We help you incorporate a Corporation (S.A.) in Panama

No. A Panama S.A. can be formed from wherever you live, and nothing has to be signed in Panama City. Your identity papers, address proof and source of funds are reviewed remotely, the two subscribers who sign the articles into existence are arranged as part of the package, and the resident agent in Panama comes with it too. Your corporate kit is then sent to any address in the world by express courier.

Yes, for a corporation with authorised capital of US$10,000, the usual band. Basic at US$1,499 carries the government charges, the first year's annual franchise tax, the drafting of the articles and their execution as a public deed, the resident agent and registered office for year one, the beneficial owner record and your digital Certificate of Incorporation. Premium at US$2,399 adds the corporate seal, the paper originals and the attested set banks tend to ask for. A larger authorised capital raises the government charge, and we quote that before drafting.

Yes. Every package includes support in opening a multi-currency business account with Airwallex, subject to the provider's own checks. If you prefer a traditional bank in Panama or elsewhere, we advise on which ones suit the corporation's profile and prepare the corporate papers the bank asks for, such as the attestation of current directors and officers in the Premium package. The decision to open an account always rests with the bank.

Very little. Eleven duties follow a Panama S.A., and ten of them sit with us under your annual engagement, from US$1,099 a year from year two. That covers the annual franchise tax due on 15 July or 15 January, the delivery of the accounting records to the resident agent by 30 April, the resident agent and registered office, and every change to owners, directors or articles. Your part is to keep the invoices and contracts behind the accounts and to answer when we ask for the figures.

Both. Moving a corporation to us means changing its resident agent, a one-time US$350, after which the annual engagement runs from US$1,099 a year. The company keeps its name, its number and its history, and nothing about the entity changes. If a Panama corporation has run its course, we advise on closing it in good order, with the franchise tax settled and the resolutions prepared, and manage the steps on your behalf under a separate quote.

Not on your own. Panama law requires every corporation to name a resident agent in the country, and that role is reserved to a Panamanian lawyer or law firm, who signs the incorporation. Two subscribers must also put their names to the articles. What we add is advice on whether an S.A. fits your plan and how to structure it, preparation of everything, management of the process on your behalf, and a team that stays with the corporation afterwards. We are an independent corporate services provider, not a government body.

No. Expanship is a privately owned company. We are not a government agency, department, registry or regulator, and we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for the Government of the Republic of Panama or the Public Registry of Panama. We advise you, prepare and coordinate your paperwork, and handle the incorporation on your behalf. Whether a company is approved, and when, is decided by those authorities alone.

Our own work: advice on the right structure, due diligence on every member, preparing and coordinating the incorporation paperwork, handling the incorporation on your behalf, and the first year of registered agent and registered office. The government fees are set by the Panama authorities, not by us, and are passed on at cost inside the package price.

Three directors and one shareholder, and the same person may sit in both roles. Panama also asks for three officers, a President, a Secretary and a Treasurer, chosen by the board, and where the articles allow it one person may hold more than one office. Nobody has to live in Panama or hold its nationality. Directors and officers are recorded on the public company file, while shareholders sit in a private share register kept with your records.

Yes to both. A company may serve as a director of a Panama S.A. and a company may hold its shares, so a group parent or a foundation can sit above the corporation. Behind any corporate holder the authorities still look through to the people who ultimately own or control 25 percent or more, and those beneficial owners are placed by the resident agent in a private system closed to the public. We collect the papers on each corporate body as part of the formation checks.

Almost everything. Panama sets no minimum capital and nothing has to be paid in before the corporation trades. Shares may be in any currency, with or without par value, and in more than one class. Most corporations take authorised capital of US$10,000 in 100 shares, because the government charge on incorporation rises above that band. Bearer shares still exist in Panama but only through an authorised custodian, so nearly every S.A. is formed with registered shares held in a private register.

A Secretary, yes, as one of the three officers alongside the President and the Treasurer, and a director may hold the office. A staffed office, no. The articles must state an address in Panama, and that is normally the office of the resident agent, so you lease nothing and employ nobody there. Both the resident agent and the registered office are included in every package for the first year and carried inside the annual engagement afterwards.

No. Board and shareholder meetings may be held anywhere in the world where the articles say so, and we draft them that way as standard. Meetings may also be run by proxy, by written consent or by electronic means, so a board spread across three countries never has to gather in one room. What does stay in Panama is the registered office and the resident agent, who is the corporation's channel to the authorities.