Choosing the right business vehicle for your startup or small business in Malaysia

Marcus van GeyzelLeave a comment

This post is a part of a series based on my Law for Startups workshop at MaGIC in September 2015. It’s a basic introduction to legalities for startup founders. You can .

Read the earlier posts for context:

  1. Law for startups in Malaysia — building on the best foundations.
  2. The legal landscape in Malaysia for startups — a hybrid of traditional corporate practices and Silicon Valley models.

One of the earliest decisions that a startup or small business founder will have to make is choosing the right business vehicle through which the business/idea will be carried out.

Business vehicle options

The most common business vehicle options in Malaysia are —

  1. sole proprietorships / partnerships;
  2. private limited liability companies (Companies / Sdn Bhd); and
  3. most recently, the limited liability partnership (LLP).
Unfortunately, Elon hasn't made this vehicle available in Malaysia yet.
Unfortunately, Elon hasn’t made this vehicle available in Malaysia yet.

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In The Edge: Balancing Act for Directors

Lee Shih2 Comments

I was interviewed by The Edge Financial Daily and I shared my views on some of the challenges that directors will face under the upcoming Companies Bill.

theedge

“It’s not an easy balancing act to be done. But if you are speaking from the perspective of minority shareholders or even shareholders, I would say they will be welcoming these changes because there is more information, and the directors have to allow a platform for the shareholders to discuss, query, ask questions, even if it’s not contained specifically in any audited accounts.

“Free flow of information is quite welcomed,” Lee told The Edge Financial Daily after presenting his paper “New Companies Bill: Upcoming Changes and Impact on Directors and Shareholders” at the Malaysia Legal and Corporate Conference on Oct 7.

Although Lee welcomed the greater flow of information and interaction between the board and the shareholders, he warned of the possibility of shareholders abusing the new privileges to the detriment of the company and its operations.”

My views in The Edge were also briefly discussed on the BFM Morning Run on 19 October 2015.

It appears from the Parliament website that the Companies Bill 2015 was tabled for its First Reading on 19 October 2015 and for the Second Reading on 20 October 2015. So we are now in the process of ushering in the new laws.

 

DIY legal documents for conveyancing transactions — understanding the basics of a sale and purchase of property

Marcus van Geyzel7 Comments

This post is part of an on-going series. Please read the following earlier posts for context:

  1. DIY legal documents for conveyancing transactions — can we really do it without lawyers?
  2. DIY legal documents for conveyancing transactions — why some people think you don’t need lawyers in a sale and purchase of property.

In the previous post, we’ve seen how the over-simplified concept of the conveyancing process — the ideal in their minds — leads some to think that it isn’t necessary for lawyers to be part of the process.

Let’s now take a quick tour of some of the basic issues that come up in a conveyancing process so that we can appreciate the reality of a sale and purchase transaction.

Those who think you can complete a conveyancing transaction without a lawyer please raise your hands.
Those who think you can complete a conveyancing transaction without a lawyer please raise your hands.

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Malaysia’s Liberalisation of Legal Services: One Year On

Lee Shih1 Comment

Part A.  Introduction

The liberalisation of the legal market in Peninsular Malaysia to allow for the entry of foreign lawyers has been the subject of discussion stretching as far back as 1999.

Various amendments to the law came into force on 3 June 2014 and this allowed foreign law firms and foreign lawyers to practice in Peninsular Malaysia. One year on, I analyse what changes there have been and what the future possibly holds.

kuala-lumpur
Malaysia’s legal market was liberalised since June 2014

Part B.  Three Entry Routes and Permitted Practice Areas

Underpinning the push for this liberalisation of the legal services was Bank Negara’s desire to allow foreign lawyers and foreign expertise to enter and to develop Malaysia into an international Islamic financial centre.

There are three entry routes for foreign lawyers:

(1) Qualified Foreign Law Firm (QFLF) – the stand-alone model where the foreign firm must demonstrate relevant legal expertise and experience in the permitted practice areas;

(2) International Partnership (IP) – the joint venture model with at least 60% equity by a Malaysian firm and not more than 40% by the foreign firm; and

(3) Registration as a Foreign Lawyer.

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The legal landscape in Malaysia for startups — a hybrid of traditional corporate practices and Silicon Valley models

Marcus van GeyzelLeave a comment

This post is a part of a series based on my Law for Startups workshop at MaGIC in September 2015.

Read the earlier post for context: Law for Startups in Malaysia — building on the best foundations.

It’s a basic introduction to legalities for startups.

Continue reading →

DIY legal documents for conveyancing transactions — why some people think you don’t need lawyers in a sale and purchase of property

Marcus van GeyzelLeave a comment

I explained the background to this conversation about “DIY legal documents” and the Collective of Applied Law and Legal Realism (CALR) in an earlier post — “DIY legal documents for conveyancing transactions — can we really do it without lawyers?”

As mentioned in that post, I was invited to speak at the launch event and was assigned the session title — What’s wrong with conveyancing and corporate law work?

I’ll be writing about what I shared in relation to conveyancing in four parts (beginning with this post):

  1. Why some people think you don’t need lawyers in a sale and purchase of property.
  2. Understanding the basics.
  3. Sale and purchase and loan agreements.
  4. Time for a reality check.

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