Company registration in Angola

The Republic of Angola is an African country that is rich in natural resources – oil, gas, and diamonds in particular. Still, the country is growing rapidly mostly thanks to the successfully implemented reforms and its openness to foreign investments.

The country’s economy is export-based. Among sectors of the economy that are growing fast are agricultural, communications, banking and financial, tourism, and construction sectors. So, if you wish to buy a company in Angola or create a new one to grow your business here, these registration forms are available for this purpose.

Major Forms of Legal and Business Presence

If you wish to establish your business presence in Angola, this can be arranged in one of these business forms:

• Limited Liability Company – a corporate entity that can be incorporated by two persons at least who hold quotas equivalent to the amounts of the funds invested. One director is required. Foreign investors should contribute at least USD 1,000 to form the chartered capital of this entity. Certain restrictions are applied to the transfer of shares.
• Public Limited Company – a business entity that may be founded by five persons at least whose liability is limited to the amounts invested only. This entity may freely offer its shares to the general public. It is also required for it to have a minimum chartered capital of USD 20,000 30% of which should be paid at the moment of the company's set up. Three directors are necessary to manage this entity.
• General Partnership – a form of doing business where the liability of all partners is unlimited. Their personal property may be also called to cover potential losses resulting from the joint doing business.
• Limited Partnership – a form of doing business that may be incorporated and conducted by (i) general partners whose liability over the results of the partnership's operation is unrestricted in any way, and (ii) limited partners (minimum 5) whose liability is limited to the amounts invested only.
• Branch – an option suitable for starting business operations by a foreign company. The non-resident company should define the scope of types of economic activities its branch can carry out in Angola. It is also necessary to choose local management and open a bank account for the branch.
• Representative Office – an option that is suitable for arranging promotional and market research activities in Angola only. This business formation is not allowed to carry out business in Angola.

Registration Requirements and Steps

If you intend to form a company in Angola, the next preliminary registration steps should be passed:

1. Defining commercial priorities you wish to realize through a local enterprise.
2. Choosing, checking, and approving the business name for a future company.
3. Collecting details about the company's founders, beneficiaries, and officials.
4. Arranging a future registered business office for a company.
5. Drafting statutory documents and registration forms for a future enterprise.
6. Submitting the set of required registration documents to the registrar.
7. Registration for tax and social security purposes.
8. Obtaining licenses and special permits (necessary for certain types of regulated activities only).

If you wish to get a more precise plan on how to create a company in Angola, contact our lawyers for more precise assessment and consultations.

Legal and Regulatory Framework

The legal framework may be considered advantageous for doing business. The local government has applied numerous steps for simplifying investment transactions. For instance, the company registration process has been made more straightforward and the obligation of establishing business partnerships with local residents in certain sectors of the economy has been eliminated. The government also introduces tax incentives to foreign businessmen who invest large amounts (from 1 million US dollars) in certain sectors (agriculture, education, construction, hotel business, etc.). At the same time, it should be noted that the Angolan National Bank strictly supervises all financial transactions carried out in the jurisdiction.

The Commercial Companies Law and the Private Investment Law are principal legal acts regulating doing business in this jurisdiction. Major state authorities foreign shareholders should deal with while starting and doing business in Angola are the Ministry of Commerce, the National Bank of Angola, and the Angolan Capital Market Commission.

Tax System of Angola

If you wish to buy a company in Angola or create a new one, this decision should be made taken into account the following tax highlights:

• Corporate income tax rate – 25%
• Personal income tax rate – basic – 25% but this rate may vary under certain conditions
• Value-added tax rate – 14%
• Withholding tax rates – (i) dividends – 10% (ii) royalties – 10% (iii) investment income tax (interest on loans granted by (a) third parties or (b) shareholders) – (a) 15% and (b) 10% respectively
• Capital gains tax rates – (i) corporate – 10% from the operations of disposal financial instruments (ii) personal – 10%

Advantages of the Jurisdiction

After the completion of all steps required for company registration in Angola, the following advantages of the jurisdiction start to be available:

• lots of opportunities for doing business provided by one of the fastest-growing economies in the world
• doing business under the conditions of political and economic stability
• availability of special regimes and tax incentives for investors
• existence of special economic zones (exemptions on duties for certain operations are available)
• high level of confidentiality.