Are bearer shares permitted in the Bahamas?

A bearer share is an equity security that is entirely owned by the person or company who carries the physical stock certificate. Since the share is not registered with any authority, the easiest way to transfer ownership is to present the physical paperwork.

When register a company in Bahamas, many businesses do not know if bearer shares are permitted in the Bahamas or not. To answer this question, the country used to allow bearer shares, but had eliminated them in 2000. All bearer shares prior to that have been recalled on June 30 2001. These changes were made in the International Business Company (IBC) Act 2000 as a repeal of the IBC Act 1989, with a view to improve the business law as well as gain trust from international investors. The Act also stated that there must be at least one shareholder in the company, and the beneficial owners of a corporation must be revealed to the registered agent, but they are not on public record.

The elimination of the Bahamas bearer shares has addressed issues of transparency raised by the FSF, FATF, and OECD in relation to the identification, recording, and dissemination of pertinent information about legal and business entities.