PT PMA in Bali: The Complete 2026 Guide for Foreign Investors

A PT PMA (Perseroan Terbatas Penanaman Modal Asing) is Indonesia’s foreign-owned limited liability company, the only structure that lets a foreigner own a Bali business outright instead of borrowing a local ID card. Two 2026 changes decide what that actually looks like in practice. First, BKPM Regulation No. 5 of 2025 cut the minimum paid-up capital from IDR 10 billion to IDR 2.5 billion. Second, and more disruptive for Bali specifically, the provincial government closed OSS registration for 18 business categories to new foreign-owned companies starting in May 2026. This guide covers what still works, what changed, and how to structure a PT PMA in Bali without running into either rule.

What Changed for PT PMA Capital Rules in 2026?

The headline change is the capital cut. Under BKPM Regulation No. 5 of 2025, effective October 2, 2025, the minimum paid-up capital for a PT PMA dropped from IDR 10 billion to IDR 2.5 billion, a 75 percent reduction that brought a wave of smaller foreign investors into the Bali market who previously found the entry cost prohibitive. Three separate figures still apply, and mixing them up is the most common planning mistake foreign founders make.

The paid-up capital also carries a 12-month lock-up once it lands in the corporate account, so it cannot be withdrawn except for genuine business purposes such as asset purchases. Sector ownership caps have not moved. The Positive Investment List introduced under Presidential Regulation No. 10 of 2021 still decides which activities allow 100 percent foreign ownership and which require an Indonesian partner, and that framework sits underneath everything else in this guide.

Which Bali Business Types Are Now Closed to Foreign-Owned PT PMA?

This is the change most foreign investors researching Bali in 2026 have not caught up with yet. Bali’s provincial government found that a large share of foreign-owned companies registered under low-risk KBLI categories were operating as what officials called shell setups: businesses registered mainly to anchor a KITAS or use a virtual office address, with little real investment or job creation behind them. Governor Wayan Koster’s office reported that Bali issued roughly 19,262 foreign company registrations between 2021 and 2025, close to 40 percent of Indonesia’s national total, with a large share falling into these low-risk brackets.

After getting approval from the Minister of Investment and Head of BKPM, the Bali provincial government closed OSS access for new foreign registrations across 18 KBLI categories, effective the third week of May 2026. The policy was confirmed in an official release from the Bali provincial government on July 22, 2026. Foreign investors can no longer register a new PT PMA under these categories at a Bali business address.

A few practical points worth flagging honestly. Earlier 2026 media coverage, from around April through June, referenced a shorter and somewhat different list under discussion, one version reportedly included travel agencies, advertising agencies, and real estate brokerage, which do not appear on the final 18-item list confirmed in July. That suggests the policy was still being finalized during those months, so treat any list you find online, including this one, as a snapshot rather than a permanent fixture, and check the live status of your specific KBLI code in OSS before relying on it. Companies with these codes already active at a genuine Bali address are reported to keep operating and still owe quarterly LKPM reports. The restriction targets new registrations, not existing licensed businesses.

Higher-risk activities, which require central government verification rather than automatic issuance, are not affected by this closure. Restaurants and bars, medical spa services, real estate brokerage on a fee basis, and hotels above 6,000 square meters have been reported as still open to foreign registration in Bali, though they generally involve Jakarta ministry approval and a longer timeline than a low-risk KBLI would.

How Do You Register a PT PMA in Bali Step by Step?

Bali follows the same national registration sequence as anywhere else in Indonesia, run across four government systems: AHU Online, Kemenkumham, OSS-RBA, and the tax office. For a Low Risk KBLI with complete documents, the process runs roughly 10 to 20 business days.

The sequence starts with reserving a company name through AHU Online, which must begin with “PT” and contain at least three distinct words. A licensed Indonesian notary then drafts and signs the Deed of Establishment, which Kemenkumham reviews before issuing a Ministerial Decree that gives the company legal entity status. From there, the company registers through OSS-RBA to receive its NIB, completes tax registration for an NPWP, and opens a corporate bank account to deposit the paid-up capital. Higher-risk KBLI codes need an additional sector license before commercial activity can start, and the process closes with BPJS enrollment for staff and setting up the quarterly LKPM reporting calendar. InvestinAsia’s full 8-step PT PMA registration guide walks through the documentation and timing for each stage in more detail.

What Does a PT PMA Cost to Set Up and Run in Bali?

Founders usually ask for one number, and there are really four separate ones. The paid-up capital of IDR 2.5 billion is not a fee, it belongs to the company from day one and covers early operating costs. On top of that sits the professional registration fee, which starts at roughly IDR 23,000,000 (about USD 1,282) with InvestinAsia for the core incorporation package, higher if bundled with a virtual office or serviced office address. Then come ongoing compliance costs: quarterly LKPM investment reports to BKPM, monthly tax filings, and an annual corporate return, which most companies hand to a retained accountant rather than manage internally. Last is KITAS, if any founder plans to actually live in Bali rather than run the company from abroad.

The layer that trips people up is compliance. It is easy to budget for the capital and the setup fee and forget that a PT PMA has real recurring obligations from the moment it receives its NPWP, whether or not it has started generating revenue yet.

How Does a PT PMA in Bali Support an Investor KITAS?

One of the main reasons foreigners register a Bali PT PMA in the first place is to sponsor their own Investor KITAS rather than run a business on a tourist or business visa. Immigration treats this as a separate framework from BKPM’s capital rules, administered by the Directorate General of Immigration, so the two thresholds should never be confused.

Most current sources describe the Investor KITAS, index E28A, as requiring at least IDR 10 billion in personal shareholding registered in the company deed, alongside a Director or Commissioner role. A smaller number of sources describe a lower threshold of around IDR 1 billion for shorter-duration permits. Given that gap, do not plan your shareholding structure around a single figure you found in one place. Confirm the current requirement for your specific permit duration directly with your sponsor company’s immigration advisor before applying. Beyond the capital test, the sponsoring PT PMA generally needs to have been active for at least six months, and InvestinAsia’s Investor KITAS service covers the shareholding structuring and application together with the PT PMA setup.

Can a PT PMA Hold Villas and Property in Bali?

A PT PMA can hold Hak Guna Bangunan (HGB, Right to Build) and Hak Pakai (Right to Use) title on Bali land, which covers most villa, hotel, and commercial property structures foreigners use on the island. What it cannot hold is Hak Milik, freehold title, which Indonesian agrarian law reserves for Indonesian citizens. Note that real estate itself, KBLI code for owned or leased property, is one of the 18 categories now closed to new foreign registration in Bali, so a fresh PT PMA built specifically to hold property under that code needs a different structuring conversation than it did in 2025.

Zoning adds another layer on top of the entity question. Bali’s spatial plan (RDTR) requires a tourism zone designation for legal villa construction and commercial operation, and a province-wide restriction on building on agricultural land applies regardless of which district you are in. A separate moratorium restricts new tourism construction on agricultural land across six districts: Tabanan, Jembrana, Buleleng, Bangli, Karangasem, and Klungkung. The higher-demand villa districts of Badung, Gianyar, and Denpasar sit outside that specific moratorium, but the agricultural land rule still applies everywhere on the island.

What Happens If You Use a Nominee Structure Instead?

Some foreign buyers still try to hold Bali property or run a business through an Indonesian nominee who fronts as the legal owner while a private side agreement supposedly protects the real investor. This arrangement is illegal under Indonesian investment law, and Indonesian courts have consistently declined to enforce the side agreements that are meant to protect the foreign party. In February 2026, Bali’s governor signed a regional regulation, Perda No. 4 of 2026, which added criminal exposure specifically for nominee land ownership transfers, on top of the existing civil nullity. If the nominee decides to claim the business or property as their own, the foreign investor generally has no legal recourse.

What Taxes Does a PT PMA Pay in Bali?

A PT PMA is taxed the same way as any Indonesian limited liability company, with no separate lighter tier for foreign ownership. Corporate Income Tax runs at 22 percent of net taxable income, with the annual return due April 30. Value Added Tax applies at 11 percent once annual taxable turnover passes IDR 4.8 billion, and dividends paid to foreign shareholders carry a 20 percent withholding tax, reducible under one of Indonesia’s tax treaties with a valid Certificate of Domicile.

Government Regulation No. 20 of 2026, signed April 22, 2026, closed off a point of ambiguity some smaller PT PMA companies had previously tried to use: it formally confirms that a PT PMA, as a regular limited liability company, cannot access the simplified 0.5 percent UMKM final tax scheme that some Indonesian small businesses qualify for. Every PT PMA files under the standard 22 percent regime with full bookkeeping, regardless of revenue size. InvestinAsia’s full PT PMA taxation guide covers each tax type and filing deadline, and the tax compliance service handles the ongoing filings once the company is running.

What Should You Do If Your Bali KBLI Is Now Blocked?

If the business you had in mind falls under one of the 18 closed categories, a few honest options exist, and none of them involve pretending the closure does not apply to you. First, check whether your activity actually sits in a higher risk tier than you assumed. Some businesses that sound low-risk on paper are classified differently once BKPM reviews the full activity description, and the higher-risk pathway, while slower, remains genuinely open. Second, if your operations genuinely sit outside Bali, other Indonesian provinces are reported to remain open for the same low-risk categories, but this only applies if the real place of business is actually elsewhere. Registering a Jakarta address for a company that operates day to day in Canggu is not a workaround, it is the exact mismatch that Bali’s enforcement push was built to catch.

Third, and most practically, get the structure reviewed before you sign a lease or transfer any capital. The right entity, KBLI, and address combination is now a genuine strategic decision in Bali rather than a formality, and the cost of getting professional input up front is small next to the cost of unwinding a company that was set up under a code that no longer applies.

References

1. Pemerintah Provinsi Bali (Bali Provincial Government). (2026, July 23). Gubernur Koster Batasi Akses OSS untuk PMA di Sejumlah KBLI, Lindungi UMKM Lokal dari Persaingan Tidak Sehat. Retrieved from

Gubernur Koster Batasi Akses OSS untuk PMA di Sejumlah KBLI, Lindungi UMKM Lokal dari Persaingan Tidak Sehat

2. Ministry of Investment / BKPM (Badan Koordinasi Penanaman Modal). (2025). Regulation No. 5 of 2025 on Investment Activity Licensing Through OSS Risk-Based Approach. Retrieved from
https://www.investindonesia.go.id

3. Government of Indonesia. (2021). Presidential Regulation No. 10 of 2021 on Investment Business Fields (Positive Investment List). Retrieved from
https://peraturan.go.id/id/perpres-no-10-tahun-2021

4. Directorate General of Taxes (DJP), Ministry of Finance. (2026). Government Regulation No. 20 of 2026 on Amendments to Government Regulation No. 55 of 2022 on Income Tax Adjustments. Retrieved from
https://pajak.go.id

5. Online Single Submission (OSS) System. OSS-RBA Portal for Business Registration and Licensing. Retrieved from
https://oss.go.id

6. Government of Indonesia. (2007). Law No. 25 of 2007 on Capital Investment. Retrieved from
https://peraturan.go.id/id/uu-no-25-tahun-2007