Macau Company Formation & Entity Choice

Entities, capital and incorporation

The most common vehicle in Macau is the private limited company by quotas (Sociedade por Quotas, Lda.). Incorporation runs through the Commercial and Movable Property Registry, with a low minimum capital and a few weeks' timeline. Ongoing compliance is mainly the annual complementary tax return and professional tax filings.

• Most common entity — Private limited company by quotas (Sociedade por Quotas, Lda.) (Macau Commercial Code)
• Other entity types — Company limited by shares (Sociedade Anonima, S.A.), sole proprietorship, partnership, and branch of a foreign company (Macau Commercial Code)
• Minimum share capital (Lda.) — MOP 25,000, payable in full on incorporation MOP (Macau Commercial Code)
• Minimum share capital (S.A.) — MOP 1,000,000 MOP ((approx — confirm)) (Macau Commercial Code)
• Shareholders — Minimum 1 shareholder (single-member Lda. allowed); a multi-member Lda. has at least 2 quota-holders (Macau Commercial Code)
• Directors / management — At least 1 director (administrator); directors need not be Macau residents or shareholders (Macau Commercial Code)
• Registered office — A local Macau registered address is required (Macau Commercial Code)
• Incorporation steps — Name approval, draft and sign articles, open bank account and deposit capital, register at the Commercial and Movable Property Registry, then business registration (M1) with the DSF (Macau Commercial Registration Code)
• Incorporation timeline — Approximately 16–20 business days ((approx — confirm) practical timeline) (Macau Commercial Registration Code)
• Business registration / opening tax — An industrial tax (business registration) applies on commencement; the fixed annual industrial tax has commonly been waived under annual relief measures ((approx — confirm) current amount and waiver) (Macau Industrial Tax Regulation)
• Annual compliance — tax return — File the complementary (profits) tax return annually (Group B by 31 March, Group A by 30 June) (Macau Complementary (Profits) Tax Regulation)
• Annual compliance — accounts — Group A companies must maintain audited financial statements; Group B keep simplified records (Macau Complementary (Profits) Tax Regulation)
• Annual compliance — payroll/FSS — Operate professional tax PAYE (quarterly remittance) and FSS contributions for local staff (Macau Professional Tax Regulation and Social Security System Law)