Liberia
Liberia is to be found on the west coast of Africa, bounded by Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ivory Coast. It has a population of about 3.5 million and the capital is Monrovia. The language is English and the currency the Liberian dollar. The U.S. dollar is also widely used.
The economy of Liberia has been largely destroyed by two civil wars. It is not a healthy place to live, life expectancy being about 37 years. Child mortality is high and there is a high risk of infection from tropical diseases.
Liberia Financial Services
Despite the drawbacks the Liberian offshore company has been in use for many years and is probably best known for its use in shipping operations, Liberia being a major flag of convenience. An offshore company must be at least 75% owned by non-residents and it must not engage in business in Liberia. It must be formed through a government owned international trust company and have a registered agent in Liberia. Other than this there is no requirement for any officer to be a Liberian resident and the all the records may be outside the country.
Company formation procedures for Liberia
Liberian corporations, LLC’s, are easily incorporated. The use of standard articles of incorporation and certificates of formation and other organisational documents facilitate the formation process so that a company can be incorporated in only one day.
Choosing a company name
Names may be in any language as long as Roman characters are used. When naming a corporation, any standard corporate suffix is acceptable (Inc., Ltd., Corp., etc.). Names may be reserved in advance of formation for up to six months for Corporations and three months for LLC’s.
Number of Directors
Liberian corporations must specify the initial number of directors. If there are three or more shareholders, there must be at least three directors. If there are less than three shareholders, then the number of directors must at least equal the number of sharehold- ers. For example, if there are two shareholders, there must be at least two directors.
Share Structure of the Corporation
Shares may be issued either in registered or bearer form, or some combination of both shares may be par or no par value. Par value shares may be denominated in any currency. A standard formation is 500 registered and/or bearer shares without par value or US$50,000 of par value stock.
Organizational Activity
If instructed at time of incorporation, we will take the following action at no additional cost:
- Elect client directors.
- Appoint client officers.
- Adopt by laws.
Number of shareholders Liberian LLC’s must specify one or more shareholders at formation
After formation, a person acquiring a LLC interest is admitted as a Member at the time provided in and upon compliance with the LLC Agreement or, if the LLC Agreement does not so provide, upon the consent of all shareholders and when the person’s admission is reflected in the records of the LLC.
Liberia Offshore Company Regulations
Type of Entity Exempt Type of Law Common Corporate Taxation Nil
Double Taxation Treaties Available No
| Share Capital | |
|---|---|
| Usual Currency | U.S. $ |
| Permitted Currencies | U.S. $ |
| Minimum Paid Up | $1 |
| Usual Authorized | $10,000 |
| Directors | |
| Minimum Number | 1 |
| Local Resident Required | NO |
| Records publicly available | NO |
| Location of Meetings | Anywhere |
| Shareholders/Members | |
| Minimum number | 1 |
| Records Publicly Available | NO |
| Location of Meetings | Anywhere |
| Company Secretary | |
| Required | YES |
| Local or Qualified | NO |
| Accounts | |
| Required | YES |
| Audit Required | NO |
| Filling Required | NO |
| Publicly Available | NO |
Other
Annual Return Required NO Change of domicile permitted YES
