Why You Can’t Buy A Shelf Company In Malaysia?

If you are a foreigner on the business trip to Malaysia, you can’t buy a shelf company in Malaysia without fulfilling the requirements as stated below. 

In order to effectively buy a shelf company in Malaysia, you need to understand what is needed from you.

What is needed from you to buy a shelf company in Malaysia?

The following must be made available at the time you decided to buy a shelf company:

  1. 2 directors who are staying in Malaysia (local director)
  2. 2 shareholders 

Please note that a person can be the director & the shareholder of a shelf company at the same time.

Who can be the shareholder?

Any person or company can be a shareholder in any company in Malaysia, regardless the nationality of that person or the country where the company incorporated or came from.

Foreigners or foreign company can own 100% shares in the shelf company.

What is required to be a local director?

Regardless the nationality of the person, any one can be the local director as long as the following criteria has been fulfilled:

  1. He must be above 18 years old
  2. He must be staying in Malaysia and owns a residential address

Why you can’t buy a shelf company in Malaysia?

Even though you can hold 100% in the shelf company, you may find yourself in a situation where you can’t be the local director of that company as you are not residing in Malaysia.

Unless you manage to provide two (2) local directors, that will be the sole reason you can’t buy a shelf company in Malaysia.