# Companies Act 2016 (Act 777)

> Statute entity page for Malaysia's principal corporate law — what Act 777 governs, who administers it, its amendment history including Act A1701, and the articles that explain each duty in practice.

- Category: law
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-07-20
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/law/companies-act-2016

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This page is the statute record for Act 777 — its identity, administration and
amendment chain. The procedures it creates are documented article by article in the
company-secretary and business clusters; this page does not repeat them.

## At a glance

| | |
| --- | --- |
| Short title | Companies Act 2016 |
| Act number | Act 777 |
| Type | Act of Parliament |
| Commencement | 31 January 2017 |
| Replaced | Companies Act 1965 (Act 125) |
| Administered by | Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM), the Companies Commission of Malaysia |
| Current reference text | Reprint as at 1 August 2022, plus Act A1701 |

## What the Act governs

Act 777 covers the whole life of a company: incorporation and constitution, share
capital and its alteration, members and the register of members, beneficial
ownership, directors and officers and their duties, meetings and resolutions,
accounts and audit, registration of charges, corporate rescue mechanisms, striking
off, and winding up. It also governs foreign companies registered to carry on
business in Malaysia.

Two structural features shape almost every practical question under it. A private
company need not adopt a constitution, in which case the Act's own default
provisions and the Third Schedule apply. And shares have no par value, which changes
how capital is raised, reduced and returned.

## Who administers it

**Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia** registers companies, receives statutory
lodgements, investigates breaches, compounds offences and strikes off defaulters.

The important point for anyone reading the Act: **SSM's Practice Directives carry
operative rules the section text does not.** Audit exemption criteria, the
late-lodgement penalty scale and extension-of-time procedure are all set by
directive. A question answered from Act 777 alone will frequently be answered
wrongly.

## Amendment history

| Instrument | Effect | Date |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Act 777 (principal) | Enacted; replaced the Companies Act 1965 | In force 31 January 2017 |
| Reprint | Current consolidated text | 1 August 2022 |
| **Companies (Amendment) Act 2024 (Act A1701)** | **Beneficial ownership regime, corporate rescue and winding-up changes, new Division 8A** | **Assent 24 January 2024; gazetted 2 February 2024** |

**Act A1701's scope, stated negatively, is the useful fact.** It amends ss.2, 68,
152, 258, 264, 365–368, 395, 403, 406, 411, 433, 536, 562, 567, 576, 582 and 613,
and inserts a new Division 8A together with new ss.368A–D, 369A–D, 398A, 415A, 573A
and 612A. It **does not touch ss.196–253 at all** — so the 1 August 2022 reprint
remains current for the entire directors' duties chapter, and commentary implying
otherwise is wrong.

The beneficial ownership provisions did not begin biting on 1 July 2024, as is
widely repeated. The transitional window was extended to 30 September 2024, and the
statutory clocks run from **1 October 2024**.

## Where the practical rules live

| Topic | Article |
| --- | --- |
| The administering agency | [SSM](/en/government/ssm) |
| Incorporating | [Register a Sdn Bhd](/en/business/register-sdn-bhd) |
| Annual return | [Annual return](/en/company-secretary/annual-return) |
| Directors' duties | [Directors' duties](/en/company-secretary/directors-duties) |
| Statutory registers | [Statutory registers](/en/company-secretary/statutory-registers) |
| Beneficial ownership | [Beneficial ownership](/en/company-secretary/beneficial-ownership) |
| Audit exemption | [Audit exemption](/en/audit/audit-exemption) |
| Filing calendar | [Sdn Bhd filing calendar](/en/company-secretary/sdn-bhd-filing-calendar) |

## Sources

- Act 777 — Companies Act 2016, principal Act timeline and subsidiary legislation — https://lom.agc.gov.my/act-detail.php?act=777 (Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia)
- Companies Act 2016 (Act 777), reprint as at 1 August 2022 — https://www.ssm.com.my/Pages/Legal_Framework/Document/Companies%20Act%202016_Akta%20777_BI%20(1.8.2022).pdf (SSM)
- Companies (Amendment) Act 2024 (Act A1701) — https://www.ssm.com.my/Pages/Legal_Framework/Document/A1701%20BI.pdf (SSM)
- Companies Act 2016 — legal framework — https://www.ssm.com.my/Pages/Legal_Framework/Companies-Act-2016.aspx (SSM)

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