Set up & structure
Local Resident Shareholder
Local resident shareholder arrangements, explained honestly: what is lawful, documented and enforceable.
Who this is for. A foreign investor whose intended business sits in a sector where Indonesian rules limit or exclude foreign ownership, and who needs to understand the lawful options before committing.
Sector-specific Whether restrictions apply at all
Documented Or it is not protection
Legal review Before any arrangement is signed
Trusted by companies operating in Indonesia
Sector-specific
Whether restrictions apply at all
Documented
Or it is not protection
Legal review
Before any arrangement is signed
Included
What you get
- Establish whether the restriction applies to you at all. KBLI classifications change, and the sector you assume is closed may not be. This is the first question and it is often the last one.
- Set out the lawful structures available for your situation — a genuine joint venture with a local partner, a different corporate form, a restructured activity — with the trade-offs of each.
- Document properly whatever is agreed: shareholders' agreements, board composition, reserved matters, funding arrangements and exit terms.
- A recommendation you can act on, including a recommendation not to proceed — given before you have committed money, not after.
Arrangements where an Indonesian resident holds shares on a foreign investor’s behalf are among the most misunderstood structures in the market, and the most likely to cause damage years after they are set up. We advise on what is lawful, what is documented, and what is genuinely enforceable — and we say plainly when a proposed arrangement is none of those.
The position, stated honestly
Some sectors in Indonesia limit or exclude foreign ownership. That is a real constraint, and investors reasonably look for a way through it.
Arrangements whose purpose is to conceal who really owns a company carry serious risk under Indonesian law. An agreement that says the registered shareholder holds shares on your behalf may not be enforceable in an Indonesian court — which means that in a dispute, the person named on the deed is the owner.
Anyone offering you such a structure without explaining that is not protecting you.
Before you go further
If foreign ownership is restricted in your sector, look first at whether a PT PMA can hold a minority stake in a genuine partnership, or whether a representative office achieves what you actually need without ownership at all.
Talk to us before signing anything. This is the one area where the cost of advice is trivial next to the cost of the alternative.
Why us
Why MAM for Local Resident Shareholder
- We will tell you to walk away
Where the only route to your intended business is an arrangement we think exposes you, we say so and decline the work. That is the practice this page exists to describe.
- Qualified, regulated, accountable
MAM is led by ACCA members and registered with IAPI. A regulated firm has standing to lose, which is the point when the advice is uncomfortable.
- Local and expatriate judgement together
The team is Indonesian and expatriate, so what is lawful here and what a foreign investor assumes are both understood before anything is signed.
Credentials
Qualified, and accountable for it
MAM's work is done by qualified accountants and carried out to the standards of these professional bodies — not by a general administrator following a checklist.
Led by members 
Registered 
Member 
Through ACCA Reviews
What clients say
We have engaged many business consultants in past and MAM Corporate Solutions is by far among the most informed and professional business consultants as per our experience. They have helped us with various services such as tax compliance, company incorporation and business valuations and every time they have exceeded our expectations.
MAM Corporate Solutions offers great services! All the team makes all the incorporation process very clear, and always takes the time to explain every step of the way in details. They are fast and efficient, and always make sure they find the solution that's most adapted to your need. I could not recommend them enough!
MAM Corporate Solutions provides us accounting service on Xero. They have always kept our records up-to-date and we are happy with their service.
Questions
What people ask us
Does MAM provide nominee arrangements?
We do, after our own due diligence on the client, and with the arrangement documented so that both sides are protected. The decision is taken after that check is complete, not before it. Where the conclusion is that the arrangement should not be done at all, we say so — and it is the same answer we would give even if we did not offer the service at all.
Can a local resident hold shares on my behalf in Indonesia?
Not safely, if the purpose is to conceal who really owns the company — see the position set out above. We advise on what is lawful and documented, and we say plainly when a proposal is neither.
We already have a nominee arrangement. Can you help us restructure it?
Yes. We can advise on what needs to change and handle the amendments to the company documents to appoint or remove a nominee. Before that we want to understand why you want to restructure, and whether a nominee arrangement is genuinely needed at all.
How long does restructuring take?
Amending the company documents to change a nominee typically takes one to two weeks, and the Ministry of Law then checks the change for up to 14 working days before it is registered.
What should we bring to a first conversation?
Whatever records the arrangement as it currently stands. What we want to understand first is your circumstances, and whether the arrangement is actually needed — that question comes before any discussion of how to document it.
Goes with this
Often needed alongside this
Corporate secretary
Corporate secretary Indonesia work: registers, resolutions and filings kept correct and current.
Learn more →Resident director
A resident director Indonesia requires on your deed — properly appointed, with the boundaries agreed.
Learn more → Compare
Or consider instead
These do a similar job in a different way. Most people choose one, not both.
Foreign Company (PT PMA)
A PT PMA is the foreign-investment company: up to 100% foreign ownership, subject to your KBLI.
Learn more →Local Company (PT PMDN)
A local Indonesian company (PT PMDN) is the domestic entity: Indonesian shareholders, and no legal minimum capital.
Learn more →Talk to someone who does this every day
A free 30-minute call. Bring the situation you are actually in, and you will leave with a clear view of what is involved.