Companies legislation in Vanuatu is substantially more flexible than that found in the legislation of other jurisdictions based on British Law.

It is especially suited to foundations. Companies incorporated under the Vanuatu International Companies Act must not offer shares or debentures to the public. The cornerstone of the Act is the solvency test. Creditors of the company are to be protected but the owners can do with the company assets as they see fit. The result is the ability to pay dividends from profits, reserves or capital as the Directors wish.

Port Vila is more than a banking center and jurisdiction of convenience. English and French financial, investment, banking, accounting and legal expertise has been developed in Vanuatu since 1971, when the Finance Center was established (email ).

The Vanuatu Financial Center has the advantage of being longer established than its competitors and has the following specific advantages as an International Financial Center:

Vanuatu is a pure tax haven, has no income taxes, withholding taxes, capital gains taxes, gift, death, estate or succession duties applying to companies, trusts or individuals. There are no tax treaties with other countries and thus no exchange of information with foreign governments. Under the Vanuatu International Companies Act, companies have a 20-year guarantee against taxes, duties and exchange controls.
Vanuatu holding companies are an ideal vehicle for joint venture and international operations. Operating companies in various countries can be funded by loans from the Vanuatu parent so that the subsidiary benefits from tax deductions on interest paid. Vanuatu holding companies may show a margin between the cost of borrowing and on lending.

Accumulated profits of Vanuatu companies can be used to increase the funding of subsidiaries or invested in other ways such as tax free deposits in the Asia or Euro currency markets; formation of further companies or investment in stock exchange securities, real estate or other assets.

Further details on any of the services mentioned above can be found at the Offshore Financial Services website, www.financial.com.vu