Regardless of nationality, an entrepreneur may set up a business venture in Ghana in accordance with the provisions
of any of the following legal systems: - Company Code, 1, 3 (Act-3 Act-9); The Partnership Act,
192 (Act 152) and the Business Names Act, 1962 (Act-151).
A foreign investor may team up with a Ghanaian entrepreneur
or company for a joint venture, usually in the form of a partnership or limited
company. However, under the Ghana Investment Promotion Centers Act, 1 (Act
188), any foreign investor who wishes to participate in a joint venture with a
Ghanaians require minimum equity capital. In order to establish an enterprise,
the foreign shareholder has to meet this minimum equity capital as imports of
cash or its equivalent products, plants and machinery, vehicles or other
explicit assets specially and exclusively through Ghana's banking system.
Foreigners are authorized to own 100 percent of any
undertaking but he has satisfied Article 19 (2B) of the GIPC Act, 1994 (Act
478). Fully foreign-owned companies must have a paid-up capital equivalent to $
50,000.
Application for registration of a company is made either
directly or through an agent or solicitor to the registrar-general. The
registrar of companies is duly registered with the company and after issuing a
certificate of addition, the company is duly registered. A fixed fee is paid for the presentation of the regulations. The required information includes the name
of the company with the word "Limited" as the last word; the nature
of the business of the organization; the names and shares of the directors of
the company are divided into shares without capital and equal value.
External
organization
An external company is a company based outside of Ghana, but
Ghana has an established place of business. It may take the form of a branch,
management, share, transfer, registration office, factory, mine or place of
business, but does not include an agency unless the agent is allowed to
execute the contract and execute the contract on behalf of the outside company.
Within one month after the place of business is established,
the external agency should reach the registrar of the following companies: a
certified copy of the certificate, the law, rules, memorandum, and the structure
of the article or any other instrument or define the structure of an English
language translation company; The nature of the business or major object; The
name, address, and occupation of the local manager authorized to conduct
business in Ghana; The amount of the allowable shares, the amount paid and the
balance due in cash or otherwise and the address of its registered or head
office in the country of incorporation; Address with post office box number of
Ghana's main business place; Provide a statement on the service of the process
by the organization and other documents on its behalf, its details, and the name
and address of the person authorized to receive a copy of the charge on the
assets of the company, or if there is no such charge.
On receipt of the documents, they are registered in the
external company register and the details are gazette. An external company may
invite the Ghanaian public to subscribe to its shares, complying with the
Company Code requirements regarding the invitation letter and prospectus as it
is a Ghanaian company registrar, though it is prudent to waive or amend certain
parts of this requirement.
Annually, or for more than 15 months, the external company
will have to submit a profit-loss account and balance sheet (in case of limited
liability refunds) for registration.
Changes to certificates, statutes, articles or other
instruments used in the article must be provided to the registrar within two
months of the effective date of the change.
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