Each registry in Asia has its own identifier and its own view of what the public may see.

A KYB file on a company in Asia starts with its home registry.

Each registry has its own authority, its own identifier and its own view of what the public may see.

Every search can be ordered through the mailbox or the API. The search catalogue lists the documents we return from each.

At a glance

Hong Kong

The Companies Registry (公司註冊處) runs the public search. The identifier is the eight-digit Business Registration Number (BRN), which replaced the company number (CR No.) as the Registry's identifier on 27 December 2023.

A company particulars search shows the incorporation date, status, registered office, share capital, current directors, company secretary and a charges indicator. Shareholders appear in the annual return. The Business Registration Certificate comes from the Inland Revenue Department. See Hong Kong.

Mainland China

The National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (国家企业信用信息公示系统, gsxt.gov.cn) is run by the State Administration for Market Regulation (国家市场监督管理总局). The identifier is the 18-character Unified Social Credit Code (统一社会信用代码).

Search is free and in Chinese. The published registration information includes the company name, code, directors, shareholders, date of establishment, registered address and business scope.

Singapore

The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Finance. The identifier is the Unique Entity Number (UEN).

Bizfile provides a basic entity lookup and paid Business Profiles containing filed officers, shareholders and capital information. Check the profile’s retrieval date and last filing; the central Register of Registrable Controllers is not public. See the Singapore search guide.

Malaysia

The Companies Commission of Malaysia (Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia, SSM) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living.

Since 11 October 2019, SSM uses a 12-digit registration number, shown alongside an older identifier where applicable, for example 201901000005 (1312525-A).

SSM's appointed portals (SSM e-Info, MyDATA SSM, SSM Search and SSM SAFEDATA) sell the company profile: name, number, previous names, capital, directors, managers, shareholders, officers, charges and a summary of the latest financial information.

India

The Registrar of Companies sits under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). The identifier is the 21-character Corporate Identification Number (CIN).

View Company Master Data on the MCA portal is free and shows the CIN, registration number, status, charges and the directors with their DINs. View Public Documents is paid per company and gives incorporation papers, annual returns and balance sheets.

Shareholding is read from the annual return (MGT-7, or the abridged MGT-7A for one person companies and small companies), which carries the list of shareholders as an attachment. See India.

Japan

The commercial register (商業登記) is kept by the Legal Affairs Bureaus (法務局) of the Ministry of Justice (法務省). Companies are identified by the corporate number (法人番号) issued by the National Tax Agency.

The register shows the trade name, head office, purpose, capital and officers. Shareholders are not recorded in it. See Japan.

Thailand

The Department of Business Development (กรมพัฒนาธุรกิจการค้า) of the Ministry of Commerce (กระทรวงพาณิชย์) keeps the register. The identifier is the 13-digit juristic person registration number, which is also the tax identification number.

DBD DataWarehouse+ offers a free search. Through the DBD e-Service, or the e-Certificate service at participating banks, the company affidavit (หนังสือรับรอง) shows the current particulars and directors.

Philippines

The Securities and Exchange Commission, which the Department of Finance lists among the agencies under its supervision, registers corporations and partnerships, each with an SEC registration number.

Check with SEC verifies free of charge whether a company is registered and whether it holds a secondary licence. Copies of the Articles of Incorporation, the General Information Sheet (GIS) and audited financial statements are requested through the SEC Express System or downloaded through eSEARCH.

Indonesia

The Directorate General of General Legal Administration (Direktorat Jenderal Administrasi Hukum Umum, Ditjen AHU) of the Ministry of Law keeps the register of limited liability companies. A company is identified by the Ministry's decree number and the Business Identification Number (NIB).

AHU Online's profile search covers companies that conform to Law 40 of 2007. The full profile and latest profile are paid and reflect the filing data: capital, shareholders, directors and commissioners.

Vietnam

The National Business Registration Portal (Cổng thông tin quốc gia về đăng ký doanh nghiệp) is run by the Agency for Private Enterprise and Collective Economy Development (Cục Phát triển doanh nghiệp tư nhân và kinh tế tập thể) of the Ministry of Finance (Bộ Tài chính). The agency took over from the Business Registration Management Agency of the former Ministry of Planning and Investment in 2025.

The identifier is the enterprise code (mã số doanh nghiệp), identical to the tax code. The free search shows the name, code, address, legal representative, status and business lines.

South Korea

The Supreme Court Internet Registry Office (대법원 인터넷등기소) issues the certificate of registered matters for corporations (법인등기사항증명서). The identifier is the corporate registration number (법인등록번호).

It shows the trade name, head office, purpose, capital, shares and the officers, the items Article 317 of the Commercial Act requires. Shareholders are not recorded. See South Korea.

Taiwan

Company registration is public through the Commercial and Industrial Registration Public Information Search Service (商工登記公示資料查詢服務, findbiz.nat.gov.tw) of the Administration of Commerce (商業發展署), Ministry of Economic Affairs (經濟部). The identifier is the Unified Business Number (統一編號).

The free search shows the registration status, capital, representative, directors and supervisors with their shareholdings, and managers.

United Arab Emirates

There is no single registry. Mainland companies are licensed by each emirate's economic department.

The financial free zones keep their own public registers. The DIFC Registrar of Companies enters each company in the Public Register with a registered number, and the ADGM Registration Authority maintains its register and records changes in directors, officers and shareholders.

Registers of directors and shareholders are kept by the company, with inspection limited by law, and beneficial owner records are confidential under Cabinet Decision 109 of 2023. See United Arab Emirates and UAE KYC and AML.

British Virgin Islands

The Registry of Corporate Affairs, part of the BVI Financial Services Commission, provides paid public search reports and certificates. Confirm product availability and the published fee when ordering.

A search report returns the company number, type, status, date of incorporation, registered agent and office, share or capital information, previous names and the transactions filed. Certified copies of listed documents can be ordered.

Companies file their register of members with the Registrar, but filing does not make it generally public. Access remains restricted unless the company elects public access. Obtain certified shareholder evidence through the registered agent; beneficial ownership disclosure follows a separate application process. See the BVI search guide.

Cayman Islands

The General Registry is a Cayman Islands Government department under the Ministry of Financial Services and Commerce.

Registered users of the Registry's online search can buy basic information, the list of directors and a detailed search report. Since 1 October 2019 the Companies Act requires the Registrar to make the names of current and alternate directors available, and only the names.

Certificates of good standing, incorporation, existence, incumbency and shareholders are issued only to the company's principals or their authorised personnel. The register of members of an exempted company is not public. See Cayman Islands.

Reading the table

Some registries publish shareholder information through profiles or periodic filings. Check the specific document, its effective date and whether later changes are visible.

Japan and South Korea record officers and capital in their company registers, while shareholder evidence generally comes from the company. In BVI and Cayman, ordinary public searches leave material ownership gaps.

CorpVerify returns the documents each registry does issue, with the source and retrieval time on every one.

Which of these fifteen registries does your team still search by hand?