General Information

Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to an estimated 1,492 in 2007), with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest.

The capital, Alofi, is the administrative and commercial centre of Niue. The island has a total area of approximately 260 sq. km. The population is below 1500 people, 90% of which are of Polynesian descent. The other 10% of the population are made up of peoples of European and Tongan descent.

Niue is a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand. It is fully responsible for its own internal affairs, with New Zealand retaining responsibility for external affairs. Niue is a British Commonwealth associate member, and enjoys the protection of the British Crown. The Niue Assembly comprised 20 members, 14 of which are elected by local constituencies and six by common roll. The head of government is the Premier who is elected by the Assembly. The Premier chooses the Cabinet, which consists of the Premier and three other Ministers.

Most Niueans work on family plantations. Other sources of employment include the government, the financial sector, tourism and small industry. The economy of Niue is heavily dependent on aid from New Zealand. Government expenditure regularly exceeds revenue, with the shortfall made up by grants from New Zealand. The grants are used to pay wages to public employees.

The usual language Polynesian, but the official commercial language is English. The currency of the financial centre is the US$, there are no exchange controls. The type of law is Common Law based on the English system.

Company Information

The type of company for international trade and investment is the International Business Company (IBC). The incorporation procedure consists of submission by the registered agent of Memorandum and Articles of Association to the Companies Registry.

IBC's cannot trade within Niue or own local real estate. Forbidden and licensable activities include: insurance agency and brokerage, fund management and asset management (other than the management of their own assets). They cannot solicit funds from the public or offer their shares to the public.

An International Business Company has all the powers of a natural person. The language of legislation is English. The corporate documents can be in any language, provided they are accompanied by a certified translation in English.

A registered office is required, it must be maintained in Niue at the address of a licensed management company. On payment of a small fee, names can be reserved for thirty days. Names can also be reserved for 72 hours free of charge. The time to incorporate is about two days, but allow a further five working days for delivery of the documentation from the Registry.

Certain name restrictions apply: a name that is identical to an existing company, a name that contains the words: assurance, bank, building society, Chamber of Commerce, chartered, co-operative, imperial, insurance, municipal, royal, trust company or trustee company, a name that is, in the opinion of the registrar undesirable,

The name can be in any language, but must be accompanied by a certified translation in to English to ensure that the name is not restricted. The following suffixes denote limited liability: Limited, Corporation, Incorporated, Sociètè Anonyme, Sociedad Anónima, Company, Limitada, Sociètè par Actions or Aktiengesellschaft or the relevant abbreviations. There is no disclosure of beneficial ownership to authorities.

Compliance

The standard authorised share capital is US$ 10.000 divided in to 10.000 shares of US$ 1. The authorised share capital can be expressed in any currency, or in a mixture of currencies. The minimum issued capital is one share of no par value or one share of par value.

The following classes of shares are permitted: registered shares, bearer shares, shares of no par value, preference shares, redeemable shares and shares with or without voting rights. Bearer shares are permitted.

An IBC is exempted from local taxation. There are no double taxation agreements. The annual licence fee is US$ 150. There is no requirement to file financial statements. A company is required to keep financial records for the benefit of members.

The minimum number of directors is one, who may be natural persons or bodies corporate, be of any nationality and need not be residents of Niue. The legislation does not refer to the office of company secretary although it is customary to appoint one to facilitate signing obligations. The minimum number of shareholders is one.