How to Establish a Representative Office in Surabaya

Even with the global crisis due to COVID-19, the investments in East Java, especially in Surabaya, are still growing positively. The result is pretty encouraging at the beginning of 2020: 59.2% year-on-year growth was recorded during this period. And according to BKPM, from January to June in 2020, the total value of investments from both foreign and local investments reached IDR 51 trillion (IDR 12.5 trillion from foreign investments and IDR38.4 trillion from local investments).

Therefore, this may be the best time for foreign investors to start with a representative office in Surabaya, especially in the following sectors that are consistently doing well: logistics, transportation, telecommunication, real estate, and housing sectors. These healthily-growing sectors have contributed an amazing investment value of approximately IDR 22.41 trillion.

Benefits of Setting up a Representative Office in Surabaya

Investors are coming from all over the world to Surabaya to seize the lucrative opportunities and benefits present for representative offices.

Some of the major benefits of establishing a representative office in Indonesia are summarised below:

• No investment plan and no capital requirements
• No reporting to tax authorities in Indonesia
• Low setup and monthly costs
• Visa sponsorship is available to foreign employees, foreign chief of representative office, and business partners
• 100% foreign ownership by the parent company abroad
• Director, commissioner, and shareholders are not required
• The cheapest and simplest way to set up a legal structure in Surabaya with full foreign ownership without local involvement
• Make a presence in Surabaya easily without going through the bureaucracy of setting up a PT PMA or local PT
• Call centers can serve as your customer service support in Surabaya, provided that no income is generated

Process of Establishing a Representative Office in Surabaya

The process of establishing a representative office in Surabaya is easier than setting up a PT PMA. But it is still advisable that you seek professional consultation from an expert to guide you through the whole process.

You will have to get ready of the below documents to form your representative office in Indonesia:

• Power of attorney for application signing
• Parent company’s appointment letter
• Parent company’s Association Articles in English
• Reference letter from the Embassy of Indonesia in the country of the parent company
• A copy of the passport of the parent company’s director
• A copy of the passport/tax ID/identity card of a foreign chief representative officer
• Intent letter and statement letter regarding the chief representative officer’s willingness to only work at the representative office without conducting other business activities in Indonesia

Most of the documents, such as appointment letter, an intent letter, statement letter, reference letter, association articles, and Power of attorney require legalisation from a public notary and the Indonesian Embassy in the parent company’s country.

A representative office’s license has a validity of three years and you can extend it twice. Each extension allows you to have another one more year of validity. After that, you can’t extend the license anymore unless you can show that the activities at your representative office are different from the previous one.

Indonesia Company Registry with Cekindo

Cekindo specialises in the Indonesia company registry for locals and foreigners who are interested in the Indonesian market. Indonesia is offering excellent business conditions for various types of businesses: technology, manufacturing, industrial, among others.

With a long tradition in providing Indonesia company registry services to foreign investors, Cekindo also strives to offer complete business advisory services to our existing and potential clients like you.

With our vast experience, our consultants with regional experience can accelerate your path to success. Come talk to us. Fill in the form below.