Myanmar company setup

Myanmar Company Registration and Business Setup—Built Around Your Business

For Myanmar company registration, a certificate is only useful when the ownership, activity, approvals, banking and compliance plan all point in the same direction. Start by choosing the right legal route; then prepare a company that can support the first contract, hire, invoice or investment.

Choose a company route See setup packages

For local founders, overseas companies, foreign shareholders and joint-venture teams.

There is more than one route. Joint venture, overseas-corporation and local-company questions should not be collapsed into one label.

Ownership follows the activity. A permitted business and an ownership plan need to be tested together.

Registration is not every approval. Sector, tax, banking, staffing and premises work may still sit outside the company filing.

Start with the legal vehicle

Myanmar company registration types—and the situation each one is built for.

The legal company forms are not interchangeable. Most operating businesses start with a private company limited by shares, while the other routes solve different ownership, liability or parent-company questions.

Most operating businesses

Private Company Limited by Shares

This is usually the practical starting point when the business will sign local contracts, invoice customers, hire a team, hold assets or build a trading history in Myanmar. It can be structured with local, foreign or mixed shareholding where the activity and ownership route allow it.

Use it when the company itself will operate day to day in Myanmar.
Agree the activity, shareholders, directors and funding route before the filing work starts.
Build the first tax, banking and compliance steps into the formation plan—not after incorporation.

Local + overseas ownership

Joint Venture Company

A joint venture is normally an ownership and governance arrangement built through a private company limited by shares—not a separate company form. It fits when a Myanmar partner contributes a real commercial role, local capability, assets or sector knowledge.

Choose it when: control, funding, board rights, intellectual property and exit terms need to be designed together.

Existing overseas parent

Overseas Corporation Registration

This route registers an existing foreign company to operate under its own name in Myanmar. It is not a newly incorporated Myanmar subsidiary. The parent company, local authorised officer, Myanmar office and source documents must be able to support the registration.

Choose it when: the overseas parent must remain the contracting and operating party.

Public Company Limited by Shares

For a genuine wider-shareholder or capital-raising model. It is not the normal default for a small operating launch and needs at least three directors, including a Myanmar citizen ordinarily resident.

Company Limited by Guarantee / Association Route

Usually considered for membership-led, association or mission-driven work. MyCO also has a route to register an association as a company limited by guarantee; it is not the usual structure for a conventional shareholder-profit business.

Unlimited Company

A specialist and uncommon arrangement in which member liability is not limited. It should not be treated as a routine alternative to a limited company.

A practical choice guide

Choose the route from the business need—not the name on the application.

These are the four conversations that resolve most early company-structure decisions.

We will trade, hire and contract locally.

Start by assessing a private company limited by shares.

Then verify the intended activity, ownership, licences and first operational requirements.

Our overseas parent must be the contracting party.

Assess overseas-corporation registration.

Make sure the parent’s documents, local authorised officer, registered office and activity route line up.

We need a genuine Myanmar partner.

Build a JV through the right limited-company structure.

Commercial value is only one part; control, funding, information rights and exit protections matter too.

We only need a narrow local presence.

Check the permitted scope before choosing a representative-style route.

A limited presence is not automatically allowed to trade, invoice or carry out every activity.

A better order of work

Move from business plan to registration in three deliberate stages.

Doing the paperwork first often creates rework. The sequence below keeps the company record tied to the plan you are trying to launch.

Describe the Myanmar activity precisely.

What will be sold, signed, imported, made, staffed or delivered? The answer changes the ownership and approval questions.

Build the legal record around it.

Set the company route, owners, directors, authority, constitution, registered office and document plan before a MyCO filing is drafted.

Prepare the first operating month.

Map permits, payment and banking needs, tax records, accounting ownership, premises and people as parallel workstreams.

Baseline company record

Under the Myanmar Companies Law, a registered company needs a name, constitution, at least one member, at least one director ordinarily resident in Myanmar and a registered office in Myanmar. Public companies have additional director and citizenship requirements. This is a legal baseline, not a sector-clearance checklist.

Read the law

Registration is the foundation

The company certificate is not the same thing as permission to operate.

Keep these three tracks visible at the same time, especially before committing to a launch date.

MyCO company record

Incorporation or overseas-corporation registration, current company particulars, annual-return planning, change-filing discipline and a practical annual compliance plan.

Investment and sector route

Check whether the activity, location, ownership, import, premises or regulated-service plan needs a separate permission, notification or investment path.

First operating controls

Set up contracts, invoices, accounting records, tax and payroll ownership, payment workflow and a realistic bank-readiness plan.

Budget with context

See the official filing fee clearly—then budget for the work that makes the company usable.

A registration fee is one line in a much larger setup decision. Keep government charges, professional scope and operating costs separate from the start.

Official MyCO web fees

Checked against the MyCO prescribed-fees list on 5 September 2026.

Private company limited by shares K 300,000

Overseas corporation registration K 300,000

Public company limited by shares K 2,500,000

Annual return K 50,000

These are registry web-filing charges, not HSJGlobal service fees. MyCO notes that hard-copy service charges and late fees may apply. Always recheck the current list before filing.

View MyCO fees

Formation evidence

Ownership and authority documents, constitution, translations or legalisation where relevant, registered office and filing administration.

Activity-specific clearance

Licences, investment review, premises, sector permissions and specialist reports depend on the proposed business—not just the company type.

First-year running costs

Accounting, tax, payroll, annual return, corporate secretarial support, banking support and renewal work need a named owner and a real budget.

HSJGlobal setup support

Three clear starting packages, priced for the level of complexity.

We confirm the activity, ownership and document position before work begins, then define the agreed scope in writing.

Straightforward operating setup

Starting fromMMK 4,700,000

Core Company Registration

For a permitted activity using a standard private company limited by shares structure.

Initial activity and company-route review
Name, MyCO filing and incorporation document checklist
Standard constitution and corporate set-up coordination
Registration handover and first-compliance checklist

Ask about core setup

Most relevant for overseas founders

Overseas shareholders / fuller readiness

Starting fromMMK 11,000,000

Foreign-Owned Company Setup

For an operating company with overseas individuals or corporate shareholders and a fuller readiness review.

Ownership, activity and foreign-investment route review
Overseas shareholder document map and signing plan
Tailored governance and MyCO filing coordination
Tax, banking and operational-readiness handover

Discuss foreign-owned setup

More moving parts / more dependencies

Starting fromMMK 25,000,000

Investment & Regulated Setup

For joint ventures, overseas-corporation routes, regulated activities or projects needing a coordinated approval plan.

Entity, ownership and sector-route planning workshop
Project document and approval workplan
Corporate, ownership and filing coordination
Expanded stakeholder and launch-readiness support

Plan a complex setup

Prices shown are HSJGlobal professional fees in Myanmar Kyat. MyCO/DICA charges, translations, notarisation or legalisation, registered office, licences, bank charges, visas, accounting, specialist reports and paid-up capital are separate unless a written engagement expressly includes them. A package does not guarantee a government approval, licence, bank account or third-party timetable.

Use current sources

Make the decision with the rules in front of you.

This page is a planning guide, not a substitute for checking the current law, registry instructions and sector-specific requirements for your exact activity.

01 Myanmar Companies Law 02 MyCO prescribed forms and fees 03 Myanmar Companies Online (MyCO) 04 DICA investment resources 05 HSJGlobal business insights

Founder questions

Answers worth settling before the filing starts.

Can a foreign investor own a Myanmar company?

Foreign investors may establish a foreign-owned company in many permitted activities, but sector restrictions, investment conditions and required approvals must be checked before the ownership structure is finalised.

Does a Myanmar company need a locally resident director?

A company registered under the Myanmar Companies Law must have at least one director ordinarily resident in Myanmar, as well as a registered office in Myanmar. A public company has additional director and citizenship requirements. This is separate from the question of whether shareholders are local or overseas.

Which Myanmar company type is usually right for an operating business?

A private company limited by shares is often the practical route for a business that needs to contract, invoice, hire and operate locally. The right answer still depends on the planned activity, ownership, licences, funding and whether an overseas parent needs to be the contracting party.

Is a joint venture a separate Myanmar company type?

Usually no. A joint venture is an ownership and governance arrangement, commonly used through a company limited by shares. The practical work is agreeing the shareholding, control, funding, intellectual property and exit terms, then checking that the intended activity and ownership route are permitted.

Can a branch or representative presence replace a Myanmar operating company?

Not automatically. An overseas corporation route may suit an existing parent that will operate under its own name, while a representative or liaison presence may fit a narrow, non-trading role where permitted. The permitted scope, liability and registration requirements should be checked before choosing either route.

Does every foreign investment need MIC approval?

No. MyCO company registration and an investment approval are different steps. Whether an MIC permit or endorsement is relevant depends on the activity, investment details, location and applicable rules.

How should a founder estimate the real setup cost?

Separate the professional service scope from official filing charges, documents, translations, legalisation, registered office, licences, tax setup, banking support and the first year of compliance. MyCO currently lists a K300,000 web filing fee for a private company limited by shares, but that official charge is not the complete setup cost.

A practical first conversation

Planning a Myanmar company? Start with the facts that change the route.

HSJGlobal helps founders organise the entity decision around their activity, ownership, funding, licences and launch plan—so the company is designed for the business, rather than just the online form.

Bring these four points

What the Myanmar business will actually do
Who will own, direct and sign for it
How it will be funded and paid
Any location, hiring or licensing deadline

Discuss my Myanmar setup