The bill will be submitted to the Senate for final approval.

Once approved, it will replace the present law that is 50 years old.

The bill will allow private companies to have a single director and a single shareholder.

Under the present law, every company requires a minimum of two shareholders at incorporation and also a minimum of two directors.

Annual general meetings for private companies will also be abolished under the new law.

Companies will have flexibility in their daily operations without compromising internal controls and corporate governance practice.

This is intended to help the business community, especially in the small and medium industry, to be more competitive.

During the winding-up of the debates, which started at 12.30pm today, Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Hamzah Zainuddin said the Companies Bill 2015 was necessary to keep up with changing times.

If the bill is passed, it will replace the Companies Act 1965, or Act 125, that was enforced in 1966 and regulated by the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM).

“The existing law is almost 50 years old. There is a need to introduce new policies and procedures in line with economic development, corporate sector expansion and globalisation,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat.