There are many places one can utilize to incorporate their business offshore that are satisfactory. You will find places in the Carribbean, Central America and even Europe dotting the offshore company formation landscape since almost any country will allow for companies to be incorporated. You need to decide for yourself which jurisdiction offers all the benefits you require when you make your mental checklist of what you would like when incorporating an offshore company.
There is one offshore incorporation center that is getting more coverage in the media lately than any other destination and that is lovely, charming Panama. One of the best known centers in Latin America, Panama City has over four hundred thousand offshore companies registered there making it one of the largest offshore incorporation centers worldwide behind only Hong Kong.
One of the main reasons why Panama has seen a boom in company incorporations is that Panama offers one of the most private company registrations in the world. Companies in Panama can be incorporated using bearer shares and nominee directors. The actual person who controls the company is not written down in any public registries. This makes figuring out the real owner rather difficult. Ownership of these corporations can be transferred by simply handing the shares to another person.
Under Panama law, a bearer share corporation (or SA corporation for Sociedad Anonima) can be sold or transferred privately without the need to record the sale in any way. You will receive pre signed resignation letters from your nominee directors to ensure they can not do any funny business with your corporation. You can also replace these directors with your own at any point but you may lose the anonymity if you choose someone you know. Not always advisable.
Panama has set up their rules so favorably that you do not even need to leave your home to have a Panama corporation incorporated for you. You will need the services of a lawyer since a lawyer is the only one who can actually walk into the public registry and properly register the offshore company with the government of Panama. A Panama corporation can own; real estate, a stock trading account and even bank accounts (in the company name). Since Panama’s banks are covered by strict secrecy laws leaving your name as a signatory on the corporate account leaves you legally covered.
The article of incorporation is the only document recorded in the public registry when you incorporate an offshore company in Panama. Neither the people of Panama nor the Panamanian government knows the true identity of the company owner. The bank you register your offshore company bank account will have records of the bank account signatory but this information is confidential and can only be accessed for a serious criminal investigation. Furthermore, this litigation must be registered in a court in Panama since only Panama courts have jurisdiction over Panama banks.
Typical fees for incorporating an offshore company in Panama are $300 for the government fee, typically $150 each for each nominee director each year and anywhere from $1000 - $2000 in legal fees depending on the complexity and privacy required when registering.
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