# Paid-up Capital

> The amount shareholders have actually paid the company in exchange for shares — distinct from authorised or nominal capital.

- Category: glossary
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-07-10
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/glossary/paid-up-capital

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**Bahasa Malaysia:** Modal Berbayar · **English:** Paid-up Capital · **中文:** 实缴资本

Paid-up capital is the portion of a company's share capital that shareholders
have actually paid in, in exchange for the shares issued to them. It reflects
real money (or assets) contributed to the company, not a theoretical ceiling.

Since the Companies Act 2016 abolished the concepts of authorised capital and
par value, a Malaysian company's capital position is now expressed purely in
terms of the number of shares issued and the amount actually paid for them —
its paid-up capital.

## In practice

There is no statutory minimum paid-up capital for a Sdn Bhd — incorporation
with RM1 or RM2 of paid-up capital is legally valid. In practice, however,
paid-up capital is often used informally as a signal of a company's scale:
banks may factor it into loan assessments, some government tenders set a
minimum paid-up capital as an eligibility criterion, and certain licensed
activities (such as employment agencies or specific finance-related
businesses) do set minimum paid-up capital requirements by regulation.
Founders sometimes increase paid-up capital after incorporation, by issuing
and paying for additional shares, to meet such requirements or to strengthen
the balance sheet.

## Related terms

- [Sdn Bhd](/en/glossary/sdn-bhd)
- [Annual Return](/en/glossary/annual-return)

## Sources

- Companies Act 2016 (Act 777) — https://www.ssm.com.my/Pages/Legal_Framework/Companies-Act-2016.aspx (SSM)

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