Simplifying company incorporation
Once upon a time, incorporating a company in Malaysia required physically presenting yourself at an SSM counter and filling in multiple forms.
Thankfully, the Companies Act 2016 consolidates these forms into a single document known as Section 14 or the Company Superform, to serve as the primary tool for company incorporation with SSM.
This post outlines the Superform for parties managing their own incorporation, including:
- What information the Superform asks for
- Some of the trickier sections
- Where and how to submit it
- A pitch to engage MISHU to do it on your behalf!
By the way, If you’ve never seen it before, here’s SSM’s official Superform sample.
Let’s begin.
Information the Superform asks for
Ha, bet you didn’t open the link, did you?
Never mind, click on the pictures of the Superform sample below to expand it.
Based on the sections you need the following details on hand before filling in the Superform:
- Proposed company name
- Nature and description of business
- Company type (shares vs guarantee)
- Registered address
- Key stakeholder details
Lets go into each item with more detail.
Proposed company name
It must be relevant to your business activities, not already in use or reserved by another entity, as well as conform to SSM’s various company naming guidelines.
If you’ve not considered this, SSM actually has quite a few constraints, which you can read about in full in our guide to company naming conventions In Malaysia.
Nature of business
The primary sector your company operates in and specific activities / services carried out. It is done by including up to three MSIC codes.
For more info, our MSIC 2008 business code guide shows how to filter our list of MSIC codes.
Note: Don’t worry if the MSIC codes don’t fully explain your business – just be sure to get the broad description right.
Company description
Where the MSIC codes give a general overview of the company, the description fills in the details and explains exactly what the company does.
It can be up to 200 words long and is entirely written by the party submitting the Superform.
We cover this in our article on explaining your nature of business to SSM.
Company type
Specifically, whether your company will be:
- private or public and
- limited by shares or guarantee
This determines the company’s structure, ownership, and regulatory requirements.
If you are like most businesses, your company is private (a Sdn Bhd) and limited by shares (with you being the majority shareholder).
Proposed registered address
A registered address is where your company is officially registered and serves as its legal address for official correspondence with government bodies.
It isn’t the same as a business address, which is where your company will be physically located and operate.
This is why businesses usually use their Company Secretary’s business address as their registered address – if SSM sends your company a letter, you want your Company Secretary to receive it!
Details of directors, members, and Company Secretary
As key stakeholders in the company, SSM makes it a point to know who they are, so be ready to provide:
- Full name
- Identification papers
- Contact details
- Nationality, and
- Share ownership details
Some additional details are needed on the Company Secretary:
- Where they received their certification
- Their valid license number
What is a Company Secretary?
Also known as a ‘CoSec’, a Company Secretary is a mandatory appointment for all companies in Malaysia and ensures the business operates in compliance with Malaysian company law.
In case it isn’t obvious, MISHU is a CoSec firm, and our team is led by the very capable Fenny.
Don’t be misled by her smile – she can and will scare you into following the rules if she has to!
Some of our main responsibilities include:
- Managing a company’s compulsory Annual Submissions
- Informing SSM of updates in company’s statutory information
- Keeping minutes and drafting resolutions for company decisions
Once you incorporate a company, you have 30 days to appoint a Company Secretary, and since you’re here, you might as well appoint us 😏
Dang, we started the sales pitch to soon, didn’t we?
Let’s get back to the guide first.
Where and how to submit the Superform
Today, the majority of company incorporations, and Superform submissions, are done online via SSM’s MyCoID portal.
As this is your first time visiting, you’ll need to register for a new account before you can proceed with filling in and submitting the Company Superform.
Once submitted, and if all is well, you should hear the good news from SSM via email and SMS within three to five business days.
All the best!
Now we’ve shown you the process, let’s get to the sales pitch!
Let MISHU help incorporate your company
The MISHU team serves entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes, and should you choose us, know that we will be with you at every stage of growth, not just the beginning. Get in touch!