Overview

Seychelles is an independent Republic within the British Commonwealth with a population of approximately 82,000. Seychelles comprises a group of about 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, most of which are located between 4 and 5 degrees south of the Equator. The country has good political stability with a democratically elected Government. The Seychelles economy is primarily based on tourism, commercial fishing, and the offshore financial services industry. Seychelles is governed by civil law except for corporate legislation and criminal law which are based on English common law. The principal corporate legislation governing IBCs is the International Business Companies Act (IBC Act) 1994. IBCs are exempted from tax on business activities or transactions carried on outside of Seychelles.

 

Corporate Requirements

• Company Name: Chinese name allowable, but has to provide the translation of the meaning.

• Company name has to get approval from Seychelles FSA, while the company name ending normally ends with Limited, Corporation, Incorporated, or S.A.

• No minimum registered capital, standard registered capital at USD1,000,000 with a par value of USD1.00. Capital can be increased after registration and it shall not affect the annual government fee.

• Has to appoint at least one director:

  • Can be individual or corporate.

  • Can appoint shareholder or somebody else.

  • Director has to be at least 18 years old.

• At least one shareholder

• Shares permitted include registered shares, shares of no par value, preference shares, redeemable shares, and shares with or without voting rights.

• There should be no limitation on the business nature, however, it is not allowed to carry any investment, trading, hold any property local. Besides, it is also not allowed to carry any trust, bank or insurance-related business and act as the registered agent which providing Seychelles registered address to other Seychelles company.

 

Company Characteristics

• No annual general meeting required, at the same time, no need for submission of an annual financial report and annual audit report to the government. However, the submission of the company annual fee has to be made on time. The company has to file an annual return before 31st Dec of the year if the registration date falls on 1st Jan to 30th Sept; next year 31st Dec if the registration date falls on 1st Oct to 31st Dec.

• No foreign currency exchange control, can open a bank account in HK/SG or anywhere in the world.

• No public search solution for shareholder information.

• Simple shares exchange procedure, no limitation or tax imposed.

• Established formal diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.

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