IPT students to be exempted from paying business registration fees - PM Najib

Students from public and private institutions of higher learning (IPT) intending to set up a business will be exempted from paying business registration fees with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) from Jan 1 next year, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.

The prime minister said the exemption under the Registration of Businesses Act 1956 was aimed at encouraging young entrepreneurs to take advantage of the RM10 million grants allocated by the SSM.

The grants will be disbursed at the rate of RM1 per annum over the next 10 years, he said during a talk show at the Online Networking Entrepreneurs (ONE) Carnival organised by the SSM at Medan Mara here today.

Najib said young entrepreneurs needed to adopt an online business platform to enable them to reach wider market access.

However, they have to be creative, as well as produce quality products and differentiate them in order to succeed.

"Online entrepreneurs must create distinctive brands so that their products will be well received by consumers," he said.

Najib said doing business on digital platform was not only one of the government's initiatives to empower local businesses, but also one of its top agendas.

Malaysia is set to launch the world's first Digital Free Zone in April next year and has appointed Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma as its digital economy adviser.

The SSM has so far registered 42,000 online companies.

Meanwhile, the SSM, in a statement, said under the RM10 grants, students were eligible to register their business once within a year whether it is sole proprietorship or partnership, and the registration could only be made at the SSM counter or online.

Previously, students were required to pay a registration of RM30 per year for sole proprietorship using own name as per identity card and RM60 a year for sole business ownership or partnership using a business name.

The three-day ONE Carnival, which ended today, featured talks by celebrity entrepreneurs, a seminar, a forum, briefings on business registration and financing, exhibition, and sales of products. -- BERNAMA