How To Verify a Company in Malaysia? An Ultimate Guide

Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country known for its diverse culture and economic prosperity. It has a strategic location and a business-friendly environment that attracts foreign investment. With a population of over 32 million people, it ranks among the highest GDPs in the region, signifying steady economic growth and development. The country’s rich natural resources, solid infrastructure, and pro-business legislation make it an attractive destination for corporations interested in expanding their operations into Asia. If you are an investor, entrepreneur, or business owner, you must know how to verify a company in Malaysia to leverage economic benefits.

In this blog, learn how to check a business’s legitimacy using the official portal and how The KYB helps you in this regard.

How to Verify if a Company is Registered in Malaysia?

In Malaysia, all companies must be registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (also known as Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia or SMM). It is the official regulatory body that is primarily responsible for overseeing and regulating all corporate entities within the country. Here, you will find the relevant company information you wish to verify. From managing the registration and verification to giving access to the company information, it ensures businesses’ adherence to all the relevant regulations, maintaining a sense of transparency within the companies.

Suggested Read: How to Check if a Company is Legally Registered?

Step-by-Step Guide to Verify a Company in Malaysia

To verify a company in Malaysia, follow the following steps:

• Go to the SSM Website: On the SSM website, click on the services tab and then click on the e-Search option.

• Enter the Company Registration Number: Simply enter the company registration number you wish to verify. After entering the correct registration number, press the Search Now option at the bottom left. In addition, you will also be required to select “Registration Type” and select the relevant option from the dropdown menu. 

• Give Result: You will now get the business information. This includes:

• New registration number
• Entity type
• Status
• GST (Goods and Services Tax) number

Upon paying a fee, you can also access the complete company profile.

Challenges of Verifying a Company in Malaysia

Paid Documents

While basic company search is free, account access to specific detailed profiles, financial statements, or ownership information requires a fee. Hence, this may be costly for frequent verifiers. It prevents startups or small businesses from fully using the portal for due diligence and ensuring ultimate compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.

Repeated Captcha Verification

Every time you do a new search, you have to verify the captcha. This can be challenging in terms of user frustrations. Ensuring captcha verification is an unnecessary extra step, especially because the business verification process already involves multiple actions, disrupting the user flow and making the experience tedious every single time.

Limited Integration with Verification Systems

The SSM portal does not integrate with other verification systems, such as tax portals, international sanctions lists, or global compliance tools. Users requiring a full KYB profile have to turn to other additional resources or platforms, which complicates the verification process and increases turnaround times.

The KYB is a user-friendly platform that allows you to retrieve data directly from the business registry in real time with an integrated API, helping you unlock company data and streamline your operations.

Suggested Read: How to Verify a Company in Italy? An Ultimate Guide

How to Verify Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs) in Malaysia?

As per Section 60A of the Companies Act 2016, a beneficial owner is defined as:

“A natural person who ultimately owns or controls over a company and

includes a person who exercises ultimate effective control over a

Company.”

The verification of the beneficial owners can be conducted both at the organizational level and by the company secretary. Despite the revised guidelines for the Reporting Framework for Beneficial Ownership of Companies and the efforts to increase transparency and combat financial crimes, information on the UBOs is still not publicly available. Under Section 60B(9) of the CA 2016, only the Minister has the authority to grant permission to the UBO register.

Finding ultimate beneficial owners to analyze credit and operational risks is complex and tedious. At The KYB, we simplify the UBO verification process with our enhanced KYB checks. To identify the beneficial owners, our experts manually gather data from verified sources and scrutinize the complete ownership structure so you understand fully who runs the company you are verifying.

Conducting AML Checks on Businesses in Malaysia

To verify a company in Malaysia, the following checks are applied:

• Sanctions Screening: This involves checking the business entities against the sanctions lists issued by regulatory bodies and the government. Sanctions screening ensures businesses are not dealing with bad actors, preventing legal and financial risks.
• Watchlist Screening: This refers to the process of screening business persons against lists of people or entities considered risky, such as politically exposed persons and criminals.
• Adverse Media Screening: Negative news screening identifies adverse news about individuals and companies, especially concerning fraud, corruption, and other crimes. This method looks for coverage of reputational and regulatory risks.
• AML Risk Assessment: An AML check is done to ensure the legitimate financial dealings of a business entity. It verifies them by checking them for potential risks of money laundering and terrorist funding.
• Continuous Monitoring: Continually monitoring business entities is crucial for identifying any unusual or suspicious activity.

The KYB is the ultimate corporate verification solution that you need for compliance. We conduct all types of AML screening so you can onboard businesses with confidence. 

Suggested Read: How to Verify a Company in the Netherlands? An Ultimate Guide

Business Licensing Bodies in Malaysia

• Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)

The Central Bank of Malaysia is an organization with the functions of monetary policy, financial system stability, and enforcing AML and counter-terrorism financing regulations.

BNM regulates banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions, making sure that they are in line with the financial laws. Besides, it also maintains a few important lists regarding financial oversight and compliance. Do not get into the risk of financial fraud or scam by screening a corporate entity before establishing any kind of financial relationship with them.

• Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD)

It collects indirect taxes through SST, customs duties, excise duties, and imposition of imports/exports. It also checks the conformity with trade-related laws and regulations. Businesses involved in import/export activities and tax compliance must be registered with RMCD for the smooth running of their activities.

• Ministry of Finance (MoF)

The Ministry of Finance issues permissions and taxes on gaming and any betting games, the place from which tax is raised concerning legal gambling activities, where you can find thorough details about licensed gambling companies via their website.

How Can The KYB Help You Verify a Company in Malaysia?

Verifying a business should be quick and efficient, as delays can make your partner lose interest in the business deal. If you want to verify a company in Malaysia, The KYB is the solution you are looking for! We offer the best business verification solutions with just the click of a button. With data sources from 250+ countries and states and 300M+ companies, we give our clients the most detailed picture of a business. This means that by choosing us as a corporate verification service provider, you can not only verify a company but also screen it against sanctions and other regulatory enforcement.

Get instant access to the company you are onboarding and empower your business with us!