For over a decade, Healy Consultants Group has efficiently and effectively assisted Clients with Turkmenistan business registration:

Turkmenistan company registration summary

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• Advantages and disadvantages

  Advantages of Turkmenistan company registration

  

  1. Our Clients may enjoy certain benefits when registering their businesses in Turkmenistan including:
     • Turkmenistan has seen consistently high growth over the past decade, with annual growth rates from 9-15% since 2005. Demand for foreign investment is high in the oil and gas sector, as well as the textile and construction sector, as outdated infrastructure is the only factor holding these industries back from dynamic growth;
     • Turkmenistan has a wealth of natural resources. Turkmenistan has the world’s fourth largest natural gas reserves, with substantial reserves of oil as well. Furthermore, Turkmenistan is home to significant amounts of irrigated land and is the tenth largest producer of cotton;
     • Turkmenistan has a corporate tax rate of 20%, but this is substantially reduced for companies investing in the gas and oil industry. Furthermore, Turkmenistan has double taxation treaties with many European countries, the United States, China, India, and Japan. Under these treaties, entrepreneurs can completely avoid withholding tax on repatriation of profits;
     • Compared to countries of the western world for Turkmenistan company incorporation, Turkmenistan is very cheap, including food, transport, utilities, rent, wages, etc. Specifically, office rental tend to be a fraction of what they are in most western cities and gas and electricity are free;
  2. Agriculture is the second-most important investment sector in Turkmenistan after hydrocarbons. The country’s population is mostly dependent on agriculture-related jobs for their living, therefore foreign entrepreneurs can hire quality labour at affordable rates. Further, the country is known for its quality export products including Turkmen cotton lint, hides and wool products;
  3. Opening a corporate bank account for a Turkmenistan branch office takes just one day.

  Disadvantages of Turkmenistan company registration

  1. Turkmenistan suffers from high corruption, which can act as a barrier to completing many standard business practices. Turkmenistan is ranked 161^st in the 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International. Entrepreneurs should expect under-the-table bribes in order to expedite business operations;
  2. The government of Turkmenistan is incredibly restrictive of investments, with foreign exchange accounts requiring government approval, with approval required for all transfers and payments as well;
  3. English is spoken by only a small minority of Turkmen, with Turkmen being the official and most commonly spoken language. Though 28% of the country speak have a different mother tongue, all official documents should be translated in to Turkmen, as federal agencies have been known to have discriminatory policies against the minorities in Turkmenistan;
  4. Turkmenistan’s court system is still underdeveloped and the judicial system is heavily influenced by bribery. The government owns all land with little in the way of ownership rights provided to any civilians and intellectual property rights are not protected in any sense;
  5. Turkmenistan lacks financial freedom, being ranked 164^th in the 2018 Index of Economic Freedom by Heritage Foundation. The financial sector is almost entirely state-run, with the majority of corporate loans being approved for state-owned enterprises.
  6. Turkmenistan branch registration takes between three and six months, once all required documents have been submitted to the Registrar for review and approval;
  7. All documents must be translated into the Russian and Turkmen languages, and notarised;
  8. A Branch must appoint a local accountant – this can be an employee of the branch or a local accounting firm;
  9. A branch must appoint a director who is a Turkmen citizen. The director shall receive a 10% salary/fee increment for every year he/she is a director;
  10. Branch registration must be renewed every three years;
  11. The foreign parent company of the local branch must have a minimum share capital of US$1 million;
  12. The foreign parent company of the branch must have been incorporated at least five years before branch registration;
  13. The foreign company cannot be an ‘offshore company’ such as Bermuda, Cayman, BVI, free zone company etc. However, a UAE Free Zone Enterprise (FZE) is eligible.

• Best uses for a Turkmenistan company

  Exports to Russia and China

  1. While Turkmenistan is landlocked, it is very close to two major markets – China and Russia. Turkmenistan has also established free trade zones which offer preferential tax status and can allow for total tax exemption for businesses engaging in trade. In addition, the low cost of doing business in the country makes the cost base for a manufacturing company very attractive;
  2. The government of Turkmenistan has declared attracting foreign direct investment a priority and is especially welcoming of investments in line with its export-oriented industrialization policies. Though in practice, this applies almost exclusively to entrepreneurs investing in government targeted industries, such as the oil and gas industry, but the benefits can include preferential treatment with regards to customs, tax, and licensing.

Healy Consultants’ video on Turkmenistan business setup
Contact the presenter: Grace Odhiambo, Senior Client Engagements Manager, Healy Consultants Group