sini.id

How to check a business before you trust it

Checks anybody can run, in official services open to the public: whether the company really exists, which licence applies now, who may own it, whether the work it is offering is real, and what an authority has already said about an entity.

How to check

  1. How to check that a PT is registered

    Does this company really exist as a legal entity?

    A PT becomes a legal entity on the date the minister approves it, and that approval is what a check has to find — not a letterhead, a stamp or a website.

  2. NIB and SIUP

    Is my old SIUP still valid, and what does the business need now?

    SIUP is no longer issued. Since licensing became risk-based, a business’s identity and its licence both start from one number: the NIB.

  3. How to check a PT PMA

    Is this really a PT PMA, and may a foreign party own it in this line of business?

    PMA is not a legal form but an investment status: a PT PMA is still a PT under the company law, and what sets it apart is that it has foreign shareholders and a limited set of business lines it may enter.

  4. Nominee shareholding and borrowed names

    Is it safe to hold a company or land in Indonesia in somebody else’s name?

    An agreement stating that shares are held for and on behalf of somebody else is declared null and void by the investment law. What can be checked is not whether that agreement holds, but who is recorded as the owner.

  5. How to check a property developer

    Is it safe to pay this developer for this property?

    Checking the developer and checking the land are two different checks, and no company register can answer the second one.

  6. How to check an employer before an interview

    Does the company that invited me to an interview really exist?

    What you check before you go is not only whether the company exists, but whether the invitation you received actually came from it. Those two things are often not the same.

  7. How to spot a fake job advert

    Is this job advert genuine?

    What is checked here is not the company but the offer. Most fake vacancies can be recognised from what is asked of you before you have worked a single day.

  8. How to check a suspected scam company

    Is this business a scam?

    There is no official list of “fraudulent companies”. What exists is a register of entities an authority has declared illegal, plus official records you can match against — and that is what a check reads.

Business forms

PT, CV, cooperative, foundation and the rest: how they differ and what it means for the owner.

Business scale

Micro, small, medium, large: the rupiah thresholds and what changes in each class.

A summary of the rules in force, not legal advice. Rules and thresholds change — check with the relevant authority before you register.