Incorporation of companies
A company is formed by a memorandum of association. This document must contain some mandatory details like:
- Name;
- Registered office (which have to be in Malta);
- Object of the company;
- Whether it is private (Ltd) or public (PLC);
- Duration or term of the company;
- Shareholder details and how much capital they have invested;
- Amount of capital and any information about this (split, paid-in, preference shares etc.);
- Secretary’s details;
- How it is represented;
- Managers’ or Directors’ details.
The shareholders may simultaneously agree to the articles of association, governing the company’s internal workings of the company. The law will apply to anything that is not covered by the articles which must also be registered.
The company can take any name that is accepted by the Companies’ Register. Generally, the Register will not object to any name as long as it is not being used by another company, is not easily confused with another company and is not offensive or undesirable in any way.
The company share capital must be deposited in a domestic bank account under the name of the company being formed, before registering it. Proof of deposit will be required at the time of registration.
If the company is a Public limited company (Plc), in addition to the memorandum of association, an additional document is required, which (a) gives an estimate of all the costs to be borne by the company until it is authorised to begin its activity, and (b) describes any special advantage granted to anyone who has taken part in the formation of the company or in the process to gain authorisation, before the company is authorised to begin its activity.
The registration certificate is issued within a few days after the papers have been submitted. The company can begin trading as soon as it is registered.
The Registration is subject to a fee which varies according to the share capital. If the share capital is later increased, fees will be levied on the difference.
