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Finland is situated in Northern Europe and forms the eastern part of Scandinavia. The country shares frontiers with Sweden to the west, with Norway to the north, and with Russia to the east. To the south Finland's neighbour is Estonia. Finland covers an area of more than 338,000 square kilometres.
The population of Finland is 5.2 million.
Finland is a parliamentary democracy with a republican constitution. The legislative power of the country is exercised by parliament and the president of the republic. The highest executive power is vested in the president, who currently is Mrs. Tarja Halonen. Parliament comprises 200 members and is elected by universal suffrage for a period of four years. Finland has a stable political climate.
Finland is modern European country with a high standard of living. Finland has a free-market economy and is a member of the EU and EMU. Finland exports wood and paper products. Finland is well known for its hi-tech, especially telecommunications, industry, which dominates Finnish exports.
The official and spoken languages are Finnish and Swedish. However most people also speak some English.
Euro.
No exchange controls are imposed in Finland although formal reporting requirements are required by the Central Bank, these are mainly for statistical purposes.
Civil Law.
The Oy/Ab and Oyj/Abp are both governed by the Finnish Private Companies Act (Osakeyhtilaki).
New Companies Act (624/2006).
Oy/Ab - Private Limited Company or LTD
Oyj/Abp - Public Limited Company or PLC
The promoter of the company will draw up and sign the Memorandum and Articles of Association. This together with evidence of the minimum share capital payment is then submitted to the Companies Registry for registration. A statutory general meeting of shareholder must also be held for the purposes of adopting the Articles of Association, electing the board of directors or director and the auditors.
Yes, specified groups, which include for example, banking, insurance and financial services.
A Company incorporated in Finland has the same powers as a natural person.
Finnish or Swedish.
Yes.
Three to four weeks.
A name that is similar to or identical to an existing company. A well-known name that is known to exist elsewhere.
The name of the company can be expressed in any language using the Latin alphabet. The Registrar may request a Finnish or Swedish translation to ensure that the proposed name does not contravene name restrictions.
Bank, building society, savings, loans, insurance, assurance, reinsurance, fund management, investment fund, trust, trustees, Chamber of Commerce, co-operation, council, municipal or their foreign language equivalents or any name in English or a foreign language that may suggest association with the banking or Insurance industries.
Yes, must be maintained in Finland.
Osakeyhti (Oy) in Finnish language or Aktiebolag (Ab) in Swedish language for private limited company and Julkinen osakeyhti (Oyj) in Finnish language or Publikt aktiebolag (Abp) for public limited company or the relevant abbreviations. .
No.
Private Company - The minimum share capital is EURO 2,500 and must be issued and fully paid.
Public Company - The minimum authorised share capital for a public company is EURO 80,000 and must be paid up.
Ordinary shares, preference shares, deferred shares, redeemable shares and shares with full or with limited voting rights.
Tax is paid by companies in Finland based upon annual accounts, which are submitted to the Finnish tax authorities at the end of the company's financial year. A company is free to choose its own year-end. The current tax rate is 26%.
Finland is party to more than 60 double tax treaties.
None.
The introduction of new rules concerning the statutory auditing have recently been introduced.
A Finnish company only needs to appoint a Certified Auditor if two or more of below conditions are met during the accounting period and the preceeding accounting period:
Otherwise the Board of Directors self-certify the annual accounts/report.
However if OCRA provide officers to a Finnish client company, we require that the Company be audited by an external Certified Auditor even if the statutory requirements above are not met. This is in both our and the client's interest.
Private Companies - One member of the board and one alternate member. They must be natural persons. A member may be of any nationality and need not reside in Finland, however at least half of the members of the board must reside within European Economic Area.
Public Companies - There is a two-tier management structure required for public companies and large private companies. This consists of a minimum of three board members who must appoint a CEO.
N/A.
The minimum number of shareholders is one. A company must maintain a public record of its shareholders.
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