Offshore Company Formation Netherlands

Gereral Information about Netherlands

The Netherlands is a small country in North West Europe, bounded in the East by Germany and Belgium to the South. It has a land area of only 37,000 sq. km. with a population of about 16 million, making it one of the most densely populated countries in the world. The seat of Government is at The Hague and the commercial capital is Amsterdam. The official language is Dutch, but most people also speak English and German.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands was founded in 1815. It is a constitutional monarchy with political power is vested in a democratically elected parliament and there is a written constitution.

The Netherlands has an open free market economy and has been a leading international trading country since the sixteenth century. It is well situated to service the vast European Union market, of which it is a member and is a popular location for international companies. In addition to its trading activities it is a major agricultural producer, has significant reserves of natural gas and has a large financial services sector.
 

Dutch Financial Services

The Netherlands B.V. (besloten vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid) is the legal entity with limited liability most commonly used. Shares are in registered form and are not freely transferable

Depending on the size of the company either a one-tier board or a two-tier structure will be required. The latter is generally not necessary unless there are more than one hundred employees in the Netherlands , in which case there are other formal requirements as well. A formal Corporate Governance Code was recently established to ensure general minimum standards for corporate governance. Whilst it does not apply to all companies it is generally expected that all corporate bodies will act in accordance with its spirit.

The other form of company commonly encountered is the Netherlands N.V. (naamloze vennootschappen). This is the Dutch equivalent of a public limited company and requires a significantly larger capital.
 

Why not talk to us about forming an offshore company in the Netherlands? Call +353 1 431 9663 or Click Here to contact us.