Zurich, one of IRI’s Swiss offices
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is not only home to one of the world’s largest ship registries, but it is also a popular choice for business entities seeking a safe, simple, and low cost jurisdiction.
With technical and administrative support provided by International Registries, Inc. and its affiliates (IRI), the RMI has attracted a wide range of both maritime and non-maritime business entities. The RMI Corporate Registry has experienced tremendous success as one of the leading jurisdictions for initial public offerings (IPOs) on major stock exchanges and the growing Maritime Registry is the world’s second largest.
There are many unique advantages for forming business entities in the RMI, and for this reason, the Corporate Registry is recognized globally by law firms, company formation specialists, and business professionals in major financial centers. The RMI Associations Law is based on the corporate law of Delaware, exempts non-resident entities from taxation, and guarantees shareholder, officer and director confidentiality through a voluntary filing system.
Michael Wyler, Managing Director of IRI’s Zurich office, explains, “it is the customer focus and speed that sets the RMI Corporate Registry apart from the competition.”
“We are structured in a completely different way then many other corporate registries. With offices in 27 worldwide locations, we are able to form companies within 24 hours, enabling companies to transfer their domicile quickly and easily, ” continued Mr. Wyler. “When I started with the organization 17 years ago, we were certainly not known for our corporate services; for many we were just associated with our ship registry. Some people were not even sure if the RMI was a United States (US) dependency or not. In fact, the RMI is a fully independent nation that offers a politically stable regime and has been a member of the United Nations since 1991,” continued Mr. Wyler.
Today, the Corporate Registry is able to offer same day formation and filing of corporate documents, constant access to support, and can also deliver Standard Articles of Incorporation in multiple languages, with capital expressed in any currency. All of IRI’s global offices are able to incorporate a company, issue a Certificate of Good Standing, register a vessel, including those under construction, record a mortgage or financing charter, and offer useful customer support.
“We are seeing an increased interest in our corporate services from across many jurisdictions around the world. We can attribute this to our well-documented speed, efficiency, and expertise, as well as the tireless efforts of our international teams. Most other jurisdictions cannot deliver the pace and experience gained throughout our years of operation, as we have learned to transcend slow registration and lengthy negotiations. We are proud to deliver unique results with agility and professionalism, always with our customers in mind,” concluded Mr. Wyler.
