Setting Up a Company in Bali: PT PMA Costs and Process (2026)

Setting up a company in Bali as a foreigner means incorporating a PT PMA, a foreign-owned limited liability company and the only legal structure that lets you own a business here without an Indonesian nominee. You need two shareholders, a director, a commissioner, a registered KBLI code, and an investment plan of roughly IDR 10 billion per business line for most sectors. The process runs through Indonesia's OSS system, usually takes six to twelve weeks, and total setup costs typically fall between USD 1,500 and USD 4,000.

Table of Contents

• What Structure Can Foreigners Actually Use
• The Setup Process, Step by Step
• How Much It Costs
• How Long It Takes
• Why a Nominee Structure Is Not Worth It
• KBLI Codes and Why They Decide Everything
• Company Setup and Your Visa
• Staying Compliant After You Open
• The Mistakes That Actually Cost People Money
• FAQ

What Structure Can Foreigners Actually Use

If you are setting up a company in Bali and you are not Indonesian, you are almost always looking at a PT PMA, short for Perseroan Terbatas Penanaman Modal Asing. It is a limited liability company that permits foreign shareholding, sits under a different regulatory track than a local PT, and reports its investment activity to the government on a schedule the local version does not.

Foreign ownership percentage depends on the sector. Some business lines allow 100 percent foreign ownership. Others cap foreign shareholding at a fixed percentage, or close the sector to foreign capital altogether unless structured through a partnership with an Indonesian entity. This is decided line by line under Indonesia's positive investment list, not by a blanket rule, so the honest answer to "can I own 100 percent" is: it depends entirely on what your business actually does, and you check the current list for your specific activity before you assume anything.

You need a minimum of two shareholders (these can be individuals or corporate entities, foreign or a mix), one director, and one commissioner. The director runs daily operations and can be held personally liable for certain company obligations. The commissioner supervises the director. One person cannot hold both roles simultaneously in most setups.

The Setup Process, Step by Step

Setting up a company in Bali follows a fairly fixed sequence, even though the paperwork behind each step varies by sector. In order:

1. Choose and lock your KBLI code(s). This single decision shapes your minimum capital, your licensing path, and whether your business is even open to foreign ownership.
2. Reserve the company name and draft the deed of establishment with a notary. This sets out shareholding, capital structure, and the roles of director and commissioner.
3. Get approval from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights for the deed, which legally establishes the entity.
4. Register through OSS (Online Single Submission) to obtain your NIB, the business identification number that now functions as your operating license, tax registration trigger, and import/customs identifier in one.
5. Obtain sector-specific licenses if your KBLI requires them. F&B, construction, education, and tourism activities commonly need an additional operating permit beyond the NIB.
6. Register for tax (NPWP) and, if turnover requires it, register for VAT collection.
7. Open a corporate bank account and deposit paid-up capital as required by your structure.

None of these steps are optional shortcuts. A company that skips the sector license and starts trading on the NIB alone is operating outside its permit, which is one of the more common problems we get called in to fix after the fact rather than before.

How Much It Costs

Indonesian law sets a minimum investment plan, commonly cited at IDR 10 billion per KBLI code (excluding the value of land and buildings), for most sectors open to foreign investment. That figure is the total planned investment, not cash you must show sitting in an account on day one. Paid-up capital is typically set at a smaller portion of that, often around IDR 2.5 billion, but the exact split and whether your sector uses a different threshold entirely (small trading and F&B activities sometimes do) needs confirming against the current regulation for your specific KBLI before you plan around the standard number.

Setup fees on top of that capital requirement, covering notary work, OSS registration, licensing, and legal handling, generally sit in the range below. Treat these as planning figures, not quotes, since sector, number of KBLI codes, and whether you need additional licenses all move the number.

The most common budgeting mistake is treating the setup fee as the whole cost and forgetting the annual compliance obligation. A PT PMA that goes quiet after incorporation and never files its quarterly investment report is not saving money, it is accumulating a compliance problem that surfaces later, usually when you try to renew a KITAS or sell the company.

How Long It Takes

A straightforward PT PMA with one clean KBLI code and no sector license requirement typically takes six to eight weeks from name reservation to a usable NIB. Add sector licensing, multiple business lines, or a slower notary and that stretches to ten to twelve weeks. Building or manufacturing licenses, education permits, and anything touching land use can run longer, sometimes several months, because they involve a separate approval chain outside OSS.

Why a Nominee Structure Is Not Worth It

You will hear about foreigners running a business in Bali through an Indonesian friend's, spouse's, or staff member's name, sometimes backed by a private "loan agreement" or side letter meant to prove real ownership. This is a nominee arrangement, and Indonesian law does not recognise the side letter. On paper, and legally, the Indonesian name on the company documents owns the business. Full stop.

The single most expensive mistake in this whole process: using a nominee to hold shares in a business that should be a PT PMA. If the relationship sours, if the nominee dies, or if the arrangement is ever challenged, the foreign investor typically has no enforceable legal claim to the company, the property it operates from, or the capital put into it. This is not a rare horror story. It is common enough that it is the most frequent "fix this" call this kind of firm receives, and by the time someone calls, the money is usually already gone.

A PT PMA costs more upfront and takes longer than handing cash to a nominee and opening a local PT in their name. But it is the only structure where your ownership is actually yours, on paper, enforceable in an Indonesian court.

KBLI Codes and Why They Decide Everything

KBLI (Klasifikasi Baku Lapangan Usaha Indonesia) is Indonesia's standard business classification system, and every company must register under at least one KBLI code that matches its actual activity. This is not a formality. The code you choose determines:

• Whether the sector is open to 100 percent foreign ownership, partially open, or closed
• The minimum capital requirement attached to that specific activity
• Whether you need an additional sector-specific license beyond the NIB
• The risk classification (low, medium, or high risk) which affects how much scrutiny the license gets

People frequently register under a broad or convenient code that does not accurately reflect what they actually do, either to access a lower capital threshold or because the correct code is more restrictive. This is discovered eventually, usually during a license renewal, a tax audit, or an inspection, and correcting it after the fact is slower and more expensive than getting it right at incorporation.

Company Setup and Your Visa

Owning a PT PMA does not automatically give you the right to live or work in Indonesia. You still need a separate immigration document tied to your role in the company, typically an investor KITAS if you hold enough shares, or a work KITAS tied to a specific position if you are employed by the business. Our Bali work visa and KITAS guide covers the current thresholds and document requirements for that step. If you also want to bring family, that runs through a separate process detailed in our Bali family visa guide.

A common sequencing mistake: people incorporate the PT PMA first, then discover months later that their intended KITAS category does not match how the company's capital or shareholding is structured. Sorting out the visa pathway before finalising the shareholding split saves a second round of notary amendments.

Staying Compliant After You Open

Incorporation is the start of the obligation, not the end of it. A PT PMA must file an LKPM (Laporan Kegiatan Penanaman Modal), an investment activity report, on a quarterly basis regardless of whether the company has started trading or made any revenue. Skipping this is one of the more common reasons a company's license status turns up flagged when it later applies for a license renewal or a KITAS extension.

Beyond LKPM, expect annual tax filing, VAT registration once turnover crosses the threshold, and renewal of any sector license that carries an expiry date. None of this is unusual by international standards, but it does mean a PT PMA is not a set-and-forget structure. If you are not resident in Bali year round, you need someone local handling this on a retainer basis, not remembering it when a reminder email finally gets through.

The Mistakes That Actually Cost People Money

Beyond the nominee trap already covered above, the recurring problems we see are:

• Registering the wrong KBLI to hit a lower capital threshold, then operating outside the permitted scope.
• Using a virtual office address for a KBLI that requires a physical business premises. Some sectors are inspected and a virtual office will not pass.
• Assuming the minimum capital figure applies to every sector equally. It does not. Confirm the threshold for your exact activity.
• Treating the NIB as a finished license when the sector actually requires an additional operating permit on top of it.
• Letting LKPM reporting lapse because the business is quiet, then hitting a wall at KITAS renewal time.
• Structuring shareholding without checking the visa pathway first, then needing to amend the deed to fix an immigration mismatch.

Every one of these is cheaper to avoid at the start than to fix after the fact. If you are still deciding between handling this yourself, using a general agency, or working with a lawyer who covers both the corporate and immigration side, our Bali visa agency page and about page lay out how we split that work and what we actually handle in house.

FAQ

Can a foreigner own 100 percent of a company in Bali?

In many sectors, yes, through a PT PMA. But this is decided per business activity under Indonesia's positive investment list, not as a blanket rule. Some sectors cap foreign ownership at a fixed percentage and others are closed to foreign capital entirely. You need to check the current rule for your exact KBLI code before assuming full ownership is available.

How much capital do I need to open a PT PMA in Bali?

Most sectors carry a minimum investment plan of roughly IDR 10 billion per business line, excluding land and buildings, with paid-up capital typically set lower, often around IDR 2.5 billion. Some sectors, particularly small-scale trading and certain F&B activities, use different thresholds. Confirm the figure attached to your specific KBLI code before budgeting around the standard number.

Do I need to live in Indonesia to own a PT PMA?

No, you can hold shares in a PT PMA as a non-resident. But if you plan to work in or manage the business day to day from within Indonesia, you need a separate immigration document, typically an investor or work KITAS, matched to your role and shareholding in the company.

Can a PT PMA buy property in Bali?

A PT PMA can hold land under Hak Guna Bangunan (right to build) titles for business use, which differs from freehold ownership and from what an individual foreigner can hold personally. Land use rights, terms, and whether a specific parcel qualifies vary case by case, so this needs checking with a lawyer against the specific property before you commit funds.

What is the difference between a PT PMA and a local PT?

A local PT (PT dalam negeri) can only be owned by Indonesian citizens or entities and is not subject to foreign investment reporting. A PT PMA permits foreign shareholding, carries a minimum investment plan, and must file quarterly LKPM reports on investment activity. Using a local PT with an Indonesian nominee holding shares for a foreigner is the nominee arrangement described above, and it carries no legal protection for the actual investor.

How long does it take to set up a company in Bali?

A straightforward PT PMA with one clean business activity and no sector-specific license typically takes six to eight weeks from name reservation to an active NIB. Add a required sector license, multiple business lines, or slower processing at any stage, and the timeline extends to ten to twelve weeks or longer.

What is a KBLI code and why does it matter?

KBLI is Indonesia's standard business classification system. Every company registers under at least one KBLI code matching its real activity, and that code determines the minimum capital requirement, whether the sector is open to foreign ownership, and whether an additional license is required beyond the basic NIB. Choosing an inaccurate code to save money at setup is a common cause of problems at license renewal.

Can I use a nominee instead of setting up a PT PMA?

You can, but it is not legally protected. Indonesian law does not recognise side agreements claiming beneficial ownership behind a nominee's name on company documents. If the relationship breaks down, the person named on the paperwork is the legal owner. A PT PMA costs more and takes longer to set up, but it is the only structure where a foreign investor's ownership is actually enforceable.