Manufacture of food products

Open · licence threshold

Manufacturing companies with shareholders' funds >= RM2.5M OR >= 75 full-time paid employees require a Manufacturing Licence from MIDA. 100% foreign equity is permitted.

Foreign equity: 100%
Capital floor: RM 2.5M
Key licences: 3
Setup timeline: 8–12 wk

Set up for this MSICOne-business-day quote · MSIC 10 pre-filled

Investment policy

Foreign ownership rules

Manufacturing Licence (ICA 1975)open-with-licenseMIDA
Manufacturing companies with shareholders' funds >= RM2.5M OR >= 75 full-time paid employees require a Manufacturing Licence from MIDA. 100% foreign equity is permitted.
Paid-up min: RM2,500,000
Source

Sourced from MIDA sector booklets and respective regulators. Verify the latest rules with the regulator before investment decisions.

What you'll need to apply for

Licences & permits

Specific to this activity

Mandatory

DOSH Factory Registration
Issued by Department of Occupational Safety & Health (DOSH) · Factories and Machinery Act 1967
Required for any factory premises with machinery

Conditional

Manufacturing Licence (MIDA, ICA 1975)
Issued by Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) · Industrial Co-ordination Act 1975
Required if shareholders' funds >= RM2.5M OR >= 75 full-time employees

Optional / commonly held

Halal Premise Certification (JAKIM/HDC)
Issued by Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) / Halal Development Corporation (HDC) · Trade Description Act 2011
Stronger scheme than product Halal cert; required to display halal claim on the premises

Common requirements for most Malaysian businesses6

Have Emerhub file every licence above for you

We'll prepare the forms, liaise with each agency and track approvals — bundled with Sdn Bhd setup. Agency fees are paid to the issuing authority; our service fee is quoted separately.

Get a quote

Source: MalaysiaBiz / BLESS licence catalog.

Official statistics

Sector context

Official statistics (DOSM)

Industrial Production Index

148(index, 2015=100)

+9.5% YoY

As of 2026-03 (Monthly)

GDP (real, quarterly)

RM 10.81B

+10.4% YoY

As of 2025-Q4 (Quarterly)

Source: Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) open data, attached to MSIC division 10. Index values use the official DOSM base year (typically 2015 = 100). Indicators refresh monthly or quarterly per dataset. Where a DOSM subsector spans multiple MSIC divisions, the same headline is shown on each — it is the subsector total, not an allocated share.

8 groups in this division

Manufacture of food products

Foreign ownership rules

Foreign ownership rules

Licences & permits

Licences & permits

Sector context

Official statistics (DOSM)

Groups