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Types of companies and their abbreviations

Due to the fact that many offshore zones are former colonies of Great Britain, offshore and onshore companies are available mainly according to the British legal system. The English-language names of institutions are most often uploaded with an abbreviation indicating the form of ownership of the enterprise. We list the most common:

PLC (decryption - Private Limited Company) is a public limited liability company, similar to an open joint stock company known in the CIS countries. Enterprises of this type are registered in:

• England,
• ireland,
• Anguilla
• bermuda,
• British Virgin Islands,
• Gibraltar
• Cayman Islands, etc.

Signs of such a company:

• Availability of shares to the public for purchase.
• Free listing of shares on the stock exchange.
• The rigidity of the requirements for the establishment and activities of the company, in particular the need for reporting and auditing, except for offshore zones.

LTD (decoding - Limited) is a company similar to a business company, but with limited liability. It is widely used when registering enterprises in offshore zones for international business. UK limited liability companies may only use this abbreviation in their name (provided they are not a PLC).

Signs of such a company:

• One or more individuals or legal entities can register such a company.
• The authorized capital is divided into shares.
• Members of a limited liability company are not liable for its obligations.
• Members of the company bear the risk of losses in the course of the activities of the enterprise in proportion to the contributions made to the authorized capital.

Inc. _ (decryption - Incorporated) - an analogue of Limited. It is widely used in America and in offshore zones to designate a registered company as a corporation.

Corp. _ (decryption - Corporation) is a form of a joint-stock company as a corporation, which is analogous to Incorporated and Limited. Very popular in the USA.

Signs of such a company:

• Consolidation of two or more companies into one enterprise.
• Division of the authorized capital of the enterprise into shares.

LLC (decoding - Limited Liability Company) is a company whose principle of operation is between the principle of operation of a corporation and a limited liability company / partnership. It is widely used in the USA and a number of offshore zones with the Anglo-American legal system.

Signs of such a company:

• The company's liability is limited.
• Shares are issued for a limited circle of persons.
• The company is responsible solely for its obligations and purely property belonging to it.
• It is not responsible for the obligations of shareholders.
• Shareholders are not responsible for the obligations of the company.

LDC (decryption - Limited Duration Company) is a company established for a limited period. It is possible to create such a form of enterprise in the territory of almost all offshore jurisdictions, in particular, in the Cayman Islands.

The main feature of such a company is that after the expiration of its term, the company must either be re-registered or liquidated.

LLP (decryption - Limited Liability Partnership) is a partnership with limited liability. This form of enterprise was introduced into the legislation of England in April 2001 and is similar to a limited liability partnership.

The main feature of such an enterprise is the limited liability of all participants in this partnership.

IBC (decoding - International Business Company) is an international business company introduced as a special form of business organization in some offshore zones, for example, the Bahamas, Belize and the British Virgin Islands, Belize. Although this abbreviation exists, the abbreviations LTD and Inc are used instead to indicate limited liability.

The main sign of a company is the lack of the right to do business in the country of registration, or with its residents.

IC (decryption - International Company) is an international company, similar to IBC in most offshore zones.

... & Co (decryption - and Company) - this abbreviation is used to indicate the form of the company - a general partnership. If there is Ltd after it, then we are talking about a company with limited liability.

LP (decryption - Limited Partnership) is a commercial institution, an analogue of a limited partnership, known in the CIS countries.

Signs of such an enterprise:

• It is established by association of legal entities or individuals.
• At least one partner with full liability and one partner with limited liability.

Next come offshore and foreign companies of non-British origin. However, you will encounter them quite often in international business. For more information on LP limited partnerships, see our article.

SA (decoding in Spanish - Sosiedad Anonima, in French - Societe Anonyme) is a joint stock company in Belgium, France, Switzerland and several other countries in continental Europe. It is the equivalent of the English PLC or German AG. In some offshore jurisdictions, this abbreviation refers to ordinary companies with limited liability.

The main feature of the company is the issue of shares for a wide range of investing persons.

SARL (decoding - Societe a Responsidilite Limitee) is a limited liability company in France. It has an Italian equivalent - it is SARL or SRL. In offshore jurisdictions, in rare cases, it is used by analogy with SA.

The main feature of the enterprise is the inability to offer shares for free sale.

BV (decoding - Vennootschap Met Beperkte Aansparkelij kheid) is a limited liability company in the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles. In offshore jurisdictions, may only be used to indicate limited liability.

NV (decoding - Naamlose Vennootschap) is a nameless partnership. This form of joint stock company is used in Belgium, the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles. As well as the previous abbreviation is used to indicate limited liability.

AVV is a company registered on the territory of the island of Aruba (offshore zone). Not used in other offshore jurisdictions. Companies of this type are similar to companies established in the Virgin Islands, but have a more flexible structure.

GmbH (decoding - Gesellschaft mit beschrakter Haftung) is a limited liability company registered in Germany, Austria, Switzerland. In offshore jurisdictions, used only to indicate limited liability. There are several options for using the abbreviation:

1. mbH- used when Gesellschaft is part of the company name.
2. gGmbH (decryption - gemeinnützige GmbH) - used by non-profit companies.

AG (decoding - Aktiengesellschaft) is a joint-stock company established in the territory of Germany and Austria. In a number of offshore areas it is used as a designation of limited liability.

In each jurisdiction, regardless of its status (offshore, onshore), state laws approve their own rules for registration and company names.