Foreigners cannot set up sole proprietorships or partnerships unless in very specific professional industries like medical or engineering whereby there is also culpability for personal indemnities. Only foreigner with permanent residency can set up enterprises and sole proprietorships.

A shelf company is an existing company formed with a RM2/= paid up share capital, 2 local directors and shareholders, and a RM100,000 authorised share capital (stamp duty paid). Upon purchase of a shelf company, the existing directors resign & blank transfer forms are delivered to transfer the share to the purchasers. Business can commence immediately upon purchase. In order to form a new company, first we have to get approval from the register of companies to use this proposed name. This process can sometimes take a long time depending on the name chose. Upon approval of use of name, the company secretary then prepares the necessary documents for incorporation for filling. This may take another 5-10 day from the date the entire relevant documents are signed. Business can only commence after the certificate of incorporation has been issued by the register of companies.

From the submission of all necessary paperwork to the ROC it normally takes 5 days for the result to be available but as the ROC's internal information technology systems do breakdown often, it may take up to 2 weeks for the Business Registration Certificate to be issued.

There is no restriction on maximum shareholding i.e. foreigners can own 100% of a company. There is no requirement to divest 30% shareholding to any locals unless the business or activities require government licencing and approvals. By law, all companies with foreign ownerships are required to apply for Foreign Investment Committee approval. Approval is normally given on condition that 30% shareholding is divested to ethnic local Malay within 2 years. Normally, small businesses will not apply for any FIC approval unless there is business with the government departments. If the company intends to transact with government departments which will require licensing, the minimum local "bumiputra" (ethnic Malay) participation must be 30% and above. And the management structure of 50% or above is more favourable to get government contracts.

Foreign investors are allowed to work if they hold a valid work permit. Shareholders can be locals or foreigners but for foreigners to become directors, they must have a valid work permit under the sponsorship of the company they are working for. A foreigner on a dependent's visa or with the Malaysia My Second Home visa will qualify as a passive director but not a working director. The alternative is to seek nominees or trustees. The cost of a nominee or trustee is between RM1,500 and RM2,500 per annum.

Cash or assets can be pumped in as share capital. If you do not have the cash, assets will also qualify.  The minimum share capital requirement for qualification purposes depends on the business activity and the percentage of local shareholding in a company.   Certain activities are encouraged and will require RM500K. Others like warehousing, retail & trade distribution require another approval called the WRT approval and this approval require a minimum of RM1 million if the company is 100% foreign owned. However, if there is local equity, then that amount is reduced depending on the percentage of the equity.  The company cannot loan money to its share holders to buy shares from the company i.e. Share capital must be paid into the bank account in cash or into the company’s assets. However, there is no stopping the company withdrawing the same amount immediately after the bank in.  The total amount paid into the bank does not have to remain in the account if it is need urgently elsewhere but directors who are also shareholders must not owe the company any monies at year end closing so the auditors would not question whether  the shares were actually paid up or not. How this is done will depend on how good your accountant is.

That used to be the case before 1 January 2009. From 1 Jan 2009 on, the new minimum equity structure for qualification of an expatriate post position is as such:-

1. 100% local (Malaysian) owned RM 250,000.00

2. Local + Foreign owned RM 500,000.00 or RM 1Mil depends on percentage of Foreign Shareholding. If WRT required, minimum paid up share capital is RM 1Mil.

3. 100% Foreign owned RM 1mil and above depending on whether WRT approval is required. If WRT approval is required, the minimum paid up is RM1 million. (See attached file for WRT guidelines)

WRT stands for Warehousing, Retail & Distributive Trade. The previous share capital requirement for this approval was RM350K. Because of abuse from the private companies using a RM350K company to "sell“ work permits to primarily Asian foreigners who are small time traders and many were caught selling carpets and watches on the streets, this minimum threshold has now been increased to RM500K for a company with  local partners & RM1 million for 100% foreign owned equity. This new threshold is to ensure the authenticity of the new investor.

Any local company can sponsor the Malaysian spouse. No minimum share capital is required.

Absolutely possible for the applicant to go through the application process themselves. Just be prepared to make numerous trips, long waiting period each time and language barrier dealing with immigration officers at the counters.  If your time cost is very high, then the agents will go through the same application procedures on your behalf. Beside that, LJ Consultants able to advice and guide you through smoothly for entire process. Over at LJ Consultants, we guarantee our quality service with refund if work permit is not approved. How? This sensitive information will be divulge on a more person to person basis – so contact us at admin@expatmalaysia.my

Yes, by setting up a representative office of a foreign company. If you have an existing foreign company, you can set up a branch office in KL . There are no capital requirements here but there are restrictions i.e. the company cannot do trading but it can perform marketing and research functions. For more info. on representative office, please email admin@expatmalaysia.my

There are several proposals that are temporary measures for the increase of paid up capital which have worked out for some people. The details of these proposals are sensitive and should be discussed on a more personal basis. You can contact us for a preliminary discussion at +6017 229 7711 or +603 61482566.

Standard 2 years for both. The EP under the private limited company shall be extendable for an unlimited time period provided it satisfies all the immigration criteria and if the applicant is a shareholder of the company. The work permit for the representative office is normally extendable for another 3 year up to a maximum of 5 years without question but after the fifth year, you will have to justify why you have already set a local private company up after 5 long years of market research and development. Extensions of another 2 years are possible selectively.