Courtesy of – Accounting KL Management Services
Information related to: Company secretarial services, company/business registration, regulatory act for companies in Malaysia.

Registering a company in Malaysia

The Companies Act 1965 is the foundation layer of legalities on where companies are formed, managed and operated in Malaysia. All company secretarial services should be governed the act. Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM) or Companies Commission of Malaysia is the regulatory body for corporate Malaysia.

If you have a business going on or planning to run it already, registering your business is as simple as buying a product. Today, you can get a lot of extensive company registration, legalities and documentation advices from your nearest company secretary – Or even appoint one for your business at a very cost-effective price.All you need to do is just submit your inquiry and we’ll do the rest.

Usually in cases of business registration, complications often come from the business itself, not the registration processes.

Company Formations

In Malaysia, there are four types of company formations to form an incorporated company:

1. An unlimited company
2. A company limited by guarantees
3. A company limited by shares
4. A company limited by shares & guarantees

Definition of Corporation Types in Malaysia

Before you start, it’s important for you to know what are some of the general corporation types that are defined in the legal point of view in Malaysia. They are:

• “SUBSIDIARY” – Where the subsidiary company do not control the composition of board of directors, voting power and owns more than half of the issued shared capital of the ultimate holding company.
• “ULTIMATE HOLDING”  – A company in which holds control of the composition of board of directors, voting power and majority of issued shared capital. Also, not a subsidiary of any corporation.
• “WHOLLY” and “PARTIALLY” owned subsidiaries of a corporation.

Buying a Shelf Company

For local company incorporation practices, there are two ways to go about forming a company for your business:

1. Registering a new company (New company incorporation)
2. Purchasing a shelf company (An existing company)

Shelf companies are fully registered companies that have none or little current operations or business activities. In certain parts of the world, shelf companies are also called aged companies.

Both these ways have their own pros and cons. Some buyers are keen to buy a shelf company because:

1. A shelf company appears to be registered for a longer period of time. This boosts consumer & investor confidence.
2. A shelf company’s ‘elder age’ gives the business a competitive edge when it comes to gaining access to investment capitals, bank loans and contract-bidding.

If you’re on the lookout to know more about company formation and business registration in Malaysia, contact us today.