Steps to incorporating company in Malaysia

Incorporation of a company in Malaysia and opening of its corporate bank account are straightforward processes, which can be completed in five weeks. Our Client will not have to travel to the country, provided that a Power of Attorney is issued to the Malaysia incorporation agent who will then complete all procedures on his behalf. The procedures are as follow:

Pre-incorporation planning

Before CLA Consultants proceeds with Malaysia business incorporation, our Firm requests our Client to i) settle the fees payable for the engagement and ii) sign and email us back our engagement letter and iii) provide us all requested due diligence documents from each shareholder, director and beneficial owner of the company;
CLA Consultants’ Malaysia Incorporation Team performs a company name search with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia – SSM). If available, we complete Form PNA 42 to reserve the name on your firm’s behalf. Name reservation approval from SSM normally takes 1 to 3 working days.
CLA Consultants drafts a detailed Malaysia LLC incorporation engagement plan for our Client, including corporate bank account opening steps. This engagement project plan maps out, week by week, each step to engagement completion, optimizing transparency and making sure that our Client’s expectations will be met throughout the project;

Incorporation procedure

After the corporate structure is agreed with our Client, CLA Consultants will complete incorporation Form A for Client signature and courier return. Thereafter we prepare the corporate documents to incorporate the company;
Our team emails the Memorandum and Articles of Association and director and shareholder consent forms, to our Client for his signature in front of notary public and courier return to us. Assuming our Client provides the original signed documents to us in a timely manner, CLA Consultants’ Incorporation Team liaises with the SSM to complete company incorporation in Malaysia;
Our team emails the Memorandum and Articles of Association and director and shareholder consent forms, to our Client for his signature in front of notary public and courier return to us. Assuming our Client provides the original signed documents to us in a timely manner, CLA Consultants’ Incorporation Team liaises with the SSM to complete company incorporation in Malaysia;
On the Client’s behalf, CLA Consultants Malaysia incorporation team files a register of company’s shareholders, directors, managers, and secretaries with the SSM.

Post-incorporation steps

CLA Consultants registers our Client’s company for corporate tax by completing and submitting Form CP 600C with the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia. Tax registration will be completed within 5 working days;
CLA Consultants’ Banking Team completes corporate bank account opening in Malaysia for our Client, together, including world-class multi-currency internet banking facilities. We works with internationally recognized banks such as HSBC, Standard Chartered, and Citibank and local banks such as Maybank, Public bank, CIMB bank, RHB bank to provide corporate bank account services. CLA Consultants’ Banking Team will also liaise with the bank to prevent our Client having to travel for bank account opening interview. Immediately after the bank account opening, our Client is required to deposit the proposed share capital of the company. Our company secretary will provide all certified corporate documents as well as the board resolution to proceed with bank account opening;
After opening a bank account, you will need to use it to get a Sales and Services Tax (SST) Number. The SST is required before the company can commence operations, and is obtained by submitting the company’s information such as its email address and registration number to the Royal Malaysian Customs.
In order to operate your business in Malaysia, you will also need to get a health and safety certificate from the Malaysian Health Services Authority (MHSA).
After establishing a company in Malaysia as a foreigner, hiring local employees entails registering their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) profile within 7 days of the first employment, either at a physical counter or online through the official website. EPF registration is mandatory for employers to contribute to the employee retirement benefit scheme based on their monthly wages. Subsequently, the company is required to register the Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) profile within 30 days of hiring the first employee, via email application to idportalperkeso.gov.my. SOCSO registration is also obligatory as it provides social security protection to private sector employees in accordance with the Employees’ Social Security Act 1969.
CLA Consultants will provide the company with a legal registered address. However, for the company’s business address we recommend the Client should provide their own. Alternatively we can provide a virtual address at an additional cost.
Following engagement completion, CLA Consultants couriers a company kit folder, to our Client’s preferred international address, containing the following corporate documents including original corporate documents, unopened bank correspondence, and a Client feedback survey to assess the quality of our Malaysia company incorporation services.
The company must register with the Employees’ Provident Fund within 7 days of hiring its first employee. This is done by submitting certified copies of the application Form KWSP 1, Form 49 to provide details of your directors and members, a certified copy of the identity card of one of the directors, a copy of the first month’s paycheck either in cheque or bank draft, and a copy of the Certificate of Registration from the SSM.

Contact us

For more info on company registration, please contact our expert directly:

Mr. Petar Chakarov
Senior Manager, Sales & Business Development
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