Samoa

General Information

Introduction

Known as Western Samoa until the prefix "Western" was dropped in 1997, Samoa is a group of Pacific Islands located in the heart of Polynesia. Its two main islands are situated approximately halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. Samoa gained its independence in 1962 and earned the distinction of being the first independent sovereign state in the South Pacific.

Samoa is a member of the British Commonwealth, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Asia Development Bank.

Infrastructure in Samoa is well developed with services offered by four commercial banks regulated in accordance with international standards of best practice. Apart from Polynesian Airlines, Air New Zealand and Air Pacific have direct flights or connections to Los Angeles, Sydney, Auckland, Hawaii and other Pacific Islands. International telecommunications are available 24 hours a day and international courier services are readily available.

Current Features & Benefits

• An independent sovereign nation with political, economic and social stability
• Substantial tax advantages
• User-friendly to Asian investors – a company can be registered in Chinese character names and other foreign languages are permitted in addition to an English name of company on the Certificate of Incorporation
• Chinese language M&As are available and documents may be filed in any language with an English translation
• Long Term International Companies available with discounts offered when paying 5, 10 or 20 years licence fees in advance
• The Samoa jurisdiction has strict confidentiality and secrecy provisions sanctioned by heavy penalties written into each of the Acts forming its legal basis
• Low Government fees for re-domiciliation