A foreign-owned company in Bali is established as a PT PMA — the Indonesian foreign-investment limited liability company — and whether foreigners may hold shares in it at all depends on the business field, which is screened against the Positive Investment List before anything else happens. Bali Company Registration Hub coordinates that setup end to end for foreign shareholders: we scope the activity, prepare the file, and synchronise the licensed notary, the tax registration, and the OSS submissions, without claiming to perform the acts that Indonesian law reserves to licensed professionals.
The material below is general information about a regulated area. Ownership rules and sectoral conditions are amended from time to time, so confirm the current position with the Ministry of Investment/BKPM and OSS before committing capital or signing anything.
Can foreigners own 100 percent of a company in Bali?
The answer is field-specific, not country-specific: the Positive Investment List determines whether an activity is fully open to foreign capital, open subject to conditions such as a maximum foreign percentage or a partnership requirement, or closed entirely. Two businesses operating from the same street in Canggu can face completely different ownership ceilings because their KBLI codes differ. This is why ownership screening precedes company naming, capital planning, and every other step — the answer changes the entire structure.
Sector-by-sector context is covered on our foreign ownership limits in Indonesia guide, and the classification mechanics on the KBLI and the Positive Investment List page.
How a foreign-owned company is structured
A PT PMA is a shareholder company with a two-tier governance structure that is unfamiliar to founders from common-law jurisdictions: a board of directors that manages and represents the company, and a board of commissioners that supervises it. Both roles must be filled, and who occupies them has practical consequences for banking, signing authority, and immigration sponsorship.
| Element | What to decide | Why it matters later |
|---|---|---|
| Shareholders | Individuals or corporate entities, and their percentages | Determines control, and corporate shareholders need legalised home-country documents |
| Director | Who manages and signs for the company | Drives bank mandates and work-permit sponsorship |
| Commissioner | Who supervises the board of directors | Mandatory role; cannot be left informally vacant |
| KBLI scope | The activities the company may legally perform | Sets ownership ceiling, risk level, and licence requirements |
| Investment plan | Declared plan and capital arrangement | Subject to thresholds set by investment regulations that must be verified as current |
What does the setup sequence look like?
The sequence is strictly dependent — you cannot obtain an NIB before the legal entity exists, and you cannot execute the deed before the company name is reserved and the shareholder documents are in acceptable form. Understanding the dependency chain is what allows a realistic plan rather than an optimistic one.
- Activity scoping and ownership screening against the Positive Investment List
- Company name reservation and preparation of shareholder and officer documents
- Deed of establishment executed before a licensed Indonesian notary
- Approval of the legal entity by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights
- Tax registration for the company
- OSS registration producing the NIB, followed by risk-based sectoral licensing
- Post-registration setup: banking, address compliance, and reporting calendar
Structures to avoid, and why
Nominee arrangements — where an Indonesian individual holds shares or property on paper for a foreign beneficial owner — carry serious legal exposure, and Indonesian law contains provisions rendering agreements designed to circumvent ownership rules vulnerable to being set aside. Founders are sometimes offered this as a shortcut because it looks cheaper and faster than a properly screened PT PMA. We do not arrange or facilitate nominee structures. If a sector is closed or conditional for your intended activity, the honest options are to restructure the activity, take a permitted partnership route, or reconsider the jurisdiction.
Living and working in Bali as an owner
Owning shares in an Indonesian company does not by itself grant the right to work in Indonesia — working requires the appropriate permit and stay permit, typically sponsored by the company once it exists and is properly licensed. This ordering surprises many founders, who assume the visa comes first. The company is the sponsor, so the company must be built first, and the roles in the deed determine who can be sponsored in which capacity. Immigration outcomes are decided by the immigration authority alone and cannot be promised by any service provider.
Choosing the right package
Foreign-owned setups vary widely in complexity — a single-shareholder advisory company and a multi-shareholder hospitality group are not the same engagement. Scoped stages and deliverables are set out on our bali pma company registration packages page. If you are still weighing whether Bali is the right base at all, start with a company registration consultant bali session before committing to a registration path.
Frequently asked questions
How many shareholders does a PT PMA need?
An Indonesian limited liability company is founded on the principle of shareholding by more than one party, so a PT PMA is ordinarily established with at least two shareholders, which may be individuals, foreign companies, or a combination. Structuring around this correctly matters when a founder intends to be the sole economic owner, because informal workarounds create exposure. The composition should be settled before drafting, since changing it afterwards requires a new deed and fresh approvals.
Does a foreign-owned company need an Indonesian director?
Nationality requirements depend on the role and the sector rather than applying uniformly, and some regulated fields impose their own conditions on management composition. What is consistent is that the company needs at least one director and one commissioner, and that a foreign individual holding a management role and working in Indonesia needs the appropriate permits. Confirm sector-specific management requirements before finalising the deed.
Can I convert an existing local company to foreign ownership?
Converting a local PT into a PT PMA is possible in principle but is a regulated corporate change involving a shareholder resolution, an amended deed, ministry approval, and re-screening of the business field against foreign-ownership rules. It is not a form-filling exercise, and the existing licences may need to be reissued under the new status. Whether it is faster than a fresh incorporation depends on what the existing company already holds.
What ongoing obligations follow a foreign-owned setup?
A PT PMA reports periodically on its investment activity to the investment authority, files monthly and annual tax returns, and maintains the licences attached to its KBLI. These begin from registration rather than from first revenue, which catches out companies that stay dormant while raising funds. Our PT PMA compliance page sets out the recurring calendar in more detail.
Discuss your foreign-owned setup
Send us the business activity, the nationalities and types of the intended shareholders, and whether a foreign director will need to be based in Bali. We will tell you what the Positive Investment List screening implies for your case and what the realistic sequence looks like. WhatsApp https://wa.me/6281139414563 or email bd@juaraholding.com. We are an independent service provider, not a government agency or a law firm, and no outcome or processing time can be guaranteed.