How to Register Sdn. Bhd. Company in Malaysia

The Companies Act 2016 governs you on how to register Sdn. Bhd. company in Malaysia. As a private limited company, a Sdn. Bhd. gives shareholders limited liability and exists as its own legal entity — separate from the people who own it. SSM handles all company registrations under this Act.

Most founders — whether local or foreign — choose the Sdn. Bhd. over a sole proprietorship, partnership, or LLP. The reasons are straightforward: limited liability, better credibility with banks and clients, and access to tax incentives. This guide covers everything you need to know, from checking eligibility to staying compliant after incorporation.

• Any Sdn. Bhd. must be incorporated with SSM via the MyCoID system, requiring at least one Malaysia-resident director, one shareholder, a registered office address, and a minimum paid-up capital of RM1.
• The company registration process follows four stages: reserve your company name, prepare incorporation documents, submit the application online, and complete post-incorporation tasks such as appointing a company secretary, opening a bank account, and registering for tax.
• With Great CFO managing the process, incorporation typically completes in 5 to 10 working days, depending on how quickly founders provide required documents and complete KYC checks.
• Foreign investors can own 100% of a Sdn. Bhd. in most sectors but must appoint at least one Malaysian-resident director and comply with sector-specific rules.
• Great CFO handles incorporation, bank account opening, accounting, tax, and ongoing compliance — so founders can focus on building and growing their business.

Here’s what you need to know before registering your company.

• Directors: At least one director is required, and that person must be a natural human being aged 18 or above, ordinarily resident in Malaysia, and not an undischarged bankrupt. The same person can act as both sole director and sole shareholder.
• Shareholders: A Sdn. Bhd. can have anywhere from one to 50 shareholders. These can be individuals or corporate bodies — including foreign companies.
• Paid-Up Capital: The legal minimum is RM1, but in practice, starting with RM1,000 to RM2,500 is far more sensible. A very low capital amount can create friction when opening a bank account, applying for licences, or sponsoring employment passes.
• Registered Office and Company Secretary: Every Sdn. Bhd. must have a registered office address in Malaysia. You’ll also need to appoint a qualified company secretary within 30 days of incorporation — and that person must hold a practising certificate recognised by SSM.
• Foreign Ownership: In most sectors, foreigners can own 100% of the shares. That said, certain regulated industries — including education, logistics, oil and gas, and financial services — have restrictions in place. Before you settle on a structure, it’s worth getting professional advice.

Having everything ready before you begin will speed up the incorporation process significantly. Here’s what you’ll need to prepare.

Personal Details (for each director and shareholder):

• Full legal name
• NRIC (for Malaysians) or passport number (for foreigners)
• Date of birth and nationality
• Home address
• Email address and contact number

Company Details:

• Three company name options, listed in order of preference
• A brief description of what the business will actually do
• Your preferred financial year end date
• Share structure details: how many shares, at what price, and how much paid-up capital

Addresses:

• A Malaysian registered office address (Great CFO can provide this through its secretarial services)
• Your main business address, if it differs from the registered office

Supporting Documents:

• Scanned copy of NRIC or passport for every director and shareholder
• Proof of residential address, such as a utility bill or bank statement dated within the last 3 months
• For corporate shareholders: a certified copy of the certificate of incorporation, a board resolution, and the company constitution

Incorporating a company might seem overwhelming, but it actually involves four straightforward steps. Great CFO takes care of each phase for you, allowing you to concentrate on growing your business instead of dealing with SSM procedures.

Before incorporation, you need to reserve your proposed company name through MyCoID. SSM has clear rules on what’s acceptable:

• Must be unique — not identical or too similar to any existing registered company name
• Must not mislead anyone about what the business does or its scale
• Cannot include restricted words like “Bank,” “Royal,” or “Insurance” unless you have prior ministerial approval
• Must end with “Sendirian Berhad” or “Sdn. Bhd.”

SSM charges RM50 per name reservation, which stays valid for 30 days and can be extended if needed. If your preferred name gets rejected, Great CFO will suggest alternatives and handle the resubmission.

With the name approved, you can move on to finalising your company structure.

Structure decisions include:

• Confirming who the directors and shareholders are, and what percentage each person holds
• Deciding how many shares to issue, at what price, and whether there’ll be different share classes
• Agreeing on each founder’s role — whether they’ll be an executive director, a non-executive director, or simply an investor

Constitution: Under the Companies Act 2016, adopting a constitution is optional. If you skip it, the Act’s default provisions kick in automatically. That said, a customised constitution is worth considering if you have multiple shareholders or specific governance arrangements in mind.

Statutory documents you’ll need to prepare:

• Section 14 application for incorporation
• A statutory declaration confirming the accuracy of the information submitted
• Beneficial ownership details as required by SSM

Great CFO’s licensed company secretary submits everything through SSM’s MyCoID portal—entering all company details, uploading the required company registration documents, and paying the necessary fees on your behalf.

Fee structure: SSM charges a flat RM1,010 (RM1,000 incorporation plus RM10 name search).

Timeline: Once SSM receives a complete submission, incorporation usually takes 5 to 10 working days. High-volume periods or SSM queries can push this out a little further.

Once SSM approves the application, it issues a Notice of Incorporation digitally. Great CFO then sends founders soft copies of all incorporation documents straight away.

Company Secretary: You must appoint a licensed company secretary within 30 days of incorporation. They’ll keep your statutory registers up to date, draft resolutions, and manage all SSM filings on your behalf.

First Board Resolutions:

• Approve the opening of a corporate bank account
• Confirm where the registered office will be
• Appoint auditors, where this is required
• Approve the share allotment and issue share certificates to each shareholder

Statutory Registers: Set up and maintain registers of members, directors, secretaries, and beneficial owners. Issue numbered share certificates to each shareholder.

Financial Year End: Decide on your financial year-end date and register it with SSM — 31 December and 30 June are the most common choices.

Documents typically required by Malaysian banks:

• Certificate of incorporation and SSM company profile
• Company constitution, if one has been adopted
• A board resolution approving the account opening and naming the authorised signatories
• NRIC or passport copies for all directors and authorised signatories
• Evidence of business activity, such as contracts, invoices, or a company website

Most banks require at least one director to visit a branch for KYC verification, though a handful now offer partial digital onboarding. Common choices include Maybank, CIMB, Public Bank, RHB, HSBC, OCBC, and UOB.

Starting with just RM1 can raise eyebrows — especially if you plan to trade actively — so it’s always better to open with a sensible capital amount. Bank account approval typically takes 5 to 10 working days. Great CFO helps founders through this stage by preparing the necessary board resolutions and pointing them towards the right bank for their needs.

Now that your company is incorporated, keeping up with tax, licensing, and statutory requirements isn’t optional — it’s how you avoid costly penalties down the line. Here’s what to tackle first:

1. Tax Registration with LHDN: Start by registering for an income tax reference number with LHDN and take note of your CP204 filing deadlines. On the tax rate side, qualifying SMEs pay 15% on the first RM150,000 of chargeable income, 17% on the next RM450,000, and 24% on anything above RM600,000. Eligible companies may also qualify for investment tax allowances and other incentives worth exploring.
2. SST Registration: If your annual taxable turnover hits RM500,000 for most service categories, RM1 million for leasing and financial services, and RM1.5 million for construction and private healthcare, SST registration becomes mandatory. B2B businesses may also find it worth registering voluntarily before that threshold.
3. Employer Obligations: Once you take on staff, you’re required to deduct EPF, SOCSO, EIS, and monthly PCB contributions. Keep your payroll and HR records in order — penalties for non-compliance can add up quickly.
4. Business Licences: The licences you need depend on what your business does. Common requirements include a local council licence, Halal certification, a WRT licence, MOF registration, or approvals from sector regulators such as Bank Negara, MCMC, or CIDB.
5. E-Invoicing: Malaysia is phasing in mandatory e-invoicing through MyInvois and the Peppol framework. Great CFO helps clients build invoicing workflows that meet these requirements from the start.

Core ongoing compliance includes:

• Lodge your annual return with SSM each year — private companies pay a RM150 fee for this
• Prepare and submit audited financial statements, unless your company qualifies for an audit exemption
• Report any changes to directors, share capital, or registered office to SSM within 30 days of the change
• Hold shareholder meetings as required and keep proper minutes on record

Tax compliance covers corporate tax filing, estimated tax payments, and SST returns where applicable. Good bookkeeping habits throughout the year make accurate financial statements — and filing season — far less painful.

Typical annual costs for a small, active Sdn. Bhd. look something like this:

Service	Estimated Annual Cost
Company secretary	RM1,200 to RM2,800
Accounting and bookkeeping	RM2,400 to RM6,000
Audit fees (if required)	RM3,000 to RM8,000
Tax agent fees	RM1,000 to RM3,000

Great CFO brings incorporation, secretarial, accounting, payroll, and outsourced CFO services together in scalable packages—giving founders a clear picture of their compliance costs upfront with no surprises.

• Limited liability protection: Shareholders are only on the hook for what they put in—personal assets stay out of it if the company runs into debt.
• Separate legal entity: The company stands on its own. It can own property, sign contracts, and take legal action — or face it — in its own name.
• Easier fundraising: Bringing in investors or partners by issuing shares is far simpler than it would be under other business structures.
• Credibility: Banks, investors, and larger clients take a Sdn. Bhd. more seriously — which opens doors for financing and bigger deals.
• Tax advantages: Qualifying SMEs benefit from lower corporate tax rates and incentives that sole proprietors simply don’t have access to.

For most startups and SMEs, a Sdn. Bhd. is the right choice. A Berhad is better suited to larger companies planning a stock market listing — but it comes with far stricter regulatory and governance obligations.

Registering a company in Malaysia as a foreign founder isn’t quite the same process as it is for locals. There are a few key requirements you’ll need to get across before you dive in.

• Resident Director Requirement: Every Sdn. Bhd. needs at least one director who ordinarily resides in Malaysia. Nominee director arrangements are possible, but they come with real risks — you’ll want solid agreements and clear controls in place before going down that route.
• Sector Restrictions: Some industries — retail, logistics, education, and oil and gas among them — impose foreign equity caps or require special approvals. Check with Great CFO before settling on a structure.
• Immigration: Incorporating a Sdn. Bhd. doesn’t automatically give you the right to work in Malaysia. Foreign directors and employees still need to apply for an Employment Pass or the appropriate visa through the Immigration Department.
• Enhanced Bank Scrutiny: Banks apply stricter KYC checks to foreign-owned companies when opening a corporate account. Having a professional firm handle the process makes a real difference in getting things moving smoothly.

SME tax incentives come with strict eligibility criteria. Your company must have paid-up ordinary share capital of RM2.5 million or less, gross business income of RM50 million or less, and must not be controlled by an entity with paid-up capital above RM2.5 million. Here’s the part that catches many foreign founders off guard: if more than 20% of your paid-up share capital is foreign-owned, you’ll lose access to the preferential 15% and 17% tax rates.

Great CFO is a professional services firm that works with startups and SMEs across Malaysia. We handle the full journey — from incorporation and company secretarial work through to accounting, tax compliance, payroll, and outsourced CFO services.

We go well beyond incorporation. Our team sets up cloud accounting, builds CFO dashboards, runs cash-flow forecasts, and advises on grant eligibility and investor readiness. On the secretarial side, we track every filing deadline, draft resolutions, and keep your statutory registers current — so your company stays compliant without you needing to chase a single deadline.

Ready to get started? Reach out to Great CFO for a consultation on Sdn. Bhd. incorporation, corporate bank account opening, and a compliance package built around your business. You focus on your product and your growth — we’ll take care of the rest.