Company Formation & Licensing
A company set up to do the thing you actually came to do.
Foreign investment in Indonesia is generally carried out through a foreign-owned limited liability company — a PT PMA. It is the structure almost everything else depends on, and the part most often handed over off a template.
The company’s licensed business activity decides what it may lawfully do, how much capital it must hold, and whether a foreigner may own all of it. Choosing it is a legal decision dressed up as an administrative one, and changing it later is slower than getting it right.
AFS Counsellors at Law advise on Indonesian law and make the filings. We work alongside them on the New Zealand side and stay in the matter end to end.
Scope
We can assist with the following, and more.
Setting up
- Choosing between a foreign-owned company, a local company and a representative office
- The licensed business activity, and whether it permits what you intend
- Paid-up capital and shareholding requirements
- Incorporation, deed of establishment and ministerial approval
Licences and registration
- Business identification number and the single-submission system
- Sector licences and the approvals behind them
- Risk classification, and what it changes
- Registrations the company needs before it can trade
Once it is running
- Periodic investment activity reporting
- Corporate tax and withholding registration
- Director, commissioner and shareholder obligations
- Annual filings, and the consequence of missing them
Changes
- Bringing in a new shareholder or investor
- Adding or changing a licensed activity
- Increasing capital
- Winding a company up, and doing it properly
Representative office
A representative office is not a trading company.
A foreign representative office exists to represent its parent: market research, liaison, promotion. It generally cannot earn revenue, sign revenue contracts or run the parent’s operations in Indonesia. Our own Jakarta presence is one, which is why it does not invoice or advise.
It is a sensible first step where you want presence before commitment, and a trap where someone has sold it to you as a cheap way to start trading. The two are not interchangeable, and the difference is enforced.
If the plan involves invoicing an Indonesian customer, you need a company. We will tell you which one you are actually asking for.
Questions
Frequently asked questions.
What is a PT PMA?
An Indonesian limited liability company with foreign shareholding. It is the usual vehicle for foreign investment, and it is a full Indonesian company with full Indonesian obligations.
Can a foreigner own all of it?
In many sectors, yes. In others foreign ownership is capped or closed. It turns entirely on the licensed activity, which is why that choice comes first.
How much capital do we need?
There is a minimum paid-up capital requirement and it changed in October 2025. Take the current figure from us in writing rather than from an article, because the old one is still circulating.
How long does incorporation take?
Weeks rather than months where the activity is straightforward and the documents are in order. Sector licensing is what stretches a timeline, not the company itself.
Do we need an Indonesian director or shareholder?
Not necessarily a shareholder. There are requirements about who sits on the board and who holds a work permit, and they are better planned around than discovered.
Who gives the Indonesian advice?
AFS Counsellors at Law, engaged directly and regulated in Indonesia. We coordinate, and we advise on the New Zealand side.
Next step