The Name of YOUR company is something that carry much weight, especially if it's a brand name. However, in the new age of Internet and Technology, Malaysians tend to find fancy names that are auspicious to market their product.
Malaysia have strict naming method for companies. It can only be in Malay or English and not a cross mix of them (aka Rojak). For example, if you manufacture foodstuff here, and you would like your name be Gerak Maju (Fast Moving in Malay), it can only be Gerak Maju Sdn Bhd or Perusahaan (Manufacturer/Factory) Gerak Maju Sdn Bhd and NOT Gerak Maju Manufacturing Sdn Bhd. Reserved words that are charter marks like Royal,Government,Trust,Finance,Bank,Society etc are also not allowed unless you are given a permission by the Minister of Trade. Your company secretary can advise you on that.
However, having a good name is not enough. Make sure nobody squats on your branding on the internet, being Malaysia or .COM basis. Even with a trademark in play, it is awfully hard to untangle. A search on Malaysia Domain Registry can show if it's in use.
Chinese business community tend to put names that sounds prosperous like Happiness, Good Fortune, and the sort as even Malays and Chinese believe that by repeating words that of good fortune, is just as how you are praying for one.
Banking in Malaysia
Prior to 2010, it is quite easy to open a bank account in Malaysia and due to the rigid and stringent Anti Money Laundering laws in Malaysia, things are getting harder to handle.
Opening a current account (checking account to some, with a cheque book) in Malaysia involves a few hoops to jump over. The main local banks, Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank), Arab Malaysian (AmBank), Public Bank, CIMB and RHB along with Alliance, EON, Hong Leong Bank are the main players offering conventional and islamic banking whereas Bank Islam, Muamalat, Bank Rakyat only offer Islamic Banking on top of the full licensed foreign banks such as Al-Rajhi Bank and Kuwait Finance House which offers Islamic Products only along side OCBC, Standard Chartered, Citibank, United Overseas Bank and HSBC offering both systems.
You will definitely need an INTRODUCER to open an account with any of the banks. Al-Rajhi would normally open you a bank account if you fulfill their KYC requirements supported by a Bankers Reference Letter from your host country, faxed beforehand. HSBC are far harder and you should approach your HSBC Premier Banking Manager to handle it. Common to many, Maybank is the Preferred Choice as they have the MOST number of branches nationwide, alongside CIMB and RHB after mega mergers. Many personal sales or direct deposits go through Maybank or their internet banking system Maybank2U or M2U for short.
Also before hand, you should get your company secretary to provide a Memorandum and Resolution of Board of Directors, to enable the bank to open a bank account for the company with the stated persons in the resolution to operate the account. You will need a resolution every time you need to open a new account, or modify the terms and conditions on use of the account. Normally, the directors are the signatories to the account, and requires two signatories for anything above a certain limit. It is also common that a director pre-signed the chequebook prior to his absence from duties and a deputy or manager countersign the cheques.
All the signatories must be present at the bank to open the bank account, with relevant documents such as National ID (MYKAD) for locals and Passports for foreigners with a VALID WORK VISA endorsed within. We know it is a chicken and an egg situation, but of times, trust is somewhat important. Maybank is totally rigid in their audit trails, as with others. They will require a secondary proof of residence like Driver's License from Malaysia to dictate the address on the file.
The normal minimum amount needed to open the account is RM5000 for most accounts, with foreign and bigger banks requiring at least RM10,000 with HSBC and Citibank. Banks do not provide a debit or ATM card for companies (Sdn Bhd/Pte Ltd) at all due to security reasons, except for Alliance Bank which does have a debit maestro card for restricted use. This will require secondary memorandum to allow all these functionality. Normally, Internet Banking is available for the company accounts and may require an annual fee. It's pretty useful to know the going ons in the account and to stop cheques immediately upon loss or theft by yourself or the payee. There may be some legal fees you need to pay.
Also wise is to attend to the banking requirements early in the morning, usually about 1000hrs as they will need to do your credit check and other matters. Company accounts are NOT OPENED IMMEDIATELY and subjected to Securities Check by the SSM and also Central Bank for bounced cheques. That is why the initial directors are usually the people who need to go to the bank and open them up as the banks would already have a relationship with them.
While you are at it, kind of wise to open your own personal savings or checking account so you can cash your payroll cheques. Every since 9/11 , company cheques are NON-ENCASHABLE and MUST BE BANKED IN. However, if your bank is Maybank and you have an account with them, by going back to the home branch of the drawing cheque, you may pay it in at the teller immediately as a HOUSE CHEQUE where the proceeds are made available immediately. Of course, it must be crossing cancelled. Then you may ask the teller to cash it out immediately. However, if you are holding a savings account, you must bring your own passbook and in the case of checking, a blank cheque so you can cash out from your own account. It is kind of silly, but with a checking account, you cannot withdraw cash out at a teller without your chequebook.
ATM or Multi Function Debit Cards (Mastercard Electronic or Visa Electron) are made available to PERSONAL ACCOUNTS. It costs usually RM12 or RM18 for the card issue, and you cannot use it abroad or at the internet sites, unless pre-arranged. Tell the teller to make sure you can draw up to RM5000 a day and able to spend abroad as you are an EXTERNAL ACCOUNT HOLDER. They will try dodge the problem by telling you million and one answers but it's the truth, they have to activate it for you from their console, and no where else.
Malaysia don't use IBAN system, but utilises the SWIFT system. All banks except BSN and some other smaller entities are connected to SWIFT and even though you may have a conventional account and islamic one at the same branch, different swift code applies. However, the bank may inter-credit it for you for a convenience fee and usually takes out RM20+ 0.125% from any incoming wires, plus the standard Visa Forex charge of 2%. Currency transfers exceeding RM10,000 needs to be declared. Ask the branch for more info, and despite swift transfers, they kind of take up to 3 to 7 working days to credit in.
Western Union and Moneygram are the fastest way to wire in.
Refer to our SWIFT BANKING CODES for more information.
Opening a current account (checking account to some, with a cheque book) in Malaysia involves a few hoops to jump over. The main local banks, Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank), Arab Malaysian (AmBank), Public Bank, CIMB and RHB along with Alliance, EON, Hong Leong Bank are the main players offering conventional and islamic banking whereas Bank Islam, Muamalat, Bank Rakyat only offer Islamic Banking on top of the full licensed foreign banks such as Al-Rajhi Bank and Kuwait Finance House which offers Islamic Products only along side OCBC, Standard Chartered, Citibank, United Overseas Bank and HSBC offering both systems.
You will definitely need an INTRODUCER to open an account with any of the banks. Al-Rajhi would normally open you a bank account if you fulfill their KYC requirements supported by a Bankers Reference Letter from your host country, faxed beforehand. HSBC are far harder and you should approach your HSBC Premier Banking Manager to handle it. Common to many, Maybank is the Preferred Choice as they have the MOST number of branches nationwide, alongside CIMB and RHB after mega mergers. Many personal sales or direct deposits go through Maybank or their internet banking system Maybank2U or M2U for short.
Also before hand, you should get your company secretary to provide a Memorandum and Resolution of Board of Directors, to enable the bank to open a bank account for the company with the stated persons in the resolution to operate the account. You will need a resolution every time you need to open a new account, or modify the terms and conditions on use of the account. Normally, the directors are the signatories to the account, and requires two signatories for anything above a certain limit. It is also common that a director pre-signed the chequebook prior to his absence from duties and a deputy or manager countersign the cheques.
All the signatories must be present at the bank to open the bank account, with relevant documents such as National ID (MYKAD) for locals and Passports for foreigners with a VALID WORK VISA endorsed within. We know it is a chicken and an egg situation, but of times, trust is somewhat important. Maybank is totally rigid in their audit trails, as with others. They will require a secondary proof of residence like Driver's License from Malaysia to dictate the address on the file.
The normal minimum amount needed to open the account is RM5000 for most accounts, with foreign and bigger banks requiring at least RM10,000 with HSBC and Citibank. Banks do not provide a debit or ATM card for companies (Sdn Bhd/Pte Ltd) at all due to security reasons, except for Alliance Bank which does have a debit maestro card for restricted use. This will require secondary memorandum to allow all these functionality. Normally, Internet Banking is available for the company accounts and may require an annual fee. It's pretty useful to know the going ons in the account and to stop cheques immediately upon loss or theft by yourself or the payee. There may be some legal fees you need to pay.
Also wise is to attend to the banking requirements early in the morning, usually about 1000hrs as they will need to do your credit check and other matters. Company accounts are NOT OPENED IMMEDIATELY and subjected to Securities Check by the SSM and also Central Bank for bounced cheques. That is why the initial directors are usually the people who need to go to the bank and open them up as the banks would already have a relationship with them.
While you are at it, kind of wise to open your own personal savings or checking account so you can cash your payroll cheques. Every since 9/11 , company cheques are NON-ENCASHABLE and MUST BE BANKED IN. However, if your bank is Maybank and you have an account with them, by going back to the home branch of the drawing cheque, you may pay it in at the teller immediately as a HOUSE CHEQUE where the proceeds are made available immediately. Of course, it must be crossing cancelled. Then you may ask the teller to cash it out immediately. However, if you are holding a savings account, you must bring your own passbook and in the case of checking, a blank cheque so you can cash out from your own account. It is kind of silly, but with a checking account, you cannot withdraw cash out at a teller without your chequebook.
ATM or Multi Function Debit Cards (Mastercard Electronic or Visa Electron) are made available to PERSONAL ACCOUNTS. It costs usually RM12 or RM18 for the card issue, and you cannot use it abroad or at the internet sites, unless pre-arranged. Tell the teller to make sure you can draw up to RM5000 a day and able to spend abroad as you are an EXTERNAL ACCOUNT HOLDER. They will try dodge the problem by telling you million and one answers but it's the truth, they have to activate it for you from their console, and no where else.
Malaysia don't use IBAN system, but utilises the SWIFT system. All banks except BSN and some other smaller entities are connected to SWIFT and even though you may have a conventional account and islamic one at the same branch, different swift code applies. However, the bank may inter-credit it for you for a convenience fee and usually takes out RM20+ 0.125% from any incoming wires, plus the standard Visa Forex charge of 2%. Currency transfers exceeding RM10,000 needs to be declared. Ask the branch for more info, and despite swift transfers, they kind of take up to 3 to 7 working days to credit in.
Western Union and Moneygram are the fastest way to wire in.
Refer to our SWIFT BANKING CODES for more information.
Before setting into the Malaysian Market
Many investors are always caught off guard by the shortcuts they tend to take, thinking that Malaysia is just like any other third world nation such as Indonesia or Vietnam or Cambodia where corruption is rampant and normally, our friends from the American continent are the ones caught out in the tangle, trying to sort out the mess which could be avoided if they heeded the advisory of the consultants.
Rule 1
There are no short cuts in doing business in Malaysia. Rules do change often during or near a budget reading, which falls in early March or so (subjective, do read the papers) but not that much, normally to your advantage. Rules are there to protect yourself from getting conned from scams, locals and foreign alike. As how biased it may be, African nationals and Colored folks tend to use Malaysia as a base to launder their dirty business, and thus causing more restrictions to the legitimate investor.
Rule 2
Pay the proper fees. It is better to cost you now then getting a steady flow of money bled out from your tight budget in getting to get things fixed. This includes start up fees (incorporation,legal and secretarial fees), banking fees and getting a place to start your business.
Rule 3
Give yourself AMPLE TIME. Just as how you heard the time keeping nightmares of the Arabian deals, Malaysia is governed by Federal and State rulings. Each state has it's own ups and downs and timings to get things done. Incorporation takes about 2 weeks to complete, from name searches, to filing and getting the certificate issued out. This is subjective to any local and public holidays which normally involves the Sovereigns and Islamic Holidays such as Eid (VERY VERY LONG HOLIDAYS!) [Normally called Aidul Fitri or Hari Raya Puasa and Aidul Adha or Hari Raya Kurban in relation to the Haj]. Chinese New Year and some other holidays that land on either a Monday or Friday will be dealt with a super long holiday where the officers are gone home to their villages or homeland.
Northern Islamic States such as Kelantan , Kedah (Sovereign of Penang) and Terengganu practices the Islamic Holiday system, meaning Sunday to Thurday working days for the government and some companies work Monday to Fridays, including Banks. However, Cheques and Interbank fund transfer don't effect on Fridays and Sundays, especially if drawn on a Federated State or Outstation Branches such as Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.
Cheques takes 3 days to clear despite the CTCS SPICK clearing system in place. They will however, debit your bank account the same night it is presented, and funds available on 3rd day at 0700hrs. Ensure you don't do a piggy back cheque issue , example you bank in A cheque on monday and issue your vendor a cheque on the same day, dated on that day itself. It will bounce and cause you a RM100 fine and a marker on your account for bouncing cheques to the the Central Bank and Credit Bureaus. Should you bounce 3 cheques in a year, all your accounts, including those signatories personal ones will be closed, and the marker ACCOUNT CLOSED, BOUNCE CHEQUE will stay on your name and record for SEVEN YEARS! It's a far worse punitive measure than a bankruptcy. BE WARNED. Also, if a police report is lodged, you will be charged fr fraud for issuing dodgy cheques which means JAIL TERMS. They seem to adapt the Singapore method of doing things, which the same goes to Arabian peninsular. Arrange a Secured Overdraft if possible.
Rule 4
BE PATIENT. If handling the Government Agencies or Statutory Bodies, be ready to hop about, getting things done. Local Municipal Licenses and alike REQUIRE the LOCAL CONTACT who is the director to get the permits up.He or She will act as the guarantor should anything screw up and goes to court to answer for your misdemeanor. So pay up for that kind of bail bond. Cost wise, it usually cost RM1200 per year to get him or her to sit on your board of directors plus a service fee of about RM300-500 each time they have to be called out to handle the government affairs. Think of this as a time wasted fee as fuel and time cost, just as how precious yours is.
Rule 5
READ THE FINE MANUAL. Company Acts are simple, and many of the laws are available for sale in many good bookshops. The Attorney General website has the raw list of laws in play and available for you to read them online. Do take the time to read them.
Rule 6
Understand what is being said. A company is defined by how much shares it is AUTHORISED to issue (or do business with) with the number of shares being Paid Up. A company is liable to the amount of shares it is paid up to, and usually when a credit check is done, how strong the company is, usually subjected to the amount of shares issued and paid up. By default, ALL COMPANIES ARE AUTHORISED TO RM100,000 and Mandatory to have 2 Shares issued with 2 Directors. The Directors may not be the subscribers to the shares.
Putting the money in the bank account or fixed deposit (certificate of deposit) for a month will usually suffice to warrant share issues and it cost money to issue shares and have the authorised capital increased. The Companies Commission (SSM) fees does not include any legal and stamp duty due on those documentation. All documentation require stamping in order to have it legalised.
Rule 7
Always have a good lawyer handy to deal with your dealings. They usually handle local conveyances and corporate legal affairs. Word of mouth is the best recommendation so far. The more professional and senior they are, the costly the fees are, just as anywhere will be.
Rule 8
Deposits are mandatory for many things. This includes TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INTERNET, UTILITIES, SERVICES.
Range of deposits includes RM3000 for Fixed Phone Lines, RM1500 Per Cellular Line (corporate or foreign entity), Rentals (3+2+1 months being 3 months rent advance, 2 months Utilities and 1 Month advance payment)...costing anywhere between RM15,000 and above, averaging RM3000 a month rent since power bills for offices cost usually about RM3000 per month at least excluding service fees.
If you are talking about cheap rents in semi industrial lots where it may be your workshop and office alike, Tenaga Nasional (TNB) the power company will usually ask about RM10,000 in deposits depending on your power load, with 3 phase 415V input peaking at 100 Amperes and the local water company asking about RM1,000 being that companies tend to touch a minimum RM200 water bill and a habitual late paymaster.
Rule 1
There are no short cuts in doing business in Malaysia. Rules do change often during or near a budget reading, which falls in early March or so (subjective, do read the papers) but not that much, normally to your advantage. Rules are there to protect yourself from getting conned from scams, locals and foreign alike. As how biased it may be, African nationals and Colored folks tend to use Malaysia as a base to launder their dirty business, and thus causing more restrictions to the legitimate investor.
Rule 2
Pay the proper fees. It is better to cost you now then getting a steady flow of money bled out from your tight budget in getting to get things fixed. This includes start up fees (incorporation,legal and secretarial fees), banking fees and getting a place to start your business.
Rule 3
Give yourself AMPLE TIME. Just as how you heard the time keeping nightmares of the Arabian deals, Malaysia is governed by Federal and State rulings. Each state has it's own ups and downs and timings to get things done. Incorporation takes about 2 weeks to complete, from name searches, to filing and getting the certificate issued out. This is subjective to any local and public holidays which normally involves the Sovereigns and Islamic Holidays such as Eid (VERY VERY LONG HOLIDAYS!) [Normally called Aidul Fitri or Hari Raya Puasa and Aidul Adha or Hari Raya Kurban in relation to the Haj]. Chinese New Year and some other holidays that land on either a Monday or Friday will be dealt with a super long holiday where the officers are gone home to their villages or homeland.
Northern Islamic States such as Kelantan , Kedah (Sovereign of Penang) and Terengganu practices the Islamic Holiday system, meaning Sunday to Thurday working days for the government and some companies work Monday to Fridays, including Banks. However, Cheques and Interbank fund transfer don't effect on Fridays and Sundays, especially if drawn on a Federated State or Outstation Branches such as Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.
Cheques takes 3 days to clear despite the CTCS SPICK clearing system in place. They will however, debit your bank account the same night it is presented, and funds available on 3rd day at 0700hrs. Ensure you don't do a piggy back cheque issue , example you bank in A cheque on monday and issue your vendor a cheque on the same day, dated on that day itself. It will bounce and cause you a RM100 fine and a marker on your account for bouncing cheques to the the Central Bank and Credit Bureaus. Should you bounce 3 cheques in a year, all your accounts, including those signatories personal ones will be closed, and the marker ACCOUNT CLOSED, BOUNCE CHEQUE will stay on your name and record for SEVEN YEARS! It's a far worse punitive measure than a bankruptcy. BE WARNED. Also, if a police report is lodged, you will be charged fr fraud for issuing dodgy cheques which means JAIL TERMS. They seem to adapt the Singapore method of doing things, which the same goes to Arabian peninsular. Arrange a Secured Overdraft if possible.
Rule 4
BE PATIENT. If handling the Government Agencies or Statutory Bodies, be ready to hop about, getting things done. Local Municipal Licenses and alike REQUIRE the LOCAL CONTACT who is the director to get the permits up.He or She will act as the guarantor should anything screw up and goes to court to answer for your misdemeanor. So pay up for that kind of bail bond. Cost wise, it usually cost RM1200 per year to get him or her to sit on your board of directors plus a service fee of about RM300-500 each time they have to be called out to handle the government affairs. Think of this as a time wasted fee as fuel and time cost, just as how precious yours is.
Rule 5
READ THE FINE MANUAL. Company Acts are simple, and many of the laws are available for sale in many good bookshops. The Attorney General website has the raw list of laws in play and available for you to read them online. Do take the time to read them.
Rule 6
Understand what is being said. A company is defined by how much shares it is AUTHORISED to issue (or do business with) with the number of shares being Paid Up. A company is liable to the amount of shares it is paid up to, and usually when a credit check is done, how strong the company is, usually subjected to the amount of shares issued and paid up. By default, ALL COMPANIES ARE AUTHORISED TO RM100,000 and Mandatory to have 2 Shares issued with 2 Directors. The Directors may not be the subscribers to the shares.
Putting the money in the bank account or fixed deposit (certificate of deposit) for a month will usually suffice to warrant share issues and it cost money to issue shares and have the authorised capital increased. The Companies Commission (SSM) fees does not include any legal and stamp duty due on those documentation. All documentation require stamping in order to have it legalised.
Rule 7
Always have a good lawyer handy to deal with your dealings. They usually handle local conveyances and corporate legal affairs. Word of mouth is the best recommendation so far. The more professional and senior they are, the costly the fees are, just as anywhere will be.
Rule 8
Deposits are mandatory for many things. This includes TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INTERNET, UTILITIES, SERVICES.
Range of deposits includes RM3000 for Fixed Phone Lines, RM1500 Per Cellular Line (corporate or foreign entity), Rentals (3+2+1 months being 3 months rent advance, 2 months Utilities and 1 Month advance payment)...costing anywhere between RM15,000 and above, averaging RM3000 a month rent since power bills for offices cost usually about RM3000 per month at least excluding service fees.
If you are talking about cheap rents in semi industrial lots where it may be your workshop and office alike, Tenaga Nasional (TNB) the power company will usually ask about RM10,000 in deposits depending on your power load, with 3 phase 415V input peaking at 100 Amperes and the local water company asking about RM1,000 being that companies tend to touch a minimum RM200 water bill and a habitual late paymaster.
The business folklore of Malaysia
Although Malaysia is a Muslim controlled country, laws of the land are such that they favor the person who has been victimized and the foreigners tend to hear the biased editorials and commentaries from the Print and Mass Media alike.
One of the many tales of Malaysia Business is that you need to know people to get things done, in other words, corruption and the works. This is not true. Last year, the Malaysian Government enacted the Suruhanjaya Pencegah Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) or the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) which is an independent Agency of the Prime Minister's Department which handles and prosecutes corrupt practices in the government and private entities alike. They are now usually present in any inter agency raid to ensure that the enforcement officers are not blinded by gifts and throw away a case.
However, the laws governing business entities and immigration are very strict. Recently, the mandated investment amount for foreign entities are said to be RM500,000 (USD150,000) , up from the RM250,000 required back in 2007 to allow the company to acquire expatriate passes for their top management and professionals , whom otherwise would be just issued with a normal blue collar work permit, without any fringe benefits.
Levies and Visa fees also differ between professionals and work permit holders, such as Expatriate Pass Holders i-Kad are Gold in color whereas the Work Permit is Green or Blue in color, and that the levies are higher, and far subjected to much political scrutiny from the immigration department for application of the work permit, whereas the expatriates are automatically given a 5 year Pass, and if they wish, they can request for a permanent resident permit (PR) before the expiry of their pass.
Of course, there are many financial obligations required to get your gold card, such as a bail bond deposit of about RM3000 for most nationalities (RM200 for Singapore, RM1500 for low risk countries) for the duration of their stay here and that they have to file and pay their income taxes based on a minimum RM5000 monthly salary which stands at a tax rate of 12% for that income band. Muslims can pay their tithes or Zakat in lieu of the required tax instead.
Another thing that keep on crapping out is that the company must be owned or have Malaysian Shareholders. This is not exactly true as normally, the first directors can be of any nationality provided they have a proof of address here and a visa status. This rule is exempt for Singapore and Brunei Citizens as according the Federation of Malay States Act. However, it is preferred to have a Malaysian as a director to deal with the local authorities such as the local municipal licensing and other requirements such as GETTING YOUR WORK PERMITS.
One of our companies are 100% foreign owned and with foreigners as shareholders. However, as they don't deal with governmental contracts or such, they don't bother as much as they are more or less a holding company with itself owning few other companies. Contrary to the hear say, you can take out your investments from the company or even Malaysia without any restrictions provided those requirements are met when you start out in the first place.
One of the many tales of Malaysia Business is that you need to know people to get things done, in other words, corruption and the works. This is not true. Last year, the Malaysian Government enacted the Suruhanjaya Pencegah Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) or the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) which is an independent Agency of the Prime Minister's Department which handles and prosecutes corrupt practices in the government and private entities alike. They are now usually present in any inter agency raid to ensure that the enforcement officers are not blinded by gifts and throw away a case.
However, the laws governing business entities and immigration are very strict. Recently, the mandated investment amount for foreign entities are said to be RM500,000 (USD150,000) , up from the RM250,000 required back in 2007 to allow the company to acquire expatriate passes for their top management and professionals , whom otherwise would be just issued with a normal blue collar work permit, without any fringe benefits.
Levies and Visa fees also differ between professionals and work permit holders, such as Expatriate Pass Holders i-Kad are Gold in color whereas the Work Permit is Green or Blue in color, and that the levies are higher, and far subjected to much political scrutiny from the immigration department for application of the work permit, whereas the expatriates are automatically given a 5 year Pass, and if they wish, they can request for a permanent resident permit (PR) before the expiry of their pass.
Of course, there are many financial obligations required to get your gold card, such as a bail bond deposit of about RM3000 for most nationalities (RM200 for Singapore, RM1500 for low risk countries) for the duration of their stay here and that they have to file and pay their income taxes based on a minimum RM5000 monthly salary which stands at a tax rate of 12% for that income band. Muslims can pay their tithes or Zakat in lieu of the required tax instead.
Another thing that keep on crapping out is that the company must be owned or have Malaysian Shareholders. This is not exactly true as normally, the first directors can be of any nationality provided they have a proof of address here and a visa status. This rule is exempt for Singapore and Brunei Citizens as according the Federation of Malay States Act. However, it is preferred to have a Malaysian as a director to deal with the local authorities such as the local municipal licensing and other requirements such as GETTING YOUR WORK PERMITS.
One of our companies are 100% foreign owned and with foreigners as shareholders. However, as they don't deal with governmental contracts or such, they don't bother as much as they are more or less a holding company with itself owning few other companies. Contrary to the hear say, you can take out your investments from the company or even Malaysia without any restrictions provided those requirements are met when you start out in the first place.
Why Do Business in Malaysia
Malaysia, formerly known by the British Colonial times as Malaya or Borneo to some are located at the end of the Thai-Myanmar Peninsular with over 13 states spanning to the island of Borneo *(which is now called Sabah and Sarawak states with Brunei as an independent nation) offers the business community a far better haven in terms of prospects and tax reliefs all about.
Populated by over 27 million citizens and about 5 million immigrants or foreign workers, Malaysia is a multi cultured country with majority of the residents being able to speak English as a common spoken language with Bahasa Malaysia (or Melayu / Malay) as their main national language with Mandarin , Cantonese and Tamil widely spoken among the minorities. Home to Fortune 500 countries like Dell, Intel, HP, Seagate, Western Digital, Motorola, Silterra and many more top names, Malaysia offers something that others in the region can't: Stability. Economically, Malaysia offers stable currency and political situation, with stern brute force punishment on violence and drug abuse, on top of a stable geological landscape, without fears of an earthquake, hurricane, volcanic eruptions and typhoons. Although the typical monsoon thunderstorm is a part and parcel of life and property here, the loss of lives are not attributed to mother nature, rather the reckless act of men and their machines.
Malaysia offers tax free haven in Labuan, which is an island off Sabah (North Borneo) with International Banking and Finance as a core hub alongside the oil refineries located in Labuan. Corporate Tax is one of the lowest in the region, currently set at 28% at the top rate compared to over 40% in the neighbouring countries. Apart from that, the Malaysian Government don't restrict the ownership of corporate entities to the foreigners unless they wish to bid for a Malaysian Government Tender which will require a majority Malaysian Presence. However, this is normally circumvented as the shareholders and directors are merely proxies to the foreign presence.
(Version 1- 2010/Oct/01)
(Version 1- 2010/Oct/01)
Welcome To Business Malaysia
Business Malaysia is all about helping you learn and understand the culture and what-nots in dealing and setting up a prosperous business venture in Malaysia.
Although there are many guide books on how to create a business entity (in this term, a Company Incorporated as a Private Company limited by Shares usually called Pte/Pty Ltd/LLC globally) in Malaysia such as Malaysia Business Law Handbook
and other dummy guides, having a person hands on are far better than just reading in books.
What and whom we are don't really mind, as many of us writers here are successful business persons and corporate figures, whom are not going to let you know who we exactly are, as it's not that fun for the industry to know that we have pierced the secrets of the trade.
The Guides , which you usually buy for over $200 in e-book format are normally a scam found in Blogspots, Facebooks and Get Rich Quick schemes. However, we find it's much easier if you know what to look for , as many of us have gone through the painful lessons ourselves.
Although there are many guide books on how to create a business entity (in this term, a Company Incorporated as a Private Company limited by Shares usually called Pte/Pty Ltd/LLC globally) in Malaysia such as Malaysia Business Law Handbook
and other dummy guides, having a person hands on are far better than just reading in books.What and whom we are don't really mind, as many of us writers here are successful business persons and corporate figures, whom are not going to let you know who we exactly are, as it's not that fun for the industry to know that we have pierced the secrets of the trade.
The Guides , which you usually buy for over $200 in e-book format are normally a scam found in Blogspots, Facebooks and Get Rich Quick schemes. However, we find it's much easier if you know what to look for , as many of us have gone through the painful lessons ourselves.
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