Answers
Straight answers about registering a company in Malaysia
216 questions we are actually asked, answered directly and with the figures stated. Nothing here needs a form. If your question is not here, ask it on WhatsApp — a licensed secretary replies the same working day.
What a Sdn Bhd is, who can own one, what SSM needs from you, and how long registration actually takes.
- What is a Sdn Bhd?
- How do I register a Sdn Bhd in Malaysia?
- How much does it cost to register a Sdn Bhd?
- How long does it take to register a company in Malaysia?
- What documents do I need to register a Sdn Bhd?
- What are the minimum requirements for a Sdn Bhd?
- Can one person own the whole Sdn Bhd?
- Can I register a Sdn Bhd without coming to an office?
- What is SSM?
- What is CRS, and what happened to MyCoID?
- What is the Superform?
- What is a Notice of Registration?
- What is an MSIC code and how do I choose one?
- Can I register a company if I'm under 21?
- Can an undischarged bankrupt or someone with bad CTOS open a company?
- Do I need a business plan to register a company?
- Can I use a company I registered but never used?
- What is a shelf company and should I buy one?
- What's the difference between Sdn Bhd and Bhd?
- Is a Sdn Bhd the same as an LLC or Pte Ltd?
- Do I legally need to register my business at all?
- Can two foreigners open a Sdn Bhd together?
- What business activities are restricted for a Sdn Bhd?
- Can a Sdn Bhd own another Sdn Bhd?
- Can I open a company while still employed?
- Do I need my own SSM account to register a company?
What incorporation costs, what the SSM fee covers, what recurs every year, and what a headline price leaves out.
- What is the SSM fee to register a company?
- What does your incorporation package include?
- What is not included in your price?
- Why are some providers advertising RM320 incorporation?
- What does a Sdn Bhd cost per year to maintain?
- Does a dormant company still cost money?
- How much is a company secretary per month?
- How much paid-up capital do I need?
- Do I pay the paid-up capital to SSM?
- Does a Sdn Bhd have renewal fees every year?
- What happens to my payment if I cancel halfway?
- Can I pay the incorporation package in instalments?
- Is registering a company in Kuala Lumpur more expensive?
- Is SST charged on your fees?
- How much does it cost to close a Sdn Bhd?
- Are your prices negotiable?
- Is the SSM fee RM1,000, RM1,010 or RM1,050?
- How many resolutions per year are included in your retainer?
- What do you charge for a director or shareholder change?
- Is beneficial ownership filing included in the retainer?
- What does year two cost after incorporation?
Why the law requires a licensed secretary, what the role covers, and how to appoint or change one.
- Do I need a company secretary for a Sdn Bhd?
- What does a company secretary actually do?
- Who can be a company secretary in Malaysia?
- Can I be my own company secretary?
- How do I change my company secretary?
- What happens if my company has no secretary?
- Why did my company secretary resign suddenly?
- Can the company secretary make decisions for my company?
- Where must my statutory records be kept?
- Is a digital company-secretary platform the same as a licensed firm?
- Do you remind me of compliance deadlines?
- Can you take over a company with penalties or late filings?
- Do you serve companies outside Kuala Lumpur?
- What's the difference between a company secretary and an admin secretary?
- Do you serve clients in Sabah and Sarawak?
Sdn Bhd against a sole proprietorship, LLP, partnership, Labuan company or a foreign branch — what each one is, and what changes when you switch.
- Sole proprietorship or Sdn Bhd — what's the difference?
- When should I upgrade from enterprise to Sdn Bhd?
- Can I convert my enterprise into a Sdn Bhd?
- Can I keep my enterprise after opening a Sdn Bhd?
- What is an LLP and is it better than a Sdn Bhd?
- Partnership or Sdn Bhd for two founders?
- Should a freelancer incorporate a Sdn Bhd?
- What structure does an online / Shopee / TikTok seller need?
- What is a Labuan company and do I need one?
- Should a foreign company register a branch or a new Sdn Bhd?
- What are the disadvantages of a Sdn Bhd?
What a new company registers for with LHDN, when the first filings fall due, and how salary, dividends, SST and e-Invoicing are treated.
- What tax rate does a Sdn Bhd pay?
- Do I need to register my new company with LHDN?
- When is my company's first tax filing due?
- Does my new company need e-Invoicing (MyInvois)?
- Does a Sdn Bhd pay tax if it makes no profit?
- Can my Sdn Bhd pay me a salary?
- Are dividends from my Sdn Bhd taxed?
- When do I need to charge SST?
- What financial year end should my company choose?
- Malaysia, Singapore or Delaware — where should I incorporate?
Who may be a director, what the resident-director requirement means, what the duties and personal liabilities are, and how to appoint or remove one.
- Who can be a director of a Sdn Bhd?
- What does 'ordinarily resident in Malaysia' mean for a director?
- What are my duties as a director?
- Am I personally liable for company debts as a director?
- How do I add or remove a director?
- Can a director resign if he's the only director?
- What is a nominee director and is it legal?
- Do directors need to be shareholders?
- Can a foreigner be the only director?
- What is Section 17A and why should directors care?
- Can a company be a director of another company?
- How many directors can a Sdn Bhd have?
Paid-up capital, founder splits, transfers and new issues, nominee holdings, and beneficial ownership reporting.
- What is paid-up capital?
- How should co-founders split their shares?
- How do I transfer shares in a Sdn Bhd?
- How do I issue new shares to an investor?
- Can shares be owned by a foreign company?
- What is beneficial ownership reporting?
- Can I hold shares for someone else as a nominee?
- What is a shareholders' agreement and do I need one?
- Can I reduce or withdraw my paid-up capital?
- What price per share should I set?
What the statutory address is for, whether a home or virtual address qualifies, what must be kept there, and how to change it.
- What is a registered office and why do I need one?
- Can I use my home address as the registered office?
- Can I use your address as my registered office?
- Is a virtual office legal for SSM registration?
- My business runs from home or online only — what address goes where?
- How do I change my registered office?
- Do I need a KL address to register a company in KL?
- Can I use your registered office address on my invoices or as my business premises?
- Why do I have to pay for a registered office at all?
How SSM approves a name, why applications get rejected or queried, and what reserving, reusing or changing a name involves.
- How do I check if my company name is available?
- Why do company names get rejected by SSM?
- Can I use a name similar to a famous brand?
- Can I reserve a company name before incorporating?
- Can I change my company name later?
- Must my company name match my brand name?
- Does my company name need to end with Sdn Bhd?
- Can I reuse the name of a company that was closed?
- SSM queried my name application even with a consent letter — why?
Opening a corporate account after incorporation — what the banks ask for, how long it takes, and why applications get rejected.
- How do I open a corporate bank account after incorporation?
- How long does corporate account opening take?
- Which bank is best for a new Sdn Bhd?
- Why do banks reject new company accounts?
- Can a 100% foreign-owned company open a Malaysian bank account?
- Can I use my personal bank account for company money?
- Do banks need an 'introducer' — and are you one?
Annual return, financial statements, audit, AGM, statutory registers and MBRS — what falls due each year, and what a missed deadline costs.
- What must a Sdn Bhd file every year?
- What is an annual return?
- Does my company need an audit?
- Do I still need to hold an AGM?
- What are statutory registers?
- What happens if I miss the annual return?
- How are annual returns and financial statements lodged now?
- When are my first financial statements due?
- What records must I keep and for how long?
- What is a company constitution and do I need one?
The first weeks after the Notice of Registration — when you can invoice, what belongs on an invoice, whether you need a stamp, and how to sign for the company.
How fast incorporation can move against a contract or tender deadline, what public holidays and SSM downtime do to it, and what to do when a name is rejected.
What a company registers as an employer, whether a director’s own salary attracts EPF, and what hiring a foreign employee on an Employment Pass involves.
SSM registration is not permission to trade — which council, sector and trade licences a business needs before it opens, including DBKL, WRT and Halal.
Form B, Form C, Form E, Form EA, CP204, CP8D, withholding tax, stamp duty and tax clearance — which form is whose, and when each falls due.
- Form B, Form C, Form E — which does my company file?
- What is CP204 and when must I file it?
- What are Form EA and CP8D?
- What is withholding tax and when do I pay it on foreign vendors?
- What company documents need stamping, and what is stamp duty?
- What is a Tax Clearance Letter and when do I need one?
- Can my company lend me money?
MOF and CIDB registration, Bumiputera status, and what a newly incorporated company must hold before it can bid for government work.
Foreign ownership of a Sdn Bhd, incorporating without flying in, what a company does and does not do for a visa, and how an overseas director signs.
- Can a foreigner own 100% of a Malaysian Sdn Bhd?
- Can I register a Malaysian company without visiting Malaysia?
- Does opening a Sdn Bhd get me a visa?
- What are the terms and risks of your nominee director service?
- What are MTEP, DE Rantau and MM2H — can they anchor my Malaysian company?
- One of my directors is overseas — how do they sign?
Changing business activity or paid-up capital, going dormant, selling or closing the company, and what happens when a shareholder exits or a director dies.
Walk-in secretarial service in KL and Selangor — where the office is, what can be handled over the counter, and which languages we work in.
- Who is the best company secretary in Mont Kiara?
- Is there a company secretary near me in KL I can walk into?
- Where can I register a company in Kuala Lumpur?
- Do you serve Selangor, Petaling Jaya and Damansara businesses?
- Can I get company documents certified true copy today?
- Do you speak Malay or Chinese?
- How do I get to your office and where do I park?
Searching a company on SSM, reading a registration number, buying a certified company profile, and what to do when MyCoID or ezBiz will not let you in.
How to verify a secretary is licensed, what to ask before signing, what a cheap headline price leaves out, and how moving provider mid-year works.
- How do I check if a company secretary is properly licensed?
- What should I ask before signing with a company secretary?
- What's the catch with cheap online incorporation?
- Are you the same company as companies.com.my?
- Can I move my existing company to you mid-year?
- Do you have reviews and real clients?
- Why do secretarial firms collect annual fees upfront?
- What happens if I'm not happy with your service?
Incorporating for a particular case — F&B, property, startups raising funds, family businesses, joint ventures, non-profits, franchises and holding companies.
- How do I set up a Sdn Bhd for a restaurant or café?
- Should I buy property through a Sdn Bhd?
- How should a startup incorporate if it plans to raise funding?
- Should my children be shareholders in the family company?
- How do I set up a joint venture with a foreign partner?
- I'm starting an NGO or non-profit — is a Sdn Bhd right?
- I'm a Grab driver or gig worker — should I incorporate?
- I'm buying a business — should I buy the shares or the assets?
- I'm buying a franchise — what does incorporation involve?
- Does my new company need to comply with PDPA?
- What is an investment holding company and is it taxed differently?
No question matches that yet. Ask it directly — WhatsApp +60 10-383 5988 .
Robo Company Secretary — a licensed company secretary firm with a walk-in office at J-3A-15, Solaris Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur. Same firm as companies.com.my (AK Secretarial Companies Sdn Bhd, incorporating Malaysian businesses since 2007). Everything can also be done fully online.