Offshore Company Formation

Offshore Company Formation
Forming an offshore company in Panama will offer you
unparalleled investor confidentiality, a flexible corporate
plan and the capacity to perform legal business in the
international community.

For the purpose of incorporation, you should have at least
two people who are authorized to act as organizers for your
company as well as a minimum of three directors, the names
and addresses of whom will be kept on public record as
directors of your Panama based corporation. The two people
that will act as organizers should also appear in front of
a Public Notary to have their identity documents
authenticated.

If you are a trifle apprehensive with the idea of having
your name show up in the company's registered
documentation, you would be well advised to employ the
services of a Panama legal service that will be able to
offer nominee directors with signed resignation letters on
your behalf.

Panama law also requires that corporations should have
officers for the positions of President, Treasurer and
Secretary. One individual is able to serve as both a
President and Treasurer, but the same person cannot be a
President and Secretary. These officers can be supplied by
a Panamanian lawyer which in effect removes your name from
the public registry in Panama.

One of the advantages of establishing an offshore company
in Panama is the fact that it is not compulsory to have
paid-in capital. However, Panamanian corporations have a
standard capitalization requirement of $10,000 for every
offshore corporation established.

All of your offshore company records will be filed in the
mercantile registry in Panama. Although it is not
obligatory to maintain any records of your accounts it may
be a good idea to do so, especially if you are a citizen of
the United States. There is also no requirement for the
issue of financial statements for your company so long as
all of the income for the company has been derived offshore
from Panama.

Shares can be made out anonymously in a bearer share format
which in essence means that an individual who holds the
actual physical share certificates also owns the company.
Thus, ownership can easily be passed from one individual to
another with no public record of the sale required.

A non-resident Panama offshore corporation can take
anything from four to six days to form but in some cases a
twenty-four hour express service is available depending on
which law firm or service you choose to utilize. When
forming your offshore company it is highly recommended that
you enlist the assistance of a Panama lawyer or law firm. A
Panamanian legal firm can supply you with nominee officers
and directors for your offshore company as well as perform
the filing all of the necessary paperwork on your behalf.

A lawyer will also physically go to register your company
with the Panamanian public registry since only a lawyer can
do this by Panamanian law. It is very possible though, to
create a company in Panama without ever having to
physically visit the country provided you work with a good
firm. Copies of your identity documents will need to be
notarized and apostilled and couriered to your lawyers
office.

----------------------------------------------------
For more information about offshore company formation or
incorporating a Panama corporation please visit the
author's website: http://www.offshorelegal.org/