FUNDS IN THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES (I)
How does the corporate environment support funds?
Establishing a fund in Curacao has become very attractive since under new corporate law a private limited liability company can be established very quickly and the flexible attributes of this new legal entity encompass virtually all the needs of most hedge fund structures. Benefits include:
– No minimum issued share capital requirement.
– Incorporation can be done within a day and without the need for any prior governmental approvals.
– Voting rights and performance sharing rights can be allocated to different share classes.
– No statutory requirement to have shares with a par value.
– Set up and maintenance costs of a private limited liability company are low.
– No annual government fee, only a one time fee at incorporation (US$ 175, incorporated in the notary’s fee) and an annual chamber of commerce fee.
– No requirement for a fund to have any employees.
– A Fund may have a single managing director (which may be a corporate entity) who may be domiciled in the Netherlands Antilles or elsewhere, provided that the fund performs its business outside the Netherlands Antilles. For tax reasons, however, it may be required to have a Netherlands Antilles resident as managing director. All coporate service providers provide for such services.
– No specific statutory formalities to comply with in order to have meetings of the board of managing directors (or board of supervisory directors). For instance, there are no statutory regulations in connection with the location of board meetings.
Karel Frielink
Attorney (lawyer) / Partner
