Things to Know About Starting a Small Business in Malaysia

What Business Owner Should Know About Starting a Small Business in Malaysia

Most prospective small business owners will find Malaysia quite irresistible to start a business. This applies to either newly arrived foreigners or expatriates already living in Malaysia. The different industries in Malaysia are lucrative and there is conduciveness of the commercial environments for business. Considering these factors, it is reasonable to conclude that you wouldn’t regret venturing into a business in Malaysia. Though starting a business in this beautiful country is not very difficult, it could still be quite challenging. This is especially true if you lack sufficient knowledge of business and how to register new company in Malaysia.

If you want to own a business Malaysia or learn how to register new company Malaysia, keep on reading. This article focuses on registration of business Malaysia, and will guide you on how to start your business in Malaysia. It will also help you understand how to register a new company Malaysia.

So take note of the following things that you should know about starting your own small business in Malaysia:

 

Get to Know and Understand Malaysia

The first step in learning how to register new company Malaysia is to get to know Malaysia and its citizens. It is recommended that you travel around and learn about Malaysia; learn about its urban centres and its rural areas. Familiarize yourself with the country and its people, foods, cultures, regulations, policies, and laws. Most importantly, familiarize yourself with the requirements of how to register new company Malaysia. At the same time, stay in touch with the trends and tastes, so you know what sells and what doesn’t. You may also collect information from the Internet and speak with the locals.

 

Prepare a Simple Business Plan

You cannot run a successful business without a solid plan. A business plan might be short-term or long-term. A short-term plan is usually for 1 to 2 years and a long-term plan is usually for 5 to 6 years. In your business plan, make sure to evaluate and study the market for your skills, product or service. Identify your competitors and check how/what they are doing. Who are your potential customers? You also need to calculate how much capital you need while learning how to register new company Malaysia.

Though creating a great business plan may be hard, you can easily find free business plan templates on the Internet. This will help you map out the strategies you need to adopt. Initially, the operation cost might be higher and the marketing plan might not work well, making you require financial support. Also make contingency plans so that if one fails, you can apply the second plan or another alternative business plan.

 

Decide the Business Type

If you are a local entrepreneur, the registration of business Malaysia can be done as a Sole Proprietor, Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), or General Partnership. These are the common business entities available for registration of business Malaysia.

However, if you are a foreign entrepreneur curious about how to register new company Malaysia, it is different. The agency for registration of business Malaysia allows foreign investors to set up sole proprietorship or partnership with permanent residency. Apart from the options above, foreign investors can also learn how to register new company in Malaysia at Sdn Bhd (Sendirian Berhad, a private limited company), a Labuan company, or a representative office.

 

Choose a Business Name

Choosing a business name is crucial to have in mind when learning how to register new company Malaysia. In fact, one of the toughest steps in how to register new company Malaysia is choosing the perfect business name.  You can check with Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM), the commission for registration of business Malaysia on their website. You can also get a local agency to make enquiries about how to register new company Malaysia. 

Run a name check after you have handpicked the business name. You can complete the Request for Availability of Name (Form 13A of the CA) and submit to SSM. You need to pay a fee at RM30.00 for each name applied. After the name check, you can register the name with commission for registration of business Malaysia, SSM, to get approval. If your name is approved by Commission for registration of business Malaysia, SSM, it will be reserved for three months.

 

Scout for a Business Premise

A good business location is part of your marketing strategy. Therefore, it’s paramount to make adequate research, in order to pick the best location for your business. Not only is the country where your business located important, the actual town, area, street, and office number are important.

In Malaysia, every business must have a legally registered local office address. Some of the important points to consider when scouting for a location are:

• Convenience
• Ease of finding
• Traffic flow
• Logistics
• Transportation
• Parking
• Proximity to various other facilities and available amenities

 

Prepare the Incorporation Documents for Registration of Business Malaysia

You need to submit the Incorporation Documents to the commission for the registration of business Malaysia, SSM, within 3 months from the approval date of the company’s name. Failure to lodge your incorporation documents, you will need to apply for a new name search. Documents required by the agency for registration of business Malaysia include:

• Memorandum and Article of Association/Constitution
• Statutory Declaration by a Director or Promoter before Appointment
• Declaration of Compliance
• Company Name’s approval letter from SSM (one copy)
• Identity Card of every director and company secretary (one copy each)

Once you have fulfilled all requirements and paid the company registration fee of RM1,000 to the SSM, you will get your new business registration certificate within one hour.