PT PMA Company Registration in Indonesia

What a PT PMA actually is

PT PMA stands for Perseroan Terbatas Penanaman Modal Asing — a limited liability company with foreign shareholding. It is not a special licence bolted onto a local company. It is a distinct legal form, governed by Law No. 25 of 2007 on Investment, and it is the only structure through which a foreign individual or foreign company can hold shares in an Indonesian operating business.

The distinction matters because of what people try instead. A local PT registered in an Indonesian friend's name — a nominee arrangement — is common, cheap, and legally hollow. Article 33 of the Investment Law voids nominee agreements outright. The shares belong to the person named on them. We have watched that end badly enough times that we will not set one up, and we will say so plainly if that is what you are asking for.

What a PT PMA gives you in return: shares you actually own, the ability to sponsor your own work permit, a company that can open a corporate bank account, sign leases, employ staff, import goods, and be sold or inherited.

Can you own 100%? Usually — but check first

Since Presidential Regulation 10/2021 (as amended by 49/2021), Indonesia works from a positive investment list. The old negative list is gone. The default is now that a sector is open to 100% foreign ownership unless it is specifically restricted.

Restrictions that remain fall into a few groups: sectors closed entirely (narcotics cultivation, gambling, certain fisheries), sectors reserved for micro and small enterprises and cooperatives, sectors requiring partnership with a local business, and sectors with a stated maximum foreign percentage.

The practical problem is that the restriction attaches to the KBLI code, not to how you describe your business. Two activities that sound identical in English can sit under different codes with different ownership limits. Getting this wrong at the deed stage means amending the articles of association later — a notary, a new ministerial approval, and weeks you did not budget for.

This is the single check worth doing before anything else. Our free KBLI checker will show you the code and its OSS risk level; we will confirm the ownership limit for your specific case at no charge.

The capital requirement, stated correctly

Two different numbers get confused constantly, including by consultants who should know better.

You will still read "PT PMA requires 10 billion rupiah in the bank" on many websites. That has not been accurate since the 2025 rules changed, and repeating it either scares off viable investors or leads them to overfund the company for no reason.

Note the phrase per KBLI code per location. A company running three distinct business lines in two cities does not have one Rp 10 billion threshold — it has six. Structuring the activity list properly at the start is usually worth more than any fee we charge.

A small number of sectors sit outside this framework with their own minimums — banking, insurance, and certain financial services among them. If you are in one of those, the figures above do not apply to you and you should say so early in the conversation.

Shareholders, directors, commissioners

• At least two shareholders. They may both be foreign, and they may be individuals, foreign companies, or a mix. A single-shareholder company (PT Perorangan) is not available to foreigners.
• At least one director. The director runs the company and signs on its behalf. A foreign director must hold a work permit and KITAS to work in Indonesia — being a director on paper is not the same as being allowed to work here.
• At least one commissioner. The commissioner supervises. A foreign commissioner living abroad does not need a KITAS; one who works in Indonesia does.
• A registered address in a zone that permits your activity. This is where deals go wrong most often — see below.

There is no legal requirement for an Indonesian director or commissioner in an ordinary PT PMA. If someone tells you that you must appoint a local as a condition of registration, ask them which regulation says so.

The process, step by step

1. Name reservation at the Ministry of Law (AHU). Three words minimum, letters only, not already taken. 1–2 days.
2. Deed of establishment before an Indonesian notary. Shareholding, capital, activities, and management are fixed here. Foreign shareholders can sign by power of attorney — you do not have to fly in.
3. Ministerial approval (SK Kemenkumham) — the company legally exists from this point. 2–4 days.
4. Corporate tax number (NPWP) and taxpayer registration.
5. NIB through OSS RBA — the business identification number, which also functions as the import licence and company registration certificate. Issued against your KBLI codes and their risk levels.
6. Standard certificates and sector licences, if your risk level requires them. Low-risk activities need only the NIB. Medium and high risk require additional verification, and this is where timelines stretch.
7. Bank account, then capital injection, then the first quarterly LKPM investment report.

Steps 1–5 typically take 10 to 20 working days when documents are complete and the activity is low-risk. Sector licences after that vary from a fortnight to several months depending on the field — a restaurant, a clinic, and a mining services company are not comparable.

Four mistakes that cost real money

Signing a lease before checking the zoning. This is the most expensive error we see, by a wide margin. A five-year lease is signed, the fit-out is finished, and only then does someone discover the location's zoning does not permit the activity. That money does not come back. We check location suitability free, before you sign anything.

Choosing the KBLI code from a search result. The code determines the risk level; the risk level determines which licences are mandatory; those licences determine your timeline and cost. Fixing a wrong code later is far more expensive than getting it right in week one.

Treating the director appointment as paperwork. A foreign director who intends to work in Indonesia needs RPTKA approval and a work KITAS. Arriving on a tourist visa to "manage the setup" is a common and genuinely risky shortcut.

Forgetting LKPM. Every PT PMA must file a quarterly investment activity report through OSS. Missing filings can lead to warnings and, eventually, suspension of the business licence. It is a small recurring task that people simply stop doing after the excitement of incorporation.

What it costs

Our PT PMA package starts at Rp 12,000,000. That covers name reservation, the notarial deed, ministerial approval, corporate NPWP, and NIB through OSS.

Not included, because they vary genuinely: sector-specific licences, virtual or physical office rental, work permits and KITAS, and the capital itself. We quote those separately once we know your activity, and we quote them before you commit rather than after.

Our full price list is published at izinberes.com/harga.md, including services in the hundreds of millions of rupiah. We publish it because we think you should be able to compare before you talk to anyone, including us.

Frequently asked questions

Talk to us before you commit

Most of the expensive mistakes we see were made before anyone spoke to a consultant — a lease signed in the wrong zone, a KBLI code chosen from a blog post, a nominee arrangement that cannot survive scrutiny. A conversation costs nothing and usually takes twenty minutes. We answer in English, Mandarin, and Indonesian.