Sole proprietor or Sdn Bhd? How a little-known rule played out for tuition centres

Stefan Soh, 49, has run Pusat Tuisyen Sinergi as a sole proprietorship for 18 years. He said he did not know of the requirement for 30 percent bumiputera equity when he first registered his centre.

It came up only about five years ago, when he began looking at upgrading his business to a private limited company (Sdn Bhd).

“Only when we wanted to upgrade to a Sdn Bhd were we told there was a 30 percent (bumiputera equity) condition,” he said.

Stefan Soh, 49, has run Pusat Tuisyen Sinergi as a sole proprietorship for 18 years. He said he was unaware of the 30 percent bumiputera equity requirement when he first registered his centre.