provided by TKEG Expat™ (DE). This service already includes one year of Malaysian Registered Address.

Included: Yes ×1.00

Estimated Cost

Estimated Cost:

CNY 14,750

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TAX

Tax registration and the first filing after incorporation

The Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri, LHDN) says a company incorporated online with SSM gets its tax identification number (TIN) automatically, and otherwise applies through e-Daftar on MyTax. Under LHDN Public Ruling No. 8/2025, the small-company bands for paid-up capital up to RM 2.5 million are closed from year of assessment 2024 where foreign companies or non-citizens hold more than 20% of it. A wholly foreign-owned private limited company in Malaysia therefore pays the standard rate. The first estimate of tax payable is due within three months of starting operations. Instead of value-added tax, the Royal Malaysian Customs Department runs sales tax and service tax (SST). For most taxable activities, registration follows turnover, not incorporation.

Reading the tax data

Rows cover corporate income, withholding, value-added and capital gains tax, plus effective rates, for each jurisdiction.

PwC World Tax Summary OECD Statistics

Corporate Income Tax (CIT)

General CIT Rate:

CIT Return Due Date:

Within seven months after the end of the accounting period.

CIT Payment Due Date:

The last day of the seven-month period following the end of the accounting period.

CIT Estimated Payment Due Date:

Prepaid taxes are to be paid in 12 monthly installments.

Withholding Tax (WHT)

Resident Withholding Tax (Dividend/Interest/Royalty):

0/0/0

Non-Resident Withholding Tax (Dividend/Interest/Royalty):

0/0 - 15/10

Value-Added Tax (VAT)

General VAT Rate:

10/8

Learn More Value-Added Tax (VAT)

Capital Gain Tax (CGT)

General Capital Gain Tax Rate:

Since 1 March 2024 a company pays capital gains tax on disposals of unlisted shares of Malaysian companies (10% of the net gain, or 2% of the gross disposal price for shares acquired before 1 January 2024), on section 15C shares and on foreign capital assets received in Malaysia. Gains on real property in Malaysia are subject to RPGT (up to 30%).

Conclusion

What the company still needs after registration

The notice of registration proves the company exists; it is not a licence to trade. SSM's Guidelines for the Incorporation of Local Companies require the licence, permit or approval a business activity needs before the company operates. The corporate bank account is a separate approval, with the bank's own documents and checks. The first hire brings registrations with the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), the Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) and LHDN. Every year the company lodges an annual return within 30 days of its incorporation anniversary, now with beneficial-ownership information. It prepares financial statements, which a new trading company must have audited. The next step is to confirm which licence or approval applies, since that sets when trading can start.

Malaysia

Jurisdiction Overview

About Malaysia

Malaysia offers a business-friendly environment in Southeast Asia with competitive costs, a multilingual workforce, strong Islamic finance sector, and the MSC Malaysia tech hub with generous incentives.

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