PT PMA Explained: How Foreign Ownership Actually Works in Indonesia

A PT PMA is an Indonesian limited company owned by a foreign investor. Every foreign-owned business in Indonesia — from villa investors to hotel groups to tech companies — operates under this structure. It is not exotic and it is not a workaround. It is the standard vehicle Indonesia offers to foreign capital.

How the ownership works in practice. Your PT PMA is registered with the OSS / BKPM (Indonesia's investment authority). You are named as the shareholder — 100% direct ownership, no nominee. The company holds the HGB certificate on the villa. When you eventually sell, you can transfer either the villa's HGB or the whole PT PMA shareholding to another eligible buyer.

What Noha's €950 setup covers. The one-off fee covers: notary deeds, company registration with the OSS, business identification number (NIB), tax IDs (NPWP for the company and its representative), initial share register, and lodging of the HGB in your PT PMA's name. Everything filed in your name from day one.

What ongoing compliance looks like. Every PT PMA has three ongoing obligations: monthly bookkeeping, monthly tax filings (PPh 4(2) / PPN as applicable on rental income), and an annual return. Noha handles all three as part of the 20% property-management fee. There is no separate annual PT PMA fee billed to you. If you were to run the company yourself, a local accountant would charge roughly €600–900 per year for the same work — but you would also need to manage bookings, invoicing, and guest ops directly.

Taxes flow through the PT PMA. 11% Indonesian tax on net rental profit is paid by the PT PMA (not you personally). You then withdraw the after-tax profit as dividends. Whether those dividends trigger tax in your home country depends on your residency — that is where an independent tax advisor is worth the fee.

The HGB inside the PT PMA. HGB (Hak Guna Bangunan) is the state-issued right to build on and use land for up to 80 years (30 initial + 20 extension + 30 renewal). It is a real, registered property right — not a private lease. When your PT PMA sells the villa, the HGB transfers to the buyer's PT PMA. When the 30-year term nears expiry, renewal is a filing at the National Land Agency, governed by the same statute for every foreign-owned company in Indonesia.

Selling and exit. Two clean exits: (1) sell the villa — the HGB transfers to the new owner's PT PMA; (2) sell the whole PT PMA — the buyer inherits your company, the HGB stays in place, and the sale is structured as a share transfer. We work with local tax advisors to pick the exit that minimises transaction cost.

Why this structure exists. Freehold (Hak Milik / SHM) is reserved by Indonesian law for Indonesian citizens. Rather than route foreign investment through nominees (which is fragile and legally risky), Indonesia created PT PMA / HGB as the sanctioned framework. Every serious foreign investor in Indonesian real estate uses it.

The Noha model. We set up your PT PMA, file the HGB in your name, build and furnish the villa, and manage it end-to-end. You own the shares, you receive the reports, you decide when to sell. For the full document set — sample PT PMA deeds, sample HGB certificate, sample monthly report — ask us for the investor deck on WhatsApp.