The Republic of Panama occupies an area of 77,082 square kilometres and is situated between Costa Rica in Central America and Columbia in South America with coastlines.on both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
Its capital, Panama City, is on the Pacific coast at the entrance of the Panama Canal. The country has a population of approximately 2 million of which 700,000 people live in Panama City.
The Constitution of Panama provides for a Republican form of Government. Citizens over the age of 18 years have the right and obligation to vote directly for a President and two Vice Presidents, and to vote for appointment of Legislators to the Legislative Assembly. For the purpose of the election of Legislators, the country is divided into Electoral Circuits with an average of 30,000 voters in each.
Panamanian law is based on the Spanish Civil Code, although the company law has been taken from the corporation law of Delaware in the USA.
The official language is Spanish. Documents in a foreign language, which require to be filed at Companies Registry must be accompanied by a Spanish translation. Equally company documents in Spanish are accompanied by an English translation. Spanish and English are used equally in business circles.
Panama City is linked by major scheduled airlines, through regular daily flights, with the principle cities of North, Central and South America, Europe and the Far East.
It has excellent telecommunications and postal facilities, and courier services are well established in the country.
The official currency is the Balboa, which, under a monetary agreement of 1904 with the United States, is at par with the United States dollar and is freely convertible. The US Dollar is also legal tender, and since there is no Panamanian paper currency it circulates freely
Characteristics of companies registered in Panama
Corporate Law
GENERAL CORPORATION LAW, 1927
Type of the Company
Non-resident
Capital
The authorized share capital of the company - 10,000 USD
Requirements for the company:
- Minimum number of directors – 3; employees (president, secretary, treasurer) - 3, who may also be directors of the company. Information about the directors of the company should be kept in the public file cabinet
- Minimum number of shareholders - 1
- Director of the company can be either legal or physical person of any nationality
- Companies are required to have a registered office
- Registered Representative must be a Panamanian lawyer or a Panamanian law firm
- It is required to have a local secretary
Taxation
The company does not pay taxes on profits earned outside Panama
Annual provision of declarations
Since the company does not conduct any activity on the territory of Panama, it is not required to provide declarations and financial statements. Reports and declarations are required in case of liquidation
Privacy
Information about the directors and shareholders is recorded in the state filing cabinet and is publicly available, to avoid disclosure of information about the beneficiaries of the company you can use nominee directors and shareholders
Convention on Avoidance of Double Taxation
Panama has not signed the conventions on avoidance of double taxation
Restrictions on trading operations and activities of the company
The company may conduct any activity under the laws of Panama, except for activities related to: banking, trusteeship and management of trust property, any kind of insurance, fund management, investment funds, common trust funds or any other activities related to banking , finance, guardianship or insurance
Company name
Company name must end with the words Sociedad Anonima «SA», or a phrase in any other language with the meaning - limited liability (for example: 'Corporation', 'Corp', 'Incorporated', 'Inc', 'AG', etc. except for the word 'Limited')
PRICES FOR OFFSHORE SERVICES
International business company (IBC) - Standard order |
International business company (IBC) |
US$ 1,110.00 |
US$ 1,650.00 |
Standard order The documents/services which are provided to the client are:
Price - US$ 1,110.00 includes:
|
Standard order with Nominee Services: The documents/services which are provided to the client are:
Price - US$ 1,650.00 includes:
|
Ready-made (shelf) companies
We have specially registered some companies for your convenience if you require the company immediately or if you require company with older incorporation date. You can sign the bank account opening forms as soon as you have purchased the shelf company which lets you to receive the account number and IBAN number straight away.
All these companies have not traded or entered into any dealings or obligations whatsoever. Since their incorporation, their documents have been kept motionless on the shelf in our office.
Please note that due to the fact that these are "shelf" companies they are without Apostille and most probably, you will need it so it will take 1-2 business days to arrange for it. And if you are a new customer it will take some time to fill out all the necessary forms due to our companies "know your customer" policy.
The Price for the shelf company varies depending on the incorporation date of the company.
For more detailed information about company formation in Panama or "shelf" companies please contact us and our experts will be glad to help you in any question you may have. Our telephone number is + 357 22 680602 and e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.