Doing Business in Greenland - Book - Page 4
3 Setting up a business
3.1 Establishing a company
A foreign company may start up
business activities in Greenland
trough a Greenlandic subsidiary.
Alternatively,
certain
foreign
companies may also register a
branch, but instead, it is much more
common and simple to register the
foreign company as a taxable
entity in Greenland.
3.2.1 Share capital requirements
Minimum share capital requirements for limited liability companies
are:
ApS: DKK 40.000
A/S: DKK 400.000
3.2 Limited liability companies
(A/S and ApS)
The most common corporate format
in Greenland is a limited liability
company. Applicable law is the
Greenlandic Companies’ Act.
3.2.2 Management structure
A public limited company (A/S)
must always have a two-tier
management structure, and the
most common model is to have a
board of directors and an
executive board. The board of
directors is responsible for overall
and strategic management. The
board of directors appoints an
executive board to be responsible
for the day-to-day management of
the company, and who must follow
the guidelines and directions issued
by the board of directors.
It is possible to setup either a
private limited company (in Danish:
“Anpartsselskab” (“ApS”)) or a
public limited company (in Danish:
“Aktieselskab” (“A/S”)). These are
separate legal entities with limited
liability for its shareholders.
Both natural and legal persons may
act as founders of a company. The
founder does not have to be a
Greenlandic citizen, or an entity
established in Green-land.
Depending on the type of
company, the management structure may vary.
The board of directors must consist
of at least 3 directors. The
executive board may consist of one
or more managers.
A manager (member of the
executive board) may also be
member of the board of directors
provided the majority of the
members of the board of directors
must not also be member of the
executive board. Also, a member of
the executive board may also not
be the chairman or vice-chairman
of the board of directors.
