Greenland provides several business forms for investors, of which the main forms include:

Company (Private Limited or Public Limited)
Sole Proprietorship
Partnership
Foreign Business (Subsidiary or Branch or Representative Office)

Company

Companies can be formed either as Private Limited Companies or as Public Limited Companies.

The key aspects of Private Limited Company (Anpartsselskab or APS) include:

Shareholder’s liability is limited to their contribution in the company
Minimum capital requirement is DKK 125,000
Minimum 1 shareholder of any nationality is required and need not be a resident in the country
Minimum 1 director residing in Greenland or can be a citizen of Denmark or any other Nordic country is required
Shareholder and director can be an individual or company
Mandatory to appoint either a state authorized public accountant or an auditor

The key aspects of Public Limited Company (Aktieselskab or A/S) include:

Shareholder’s liability is limited to their contribution in the company
Minimum capital requirement is DKK 500,000
Minimum 1 shareholder is required
Minimum 3 directors are required out of which at least one director must be a resident of Greenland or can be a citizen of Denmark or any other Nordic country
Shareholder and director can be an individual or a company
Mandatory to appoint either a state authorized public accountant or an auditor

Sole Proprietorship

A sole proprietor is a natural person who conducts business in his / her own name. The liability of the sole proprietor is unlimited. The owner requires a Danish citizenship or a Greenlandic residency/work permit and is required to reside in Greenland.

Partnerships

Partnership is a form of business where two or more persons come together to carry out activities of common interest and to share profit and loss arising out of such activities. The partners should have Danish citizenship or a Greenlandic residency/work permit and are required to reside in Greenland.

Foreign Business (Subsidiary, Branch, Representative Office)

Foreign companies can conduct their operations in Greenland through the constitution of a subsidiary or a branch office or a representative office. Subsidiary can be formed either as private limited company or as public limited company with 100% foreign holding.

Currently, foreign parent companies registered in EU, USA, Canada or Nordic countries are permitted to set up a branch office in Greenland. A branch office of a foreign parent company is required to be registered with DCCA and GER. Minimum 1 director is required to form a branch office. The director must be a resident of Greenland. Generally, a branch is not considered as a separate legal entity from its foreign parent company but it is entitled to carry on any business activity falling within the objects of its foreign parent company.

Representative office is not considered as separate legal entity from its foreign parent company and is not permitted to conduct commercial activities in the country. It is mainly established for conducting market research and promoting business of its foreign parent company.

Entities covered by the Greenlandic Act on Mineral Resources

The ‘Act on Conducting Business in Greenland’ does not apply to activities covered by the ‘Greenlandic Acton Mineral Resources’. Licenses for preliminary studies and exploration can be granted to foreign companies without forming a subsidiary or a branch in Greenland.

Licenses for exploitation are only granted to Public Limited Companies fulfilling specified conditions.

Further information on the general investment, tax and regulatory regime about the country is available at the following external references:

Reports and publications from OECD – click here

Taxation overview in Greenland – click here

Greenland Minerals Authority – click here

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