Panama

Basic law for formation	General Corporation Law 1927, amended in 1997
Type of company available for offshore business	non-resident S.A.
Out-of-territory income taxed	No
Minimum number of Directors	3
Minimum number of shareholders	1 / two subscribers
Shares unregistered to a name	Yes
Standard share capital	10,000 USD
Registered agent / seat necessary	Yes (corporate) / Yes
Local secretary necessary	No
Tax report obligatory	No
Audit obligatory	No
Annual state tax	150 USD
Companies registered in 2008	76,573

Panama is the oldest offshore centre in the world – laws on this were passed some 80 years ago. Beside registering an offshore company, you can register a vessel, Panamanian vessel register is the most busy one in the world. Another asset protection tool here is a private foundation (based on an act of 1995), quite similar in concept to the Liechtensteiner “Anstalt”.