is there any jurisdiction where i could incorporate classic offshore company(IBC) today?
- Thread starter mklstmsfrg
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Sure, lots of options are left that have IBC or IBC-like regimes.
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Belize
BVI
Cook Islands
Grenada
Marshall Islands
Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
Probably more. But I'm pretty sure all of those still have it. Didn't double check.
HK and Cyprus do not have IBC acts or anything like it. IBC is a concept based on the International Business Companies Act first passed in BVI in 1984.︀ Many jurisdictions copied the act and most are still around, albeit updated to be in︁ line with modern international standards on AML, KYC, and so on.
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Belize
BVI
Cook Islands
Grenada
Marshall Islands
Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
Probably more. But I'm pretty sure all of those still have it. Didn't double check.
HK and Cyprus do not have IBC acts or anything like it. IBC is a concept based on the International Business Companies Act first passed in BVI in 1984.︀ Many jurisdictions copied the act and most are still around, albeit updated to be in︁ line with modern international standards on AML, KYC, and so on.
thank you guys, for the information, unfortunatelly my IBC was in dominca, that was ceased, this is still in the structure(owner of european), and i cant remove it because dominica doestn give paper(incumbency,poa, cog)
I remember you now: https://www.offshorecorptalk.com/th...ational-business-companies-act-of-1996.36338/
Hope you find a good solution that works for your going forward!
Hope you find a good solution that works for your going forward!
I could of course look it up, but I just get the usual standard response from Google about the IBC Act.
Is there anything specific that could︀ be highlighted which makes it more special if an offshore company has IBC status, compared︁ to a regular company status like in Cyprus or Hong Kong, which as you mention,︂ don’t have this status?
Is there anything specific that could︀ be highlighted which makes it more special if an offshore company has IBC status, compared︁ to a regular company status like in Cyprus or Hong Kong, which as you mention,︂ don’t have this status?
IBCs are bare-minimum companies. They don't require resident directors or resident shareholders, are exempt from all taxes ("ring-fencing" of taxes), and have no filing requirements at all. They are usually also associated with no or limited public disclosure.
At the time, some of these were novel concepts in many countries.
BVI passed this act in 1984. Not much happened as︀ Panama was still the leading offshore incorporation jurisdiction. Things changed in December 1989 when US︁ troops invaded Panama to arrest president Manuel Norriega. From the early 1990s, BVI took off︂ enormously and became the new leader, which by most metrics it still is.
Developing or︃ poor, often tourism-reliant, countries across the Caribbean and parts of Africa and Asia-Pacific , many︄ if not most of which shared a kinship with BVI through past colonial rule by︅ the British Empire , began to basically copy-paste the BVI IBC act as a way︆ to help fill the government coffers with a steady flow incorporation fees and annual renewal︇ fees. Brunei also got into the game, despite already being wealthy.
That's how IBC spread︈ across the world. It was basically a blueprint for printing money and it worked well︉ for about one or two decades.
Nearly all of these IBC acts are still in︊ effect, but most have had to make changes to appease OECD and such.
If I︋ recall correctly, Brunei, Niue, Dominica, Montserrat, and Saint Kitts (but not Nevis) have repealed their︌ IBC acts and not replaced them with something similar.
Bahamas, Belize, BVI, and Seychelles have︍ changed their IBC Acts quite a lot but functionally, what they have is still very︎ similar to a classic IBC. Some like Saint Lucia still have their IBC Act but️ have removed the tax ring-fencing, so that the standard tax law applies to IBC. It just so happens that the countries have also switched to territorial tax systems or , even if not , still market IBCs as tax free provided they don't establish tax residence there.
Mauritius is always the odd one out. It never had an IBC Act but it had something similar, which was repealed a few years ago and replaced.
Compare this to Cyprus and Hong Kong, where all companies are formed under the same law. No IBC Acts there.
At the time, some of these were novel concepts in many countries.
BVI passed this act in 1984. Not much happened as︀ Panama was still the leading offshore incorporation jurisdiction. Things changed in December 1989 when US︁ troops invaded Panama to arrest president Manuel Norriega. From the early 1990s, BVI took off︂ enormously and became the new leader, which by most metrics it still is.
Developing or︃ poor, often tourism-reliant, countries across the Caribbean and parts of Africa and Asia-Pacific , many︄ if not most of which shared a kinship with BVI through past colonial rule by︅ the British Empire , began to basically copy-paste the BVI IBC act as a way︆ to help fill the government coffers with a steady flow incorporation fees and annual renewal︇ fees. Brunei also got into the game, despite already being wealthy.
That's how IBC spread︈ across the world. It was basically a blueprint for printing money and it worked well︉ for about one or two decades.
Nearly all of these IBC acts are still in︊ effect, but most have had to make changes to appease OECD and such.
If I︋ recall correctly, Brunei, Niue, Dominica, Montserrat, and Saint Kitts (but not Nevis) have repealed their︌ IBC acts and not replaced them with something similar.
Bahamas, Belize, BVI, and Seychelles have︍ changed their IBC Acts quite a lot but functionally, what they have is still very︎ similar to a classic IBC. Some like Saint Lucia still have their IBC Act but️ have removed the tax ring-fencing, so that the standard tax law applies to IBC. It just so happens that the countries have also switched to territorial tax systems or , even if not , still market IBCs as tax free provided they don't establish tax residence there.
Mauritius is always the odd one out. It never had an IBC Act but it had something similar, which was repealed a few years ago and replaced.
Compare this to Cyprus and Hong Kong, where all companies are formed under the same law. No IBC Acts there.
BVI is the most popular by far.
But it depends on what you do. For certain businesses or use cases, you might want to consider Nevis, Cook Islands, or Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (forex/crypto).
And in some cases, going for a lesser known low-profile jurisdiction can be good.
However, in broad general terms, BVI is the safe option.
But it depends on what you do. For certain businesses or use cases, you might want to consider Nevis, Cook Islands, or Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (forex/crypto).
And in some cases, going for a lesser known low-profile jurisdiction can be good.
However, in broad general terms, BVI is the safe option.
It is unfortunate, though not surprising, that Grenada and Dominica simply repealed their IBC statutes and exited the offshore stage in one legislative sweep. From a legal perspective, this demonstrates not reform, but retreat. Instead of modernising their corporate frameworks, strengthening compliance, and positioning themselves as credible offshore centres, they chose the easier path of abolition. That may solve their short-term political discomfort, but it also signals to the international market that these jurisdictions lacked the institutional will to defend and maintain the integrity of their company laws. At OVZA, we see little value in building structures on ground that can be so easily abandoned,︀ that is not what we want when we invest in these jurisdictions.
By contrast,︁ in Antigua and Barbuda, where I was just three weeks ago meeting with the︂ Financial Services Authority, the tone could not be more different. When I raised the question︃ of whether Antigua would follow suit, the response was unequivocal: Antigua is not retreating, it︄ is investing further in its IBC framework. Their view is that the IBC law underpins︅ their financial services sector, just as much as their Citizenship by Investment program does. To︆ repeal one would be to undermine the other, and that is not on the table.︇
So yes, Grenada and Dominica have departed, but the jurisdictions with the stamina to preserve︈ their legal frameworks remain. And those are the partners OVZA aligns with, stable, determined, and︉ forward-looking.
By contrast,︁ in Antigua and Barbuda, where I was just three weeks ago meeting with the︂ Financial Services Authority, the tone could not be more different. When I raised the question︃ of whether Antigua would follow suit, the response was unequivocal: Antigua is not retreating, it︄ is investing further in its IBC framework. Their view is that the IBC law underpins︅ their financial services sector, just as much as their Citizenship by Investment program does. To︆ repeal one would be to undermine the other, and that is not on the table.︇
So yes, Grenada and Dominica have departed, but the jurisdictions with the stamina to preserve︈ their legal frameworks remain. And those are the partners OVZA aligns with, stable, determined, and︉ forward-looking.
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