Guide to Doing Business
in St. Eustatius

The mandatory regulations with regard to legal entities under private law (such as the foundation and the (private) limited liability company) which can be used for doing business on the BES islands, are contained in Book 2 of the Civil Code. The legal entities explicitly regulated are:

• The foundation (stichting);
• The private foundation (stichting particulier fonds);
• The association (vereniging);
• The cooperation (coöperatie);
• The mutual guarantee company (onderlinge waarborgmaatschappij);
• The public limited liability company (naamloze vennootschap, N.V.); and
• The private limited liability company (besloten vennootschap, B.V.).

The public limited liability company and the private limited liability company are, beside the sole proprietorship (eenmanszaak), the most common formal structures for the conduct of business on the BES islands. The sole proprietorship is not regulated in Book 2 of the Civil Code; neither are the BES law partnerships.