BELIZE OFFSHORE INFORMATION

Highly flexible legislation with quick and efficient service. English speaking with competitive costs.

ADVANTAGES	Very flexible legislation with low annual fees and is becoming very popular
DISADVANTAGES	The lack of public registers makes proof of ownership difficult. Not recommended for high profile trading operations
CORPORATE LEGISLATION SOURCE	International Business Companies Act 1990
COMPANY STATUS	International Business Company (I.B.C.)
USUAL MINIMUM CAPITAL	No minimum
COMPANY NAME	Prior approval required. Some words sensitive eg Royal, Imperial. Must end 'Limited', 'Corporation', 'Incorporated', 'Societe Anonymne' or their abbreviations
TIME TAKEN TO INCORPORATE	1 - 2 days
ARE SHELF COMPANIES AVAILABLE	Yes
CAPITAL DUTY	If the company's authorised capital does not exceed US$50,000 or equivalent, the fee is US$100. If over US$50,000 this increases to US$1,000. For IBC's having no par value shares the fee is US$350
MINIMUM NUMBER OF SHAREHOLDERS	One
ARE BEARER SHARES / SHARES OF NO PAR VALUE POSSIBLE?	Yes, provided they are held by a custodian such as Fiduciary Trust Limited / Yes
DIRECTORS: MINIMUM NUMBER / CORPORATE DIRECTORS ALLOWED / LOCATION	One / Yes / No restriction
SECRETARY: MANDATORY / CORPORATE SECRETARY ALLOWED / LOCATION	Yes / Yes / No restriction
IS THERE A REQUIREMENT FOR A REGISTERED OFFICE / REGISTERED AGENT	Yes / Yes
IS THERE A REQUIREMENT BY THE AUTHORITIES PRIOR TO INCORPORATION OR PRIOR TO TAX STATUS BEING GRANTED	None
INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON PUBLIC FILE	Memorandum & Articles / Registered Office and Registered Agent
DOCUMENTS TO BE KEPT AT REGISTERED OFFICE	Register of Members / Directors / Minutes / Memorandum & Articles of Association
CORPORATE BOOKS AND SEAL	Both usual and usually kept at Registered Office
ACCOUNTS REQUIRED / FILED	No / No
ANNUAL RETURN REQUIRED	No
WHERE ARE MEETINGS TO BE HELD	No restrictions
ANNUAL FEES PAYABLE TO THE GOVERNMENT: TAX / ANNUAL RETURN FILING FEE	Share Capital not exceeding US$50,000 - US$100 Share Capital exceeding US$50,000 - US$1,000 Company with no par value shares - US$350 / NIL
ARE THERE ANY EXCHANGE CONTROLS	No
DOUBLE TAX TREATIES	None
GOVERNMENT DUTIES PAYABLE	IBC duty of US$100 becomes due 2 January each year after incorporation, late payment penalty of US$10 is applicable if duty is not paid by 31 July and US$50 becomes applicable if duty is not paid by 31 October. Strike off for non payment will be made 31 December the same year

INTRODUCING BELIZE

Based on the same legislation as it's Caribbean neighbours, the Belize company is starting to become very popular. This type of company can be used as a holding company or an investment but again, due to the lack of public registers is not particularly recommended for trading companies seeking new clients.

Belize is an independent country located on the Caribbean seaboard of Central America. with an area of approximately 9,000 square miles. It is two hours flight from the USA and offers several flights daily to and from Miami, Houston and New Orleans. In addition there are regular flights from Honduras, Mexico and San Salvador. The population is approximately 200,000 with the major commercial centre being Belize City.

Much of the population is ethnically diverse including descendents of the original Mayan culture and various admixtures of Caribbean, Chinese and East Indians. The primary language spoken is English with many being converse in Spanish. The climate is sub-tropical with an average temperature of 80° F.

Government & Legal System

It became a British Crown Colony in 1862 and achieved complete self rule in 1981. Belize is a member of the British Commonwealth, the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement.

The political system is based on the Head of State British Westminster model with the Queen being represented by a Belizean Governor General. Executive authority is exercised by the Cabinet under the leadership of the Prime Minister, subject to approval by a 28 member House of Representatives elected by the people every five years, in addition there is an 8 member Senate with the majority appointed on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.

The law is derived from English common law supplemented by local legislation. The court system is also similar to that of England and contract and commercial law is based on the English law model.

Currency & Banking

The local currency is the Belize dollar which is tied to the US dollar with a fixed exchange rate of BZ$2.00 = US$1.00.

There are four commercial banks, The Belize Bank Ltd, Barclays Bank PLC, Bank of Nova Scotia and Atlantic Bank Ltd. The commercial banks are regulated by the Central Bank of Belize in accordance with the provisions of the Banking Act.