Businesses in Malaysia are registered by the Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia, SSM (Companies Commission of Malaysia), which runs three registers side by side: the Registration of Companies (ROC), the Registration of Businesses (ROB) for sole proprietorships and conventional partnerships, and the register of limited liability partnerships. Company data and filed documents, including financial statements, can be purchased through SSM’s information services. Beneficial ownership is held by SSM as well, but is expressly not public. Labuan companies fall outside SSM entirely and are registered by the Labuan Financial Services Authority.

The official company register in Malaysia

The registrar is Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia, SSM (Companies Commission of Malaysia), at ssm.com.my. It administers the Companies Act 2016 and the Companies (Amendment) Act 2024, the Registration of Businesses Act 1956, the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2012 and its 2024 amendment, the Trust Companies Act, the Interest Schemes Act and the Companies Commission of Malaysia Act.

Malaysia therefore has separate registers for companies and for individual entrepreneurs, kept by the same commission:

  • Registration of Companies (ROC) — companies incorporated under the Companies Act 2016, and foreign companies registered to carry on business in Malaysia. Incorporation is done through the MyCoID portal.
  • Registration of Businesses (ROB) — sole proprietorships and conventional partnerships under the Registration of Businesses Act 1956, registered through the ezBiz portal. A partnership may register only under a trade name, while a sole proprietor may use his personal name or a trade name. This Act does not extend to Sabah and Sarawak, where business names and trade licensing are governed by state legislation, so a Sabah or Sarawak sole trader may not be found in the ROB.
  • Limited liability partnerships — registered under the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2012 through the MyLLP portal.

Filing after registration runs through the MBRS (Malaysian Business Reporting System), SSM’s digital submission platform for annual returns and financial statements, while information is supplied through e-Search, e-Info, e-Query and the bulk service MyDATA SSM. Register entries and statutory notices are published through e-Advertisement.

One national exception must be kept in mind. Companies incorporated in the federal territory of Labuan under the Labuan Companies Act 1990, as amended most recently by the Labuan Companies (Amendment) Act 2025, are incorporated and regulated not by SSM but by the Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA), which maintains its own Labuan company search. A Labuan entity will not appear in SSM’s registers, which is a frequent source of confusion in due diligence on Malaysian structures.

Legal forms that can be registered in Malaysia

English is an official working language of the Malaysian administration and the Companies Act 2016 is enacted in Malay and English, so the forms below carry their statutory English names with the Malay designation where the law prescribes one.

Companies under the Companies Act 2016:

  • Private company limited by shares — Sendirian Berhad (Sdn. Bhd.) — the standard Malaysian company. Shareholders are liable only to the extent of any unpaid amount on their shares, the company may have a single shareholder and a single director, membership is capped, and the name must end in “Sendirian Berhad” or “Sdn. Bhd.”. A qualified company secretary is compulsory.
  • Public company limited by shares — Berhad (Bhd.) — may offer shares to the public and be listed on Bursa Malaysia; the name ends in “Berhad” or “Bhd.”.
  • Company limited by guarantee (CLBG) — has no share capital; members guarantee a contribution on winding up. Used for foundations, professional bodies, educational and charitable organisations, and subject to its own SSM guidelines.
  • Unlimited company — a company in which members bear unlimited liability for the company’s debts; permitted by the Act but rare in practice.
  • Foreign company — a company incorporated outside Malaysia that wishes to carry on business in Malaysia must register with SSM under the Companies Act 2016 and appoint an agent in Malaysia; it operates as a registered branch and not as a separate Malaysian legal person.

Partnership forms:

  • Limited liability partnership — Perkongsian Liabiliti Terhad (PLT) — a body corporate combining partnership flexibility with limited liability: a partner’s exposure is limited to his agreed contribution and he is not liable for the partnership’s obligations except for his own wrongful act. At least two partners are required and a compliance officer must be appointed. The name ends in “PLT”.
  • Conventional partnership — registered under the Registration of Businesses Act 1956 with between two and twenty partners, all of whom are jointly and severally liable without limit, their personal assets included.
  • Sole proprietorship — a single owner registered under the same Act, personally liable without limit; registration is renewed annually rather than granted indefinitely.

Labuan structures registered with Labuan FSA rather than SSM include the Labuan company, the Labuan protected cell company, the Labuan foundation, the Labuan limited liability partnership and the Labuan trust; Labuan trust companies and other service providers are licensed by the same authority.

Information available from the register

SSM operates as a paid information provider rather than as an open register: the corporate data and the filed documents are public in the sense that anyone may buy them, but there is no free full-text search of the kind found in Europe. Company information is obtained through e-Search and e-Info, structured extracts through e-Query, and bulk or repeat access through MyDATA SSM.

For a company registered under the Companies Act the available data covers the registered name and company number, the date and place of incorporation, the company type and status, the registered office and business address, the nature of business, the issued and paid-up share capital and the classes of shares, the shareholders and their holdings, the directors, the company secretary and the auditor with their particulars, the charges registered over the company’s assets, and the record of annual returns and financial statements lodged. For a business registered under the Registration of Businesses Act the record shows the business name, the owner or partners, the address and branches, the nature of business and the validity of the registration.

Financial statements are filed and obtainable. Companies lodge their annual return and their audited financial statements with SSM through MBRS, and both can be purchased for any company, which makes Malaysia considerably more transparent on accounts than most of its neighbours. Certificates of incorporation and certified copies of filed documents are issued on request.

What the register does not disclose

Beneficial ownership is closed. SSM holds beneficial ownership information under the reporting framework introduced by the Companies (Amendment) Act 2024, but access is expressly restricted. Applications may be made only by the beneficial owner in respect of his own information, by an authorised representative of the beneficial owner, by Bank Negara Malaysia, by Malaysian enforcement agencies investigating serious offences, by reporting institutions under the anti-money-laundering legislation, and by the Ministry of Finance for government procurement purposes. A member of the public, a journalist or a foreign counterparty cannot obtain it, and requests other than those from authorities require the beneficial owner’s written consent.

Nor is the register free. Every extract, certificate and document copy is a chargeable product, so screening a portfolio of Malaysian counterparties has a cost that does not arise in jurisdictions with open registers. Sole traders and partnerships in Sabah and Sarawak sit outside the federal ROB, Labuan entities sit outside SSM altogether, and licensing for regulated activities — banking, insurance, capital markets, professional services — is held by the sector regulators rather than recorded by SSM.

Documents that can be obtained from the register

  • Certificate of incorporation — proof that a company exists as a body corporate, stating its name, number and date of incorporation. Required for banking, tenders and cross-border transactions.
  • Certificate of registration of a business — the equivalent for a sole proprietorship or conventional partnership registered under the Registration of Businesses Act, showing the business name, owner and period of validity.
  • Company profile (e-Info / e-Search extract) — the consolidated register entry: identity, status, addresses, nature of business, capital, shareholders, directors, secretary, auditor and charges. The core due-diligence document.
  • Constitution — the company’s constitutional document where it has adopted one, setting out objects, share rights, directors’ powers and meeting procedure. Under the Companies Act 2016 a company may also operate without a constitution, relying on the Act.
  • Annual return — the yearly statement of the company’s particulars, shareholders, directors and capital as at the anniversary of incorporation, lodged through MBRS.
  • Audited financial statements and reports — the balance sheet, profit and loss account, directors’ report and auditor’s report as lodged; the standard basis for credit and counterparty assessment.
  • Statutory forms recording changes — the notifications of changes of registered office, directors, secretary, auditor, share capital and shareholding, and the return of allotment of shares.
  • Register of charges and instruments of charge — the security interests created over the company’s property and their satisfaction; essential to lenders and asset buyers.
  • Foreign company filings — the constitutional documents of the foreign parent, the particulars of its directors and of the Malaysian agent, and the accounts lodged for the registered branch.
  • Winding-up, striking-off and receivership filings — the documents evidencing that a company has been dissolved, struck off or placed under receivership or liquidation, and when.
  • Beneficial ownership information — issued only to the categories of applicant entitled under the reporting framework, and not to the public.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the official business register in Malaysia?

The registers kept by Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM, Companies Commission of Malaysia): the Registration of Companies for companies incorporated under the Companies Act 2016, the Registration of Businesses for sole proprietorships and partnerships, and the register of limited liability partnerships.

Is the Malaysian company register free to search?

No. SSM supplies company profiles, extracts, certificates and document copies as chargeable products through e-Search, e-Info, e-Query and MyDATA SSM. There is no free public full search of the register.

Are the accounts of Malaysian companies public?

Yes, on payment. Companies lodge their annual return and audited financial statements with SSM through the MBRS platform, and those filings can be purchased for any company.

Can I find the beneficial owner of a Malaysian company?

Not as a member of the public. Beneficial ownership information held by SSM under the framework introduced by the Companies (Amendment) Act 2024 is available only to the beneficial owner and his authorised representative, to Bank Negara Malaysia, to enforcement agencies investigating serious offences, to reporting institutions under the anti-money-laundering legislation and to the Ministry of Finance for procurement.

What is the difference between Sdn. Bhd. and Berhad?

Both are companies limited by shares. Sendirian Berhad (Sdn. Bhd.) is a private company whose membership is capped and whose shares may not be offered to the public; Berhad (Bhd.) is a public company that may offer shares publicly and be listed.

Why can I not find a Labuan company at SSM?

Because Labuan companies are incorporated under the Labuan Companies Act 1990 and registered by the Labuan Financial Services Authority, which keeps its own company search. They are Malaysian entities but they are outside SSM’s registers.

Sources

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