Buy or build
How to buy a business in Bali, and when building new costs less.
How to buy a business in Bali as a foreigner comes down to one choice: your own PT PMA (a foreign-owned limited company) buys the assets, meaning the lease, fit-out and equipment, or you buy the shares of the company that already holds them. The two routes transfer different things and leave different risks behind. This guide covers what moves in each, the documents to check, published asking prices, and the point where a new build costs less than a takeover, with a restaurant as the example.
Can foreigners buy a business in Bali.
Yes, through a company, never as a private person holding the licences.
The reference rules are the ones every foreign-owned company meets: IDR 2.5 billion paid into the company and a declared investment of more than IDR 10 billion, both set by BKPM Regulation 5/2025. If the seller's company is locally owned, ask a notary what it takes for a foreign shareholder to enter it before you discuss price.
One 2026 change shapes the market. Emerhub reported on 18 May 2026 that the national licensing portal (OSS) no longer accepts new foreign-owned companies in Bali whose business code is classed low or medium-low risk, while existing companies with a valid business number (NIB) keep their licences and face audits. That makes some existing companies worth more than their furniture, and their paperwork worth reading line by line. See owning a business in Bali for the rules and starting a business in Bali for the cost of the new-company route.
Asset sale vs share sale: what transfers.
Asset sale: you buy the venue
- You receive what the contract lists: remaining lease years, fit-out, kitchen, furniture, and the brand if it is named.
- The lease moves by assignment or a new deed, so the landowner must sign.
- Licences are issued to a company, not to a building. As a rule your PT PMA applies for its own; ask a licensing agent which approvals for the building stay valid.
- Staff are re-hired by your company. Agree in writing who pays what they are owed up to handover.
- The seller's debts and tax history stay with the seller's company, if the contract says so.
- Expect a gap before you trade: a new company and its business number alone take a published 4–8 weeks.
Share sale: you buy the company
- You receive the company with everything in it: lease, business number, certificates, contracts, bank account, staff. Trading does not stop.
- You also receive its past: unpaid tax, supplier debts, staff claims and anything an audit finds later.
- Check that it is a PT PMA with a valid business number under the code it really operates.
- The lease may forbid a change of owner without the landowner's consent.
- The price usually includes goodwill, which is only worth paying for if the sales are proven.
Bali business for sale: what public listings ask.
| Listing | Asking price | What the seller reports |
|---|---|---|
| 53 food-service businesses in Bali on one marketplace | IDR 2.6–30 billion (about USD 158,000–1.8 million) | EBITDA margins of 10–40% |
| 40% stake in a venue in Ubud | USD 790,000 | Partial stake |
| 70% of a concept that has not opened | IDR 5.1 billion (about USD 309,000) | No trading history |
| Restaurant takeover in Berawa | IDR 4 billion (about USD 242,000) | Not stated |
| Café in Canggu | IDR 16 billion as a business; IDR 12.6 billion for the leasehold alone | The trading business is priced at IDR 3.4 billion above the property |
| Mediterranean restaurant in Uluwatu | USD 486,000 | 12-month turnover USD 453,000, profit USD 17,000 |
Sources: Smergers, Bali food-service category (rows 1–3); agency listings on Ray White Indonesia, Prestige Property Bali and Bali Home Immo (rows 4–5); Searchfunder (row 6). Collected 12 November 2026; listing dates vary. Dollar equivalents at IDR 16,500 per US dollar.
How to value a business by remaining lease and verified cash flow.
Read the last row twice. A restaurant turning over USD 453,000 a year kept USD 17,000, under 4% of sales. At that profit the asking price equals more than 28 years of earnings. Two numbers matter more than any asking price: the years left on the lease and the profit you can prove.
Remaining lease
A commercial lease in Bali commonly runs five or ten prepaid years, and extending it is reported to mean a fresh deed at whatever the land is worth by then, not a continuation of the old rent. A restaurant with three years left is a three-year business unless the extension price is in writing. See how to read a commercial lease.
Verified cash flow
Ask for point-of-sale exports, bank statements and the regional restaurant-tax filings for the last 12–24 months. A restaurant collects 10% from every bill and pays it to the regency, so the tax receipts show the turnover the owner declared. If the three sources disagree, use the lowest.
Sanity checks
Published benchmarks put casual dining in Indonesia at 5–12% net and fine dining at 10–20% (Klikit, 2026). A listing far above that needs better proof than a spreadsheet. A generic industry yardstick, not a Bali study, rates a payback of two to five years as good and one beyond seven as risky. The quick test: if payback at the proven profit is longer than the lease that remains, the price is too high.
Due diligence before you pay a deposit.
- Lease deed: years remaining, extension terms in writing, landowner's consent to the transfer.
- Zoning: the plot may carry a commercial building and is neither protected rice field nor state land. At Bingin Beach the demolition of 48 unpermitted structures on state land began on 21 July 2025 (The Bali Sun).
- Building approval (PBG) and certificate of worthiness (SLF) that match the building as it stands today, extensions included.
- Company: deed, shareholders, business number, and KBLI codes (business classification codes) that match what the venue does.
- Operating certificates: verified standard certificate, hygiene certificate (SLHS), and the alcohol licence if alcohol is on the menu.
- Tax: corporate returns, monthly restaurant-tax filings, payroll tax.
- Staff: contracts, pay compared with the legal minimum (IDR 3,791,003 a month in Badung for 2026), leave and severance owed.
- Sales by month, including February and March, the weakest months for Bali hotels (Horwath HTL, March 2026).
- Equipment list with ages; state of the exhaust hood, grease trap, cold rooms and power connection.
- Debts, supplier deposits, prepaid events and gift vouchers.
How to buy a business in Bali, step by step.
- 01
Ask four questions first
Years left on the lease, which company holds the licences, last year's declared turnover, and why the owner is selling.
- 02
Make an offer subject to checks
A written, non-binding offer that depends on document review and a technical survey. No money moves yet.
- 03
Check documents and the building
A notary and a licensing agent review the lease, company and licences. We survey the structure, roof, power, exhaust, drains and kitchen, and price the work they need.
- 04
Choose the route
Asset sale or share sale, decided with the notary once the risks are known. Attach a schedule of everything included.
- 05
Sign notarial deeds
Lease assignment or share transfer, signed by the landowner where the lease requires it. Ask whether part of the price can be held back until the licences are confirmed.
- 06
Hand over
Stock count, meter readings, keys, platform logins, a staff meeting, and licence applications filed the same week.
When building new is cheaper than buying.
A takeover price pays for three things: the years left on the lease, a fit-out someone else designed, and goodwill.
Our indicative ranges for 2026 are IDR 8.5–18 million per m² to build new on an empty plot and IDR 4.5–14 million per m² to fit out a standing building. For 80 seats built new at our middle finish level the total is IDR 3.5–4.7 billion (about USD 213,000–286,000) once kitchen, furniture, design fees, licence costs, pre-opening and an 8% reserve are added, before land lease and working capital. A fixed price follows drawings and a bill of quantities. The cost calculator gives the range for your own seat count.
Set the IDR 4 billion Berawa takeover beside that range. The money is similar. What differs is what you hold afterwards: a kitchen and roof of unknown age on a part-used lease, or a new building on a lease you negotiated yourself.
- Buying wins when the profit is proven, the lease is long, the licences are in order and the location cannot be repeated.
- Building wins when the price is mostly goodwill, the lease is short, the kitchen does not fit your menu, or you would strip the interior anyway.
Time is the cost of building: our planning estimate is 9–14 months from land to opening and 3–6 months for a fit-out. A takeover with licences in order trades from the first week.
What we do for a buyer.
We are builders, not brokers; we do not list businesses for sale. For a buyer we do three things. We survey a venue before you commit and price the work the building, services and kitchen need. We redesign and refit a venue you have bought, including a new kitchen where the old one is finished. And when the numbers favour a new venue, we open one from an empty plot, with construction by the Kimo Construction team.
A third route is a share in a new restaurant. You take shares in the Indonesian company (PT PMA) that holds the lease and licences, with a shareholders' agreement drafted by a notary; ticket size, reporting and exit terms are set per project and sent as a project sheet on WhatsApp. No return is promised. See how co-ownership works.
Send a listing link on WhatsApp and we will tell you what we would check first.
Questions we get on WhatsApp
Can foreigners buy a business in Bali?
Yes, through a PT PMA that buys the assets, or by buying shares in the company that owns the venue. Either way the company must meet the foreign-investment capital rules of BKPM Regulation 5/2025: IDR 2.5 billion paid in and a declared plan of more than IDR 10 billion. The licence side is on our licences page.
Where do I find a business in Bali for sale?
On listing marketplaces such as Smergers, on property-agency sites, and in owner-posted adverts. Treat every figure as seller-reported until you hold the documents. For restaurants, see how to value a restaurant for sale.
Do licences transfer when I buy a restaurant in Bali?
In a share sale they stay with the company you buy. In an asset sale your own company normally applies for new ones, which takes time. Ask a licensing agent which approvals attach to the building; the route for a foreign owner is in can a foreigner open a restaurant in Bali.
What does “over kontrak” mean in Bali listings?
Is a Bali business for sale by owner safe to buy?
It can be, if the documents hold up. Nobody has reviewed the lease, licences or sales, so run the same checks as for any purchase and have the building surveyed; our site report is described on the process page.
Read next
Buy or build
Bali restaurant for sale: value a leasehold with real 2026 asking prices (IDR 2.6–30 billion), a due-diligence checklist and new-build costs. WhatsApp.
Owning a business in Bali
Owning a business in Bali in 2026: what a foreigner can and cannot own, PT PMA capital of IDR 2.5 billion, the OSS block, audits. Questions on WhatsApp.
Co-ownership
Bali restaurant investment by co-ownership: shares in the PT PMA holding lease and licences, 2026 capital rules, no return promises. Ask on WhatsApp.