Turkmenistan company registration

Not as an LLC. On paper the Law on Foreign Investment allows a company owned entirely by foreign investors, but in registration practice an LLC needs a Turkmen shareholder with at least 1%. A branch or a representative office stays 100% yours, and in a joint venture every founder holds at least 10%. For full ownership, see branch registration in Turkmenistan.

A branch or a representative office needs no charter capital. An LLC or a joint venture needs at least TMT 5,000, which is about USD 1,430 at the official rate. Half is paid in before filing and the rest within a year.

6 to 9 months from complete documents, for a branch or an LLC with a local shareholder. The registration decision itself takes three working days, but the parent company or the founders are reviewed first: up to 30 days at a state agency and 14 days at the interdepartmental commission. Those are the official periods, and registration takes longer in practice. Allow extra time to legalise documents and to open the bank account.

A branch of a foreign company pays 20% profit tax and, in our experience, a further 15% on profit it sends to its parent company. An LLC or a joint venture pays 8%, or 20% if the state holds more than half, and dividends it pays abroad carry 15% withholding tax unless a treaty lowers it. VAT is 15% and is filed every month. Interest, royalties and fees for services performed in Turkmenistan and paid abroad also carry 15% withholding tax. Employers pay 20% pension insurance on the salaries of local staff and withhold 10% income tax. The filing dates are in the Turkmenistan tax guide.

The law allows it. The practical limit is currency conversion. The manat is fixed at 3.50 to the US dollar. The US State Department reports that converting at the official rate needs government approval. In our experience approval is rarely given. Companies resident in Turkmenistan settle with each other in manat. Agree how you will be paid, and in which currency, before you register. See our guide to profit repatriation from Turkmenistan.

A branch needs neither: it has no shareholders, and its head is appointed by the parent company. In registration practice an LLC needs a Turkmen shareholder with at least 1%, and in a joint venture every founder holds at least 10%. The law does not require a local director. A foreign director or head of branch who is employed in Turkmenistan needs a work permit from the State Migration Service.

Many activities need a licence, and the state leads oil and gas, telecommunications, media and cotton, where foreign companies normally work with a state partner. Trade, services, construction and manufacturing are more open. Tell us the activity and we will check which licence applies. See business licence requirements in Turkmenistan.

On paper, yes. A 2017 law allows free economic zones with tax and customs reliefs. In practice none is known to be operating. Awaza, on the Caspian coast, is run as a national tourist zone under its own rules. Do not build a plan around zone reliefs.

The Central Bank lists nine banks: state banks and joint-stock commercial banks. A branch or company can hold accounts in manat, US dollars or euros. Payments abroad are subject to currency control. We introduce you to a bank and prepare the application. The bank decides. See our guide to opening a company bank account in Turkmenistan.

It is not a member of the World Trade Organization. It has been an observer since 2020, applied to join in 2021, and has had an accession working party since 2022. It has free trade agreements with several former Soviet states, including Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, and in 2004 it signed a trade and investment framework agreement with the United States and its Central Asian neighbours.