Company setup · 8 min read
Choosing the right company structure in Indonesia
Local company, PT PMA or representative office, and what each one means in practice.
The first decision is often the most important one. The structure you choose decides who can own shares, what activities you may carry out and how much paperwork you will have every year.
Three common options
A local PT is owned entirely by Indonesian citizens. A PT PMA allows foreign shareholders, with capital and reporting requirements that depend on the business. A representative office can promote and coordinate, but cannot earn income in Indonesia.
Start from what you will actually do
We always begin with your day to day activities, then find the business codes that match them. Choosing codes because they look broad usually leads to licences that do not fit.
A company that matches how you work is cheaper to run than one that only looks flexible on paper.
Whatever you choose, keep the shareholder agreement, the articles and the licences in line with each other. Most problems we fix come from those three drifting apart.