Kiribati

Starting a Business in

Kiribati

Listed below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles an entrepreneur must overcome in order to incorporate and register a new firm, along with their associated time and set-up costs.  It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with up to 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income (GNI).

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Standardized Company

  • Legal Form: Private Limited Liability Company
  • City: Tarawa

About This Topic

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Deposit the legally required capital in a bank and obtain deposit evidence

There are only two Banks: ANZ bank and the Bank of Kiribati.
1 day no charge
2 Check the uniqueness of the proposed company name

Searches of business names are done manually by the Companies Office. The Companies Ordinance (s14 (10)) prescribes the forms of application for approval and reservation of a business name. As of 2010, there are 150 companies registered with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives.
1 day no charge
3 Register the company with the Registrar’s Office

The prescribed forms of registration are part of the Companies Act. These forms can also be obtained from the Registrar. The cost is AUD$ 100 (AUD$ 50 for lodging particulars of the company and AUD$ 50 for the issuance of the certificate of incorporation).
1-2 weeks AUD 100
4 Register for taxes

Under the Income Tax Act, companies operating locally must register for taxes.
1-2 days no charge
5 Register with the Kiribati Provident Fund (KPF)


1 day no charge
6 Apply for a business license from the relevant licensing authority

The Company must apply for a business license from the relevant licensing authority (e.g., a council) in each jurisdiction in which business activities are carried out. The license is renewable annually. A retail business license must be obtained from the local government. The application process takes about a day and about 1 – 2 weeks to obtain the actual license. Three people will be visiting the business location (the Betio Town Council Clerk, the Mayor and the Vice Major. In addition to the cost of the license, an executive fee of AUD 90 is charged (AUD 30 per person).
1-2 weeks AUD 100-600
7 Make a company seal

Although doing so is not compulsory, companies customarily make a company seal by ordering it from a manufacturer in Australia or another Pacific country. No authorization is required to make a seal.
3-5 days AUD 25-30
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