Panama has passed a new law that has entered into effect as of January 15 of 2009. Such is Law 4 of January 9 of 2009 that regulates the Limited Liability Companies in Panama, replacing entirely Law 24 of 1966 that originally created and regulated this same type entity.

The new Law is more flexible than the old and although this type of company is not popular as the well known Panama S.A., is equally important to consider for some structure.

Panamanian Limited Liability Company, similar to corporations, can be used to protect your assets from any threats.

Among the most interesting features of the Panama SRL we find the following:

• an LLC is recognised to be a separate legal entity from its members
• The new Law provides for an unlimited amount of partners, which can be individuals or corporate bodies, with no restrictions as to their citizenships or country of residence. However, two are the minimum amount of partners required. These may be nominees.
• The new law does not provide for a minimum or maximum capital, therefore leaving it open. The law also provides that the capital can be established in any currency. Note that the higher the capital, the higher the registration fees will be, therefore we recommend for a standard capital of US$10,000
• One Manager can be appointed, in which case it can be an individual or a corporate body of any nationality or jurisdiction of incorporation. Also in this case his/her name must also be recorded on public records.
• Once the SRL is recorded it acquires a different legal personality from that of its members and managers.
• An SRL can be converted at any moment into any type of company, such as an S.A. and viceversa.
• An SRL can also be re-domiciled to any jurisdiction and viceversa.