Colombia is situated mainly in the northwest of South America with some territories in the Central America. Colombia is bordered with Panama, Venezuela, Brazil Ecuador and Peru, while its maritime border limits with Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominical Republic. Colombia is the third most populous state in Latin America and almost five times the size of the UK.

Colombia has a relatively advanced and diverse economy, as well as economic and political stability. Entrepreneurs have numerous opportunities in various sectors, especially in niche areas. Main industries include textiles, clothing and footwear, food processing and beverages, petroleum, chemicals, cement, and automobiles, coal, gold and emeralds as well as consumer appliances. Its main exports are coal, crude oil, coffee and non-ferrous metals.

Colombia is home to numerous local and multinational corporations. Below is the list of top five biggest companies in Colombia.

Ecopetrol
Ecopetrol, previously known as Empresa Colombiana de Petroleos SA is the biggest company in Colombia and its main activity is oil and gas extraction and other operations. As a result of efficient operations and continuous growth, the company managed to enter the Fortune Global 500 top as among the biggest companies in the world measured by revenues. In 2012, Ecopetrol was the 346th biggest company in the world according to Fortune Global 500 top. It also was among the 25 biggest petroleum companies in the world and one of the 4 principal petroleum corporations in Latin America. Since then, the company has lost some of its income year after year and with its revenues of nearly 16 billion USD in the financial year 2016 was not included in Fortune Global 500 top of biggest companies in the world but is currently number 559th company in Forbes Global 2000 top.

The biggest company in Colombia was founded 1921 and currently has headquarters in Bogota, the capital city of Colombia. Exploration is one of the key activities of the company. It has achieved numerous significant steps in the exploratory segment, especially in the search for hydrocarbons offshore. Some of them are Rydberg together with companies Shell and Nexen, Lion with Repsol as well as part of the team to discover Orca-1, which is the first such discovery in the deep water of Colombian Caribe. Other business activities include production, innovation, science and technology, transport, supply and marketing.

Grupo Aval
In recent years, Grupo Aval has managed to grow in terms of revenues and surpass Bancolombia to take the second place in the top with biggest companies in Colombia. Grupo Aval is a holding company headquartered in Bogota, Colombia and operating mainly in Colombia and Central America. The company is engaged in wide variety of activities, such as banking, telecommunications and real estate. The holding is controlled by Luis Carlos Sarmiento with directly and indirectly owning over 90% of the company’s shares.

Grupo Aval is the owner of BAC-Credomatic operating in Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua and Florida in the US. Additionally, the holding owns enough shares in other companies to control their operations. Most of them are financial institutions in Colombia: Banco de Bogota SA, Banco de Occidente SA, Banco Popular SA, Banco AV Villas SA, etc.

Grupo Aval takes the 693rd place in Forbes Global 2000 top with 8.5 billion USD in revenues and figures in many other Forbes based tops: #88 in Top Regarded Companies, #377 in Assets, #899 in Profit and #1289 in Market value.

Bancolombia
Bancolombia with its operating income nearly 7 billion USD in 2016 is the second largest commercial banking financial institution in Colombia and among the top biggest in Latin America. The bank was founded in 1945 and currently headquartered in Medellin, Colombia. Bancolombia is a full-service bank that provides a broad range of financial products and services to a diversified corporate and individual customer base not only in Colombia, but also in such jurisdictions as Panama, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Peru, Brazil, the Cayman Islands, the United States, Australia, Spain, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Bancolombia operates in nine segments: Banking Colombia and Banking El Salvador, Trust, Investment, Leasing, Pension and Insurance, Brokerage, Offshore and All other.

In cooperation with its subsidiaries and partners, Bancolombia provides a broad range of products and services, such as financing, savings and investment, mortgage banking, financial and operating leases, factoring, treasury, foreign currency, comprehensive cash management, bancassurance and insurance, investment banking, brokerage services, as well as asset management and trust services. With earnings of 6.7 billion USD Bancolombia takes the 724th place in Forbes Global 2000 top.

Banco Davivienda
Banco Davivienda is a Colombia-based bank founded in 1972 and with headquarters in Bogota, Colombia. It is currently a part of Grupo Bolivar, the third biggest financial institution in Colombia by profits and assets. Banco Davivienda offers financial services to corporate and individual customers as well as the rural sector. Banco Davivienda currently is number 1374 in the Forbes Global 2000 top with 3.3 billion USD.

Grupo Bolivar
Grupo Bolivar is a holding company with over 70 years of experience and operating in various sectors, such as financial, insurance and construction. Interestingly, although Grupo Bolivar had a slightly bigger amount of revenues than Banco Davivienda, Forbes has placed it below its daughter company – it takes 1546th place in Forbes Global 2000 top.

In general, all jurisdictions can be divided into classic offshore, low-tax jurisdictions and prestige jurisdictions. The prestige of a jurisdiction corresponds to its rank, which is determined by taking into account and evaluating information from the International Sanctions List, the OECD Gray or Black List and the EU Jurisdiction White List as well as data on the development of the financial markets and determining whether the jurisdiction ob FATF AML is deficient and whether there are money laundering concerns. These are the basic criteria that matter in determining whether the jurisdiction is prestigious or not. It cannot be considered prestigious if it is on a financial blacklist.

Austria, France, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Switzerland are among the top five most reputable jurisdictions for incorporating a company.

A general overview of Austria

Registering a company or start-up in this jurisdiction allows the owner(s) to participate in all projects initiated by the Austrian government. The basic company types available are LLC, ULP, PJSC, PLLC, LLP, and JSC.

Taxes: The income tax rate is 25%, with a minimum corporation tax of EUR 500, plus 20% VAT and a capital tax that varies between 0.8% and 1%. If the subsidiary is registered within the EU, the tax rate on dividend income is 0%; if not, it is 25%.

Austria has agreements with more than 90 countries that enable companies to avoid double taxation. It has no exchange control. This jurisdiction ensures the confidentiality of business data.

A general overview of France

France is a respectable jurisdiction that allows your company to offer products and services bearing the mark of a European company. The basic legal structures available are SP, GP, PJSC, PJSC, LLC, CLS and LLPE.

France offers a number of options: the ability to obtain credit from French banks, the ability to obtain a residence permit, no taxation for companies registered in the country doing business outside of France, and no exchange controls. France has agreements with more than 89 other countries that allow companies to avoid double taxation.

A general overview of the United Kingdom

The UK is considered a respectable jurisdiction due to its high level of legal protection, a simple and transparent tax system, the ability to charge VAT and the availability of nominee services.

The basic company types available in the UK are PC, Limited Warranty Company, ULC and LLC. Again, there are no tax obligations for UK registered companies operating exclusively outside the country. Corporate tax rates depend on profit (between 20% and 24%). The UK has agreements with more than 100 countries that allow companies to avoid double taxation.

A general overview of the United States of America

The US offers a respectable, highly trusted jurisdiction for a company to register, allowing it to offer products and services bearing a US company's trademark. This jurisdiction imposes no tax obligations on entities designated as non-resident and also permits nominee services. There is no taxation for companies incorporated in the country that do all their business outside of the United States.

The basic legal structures available are private contractor, corporation, branch of a foreign corporation, representative office of a foreign corporation, partnership, LLC, joint venture, or LLJSC.

A general overview of Switzerland

The good reputation of this jurisdiction is based on several factors, such as strong business development, a dynamic economy and a track record of innovation. The most important corporate forms available in Switzerland are LLC, ULP, JSC, Commandite Partnership and Subsidiary.

Switzerland offers a high level of confidentiality, the world's leading currency, mechanisms to avoid double taxation, a reasonable tax system with tax rates depending on residence, income level and legal form of the company, tax optimization opportunities and the opportunity to set up service companies that can for the administration of the business activities of the parent company

Canada's logistics performance index is 3.86. It indicates good performance - the logistics system is well prepared and organised, shipments arrive on time and undamaged most of the time, and the infrastructure is ready to handle even unpredictably large volumes of traffic as long as they are not overwhelming.

Inch performance is rated at 3.61. This indicates satisfactory performance - the customs clearance procedure is generally effective, although a long time can occasionally be a problem; the customs system certainly does not discourage international business activities; required documents and fees are generally publicly available.

Infrastructure quality in Canada is rated 4.05. It indicates good quality - roads, railways, ports and other facilities are adapted and regularly maintained to cope with heavy traffic at all times, and most likely there are special facilities to cope with high-intensity and/or special traffic or vehicles (e.g. motorways, also known as freeways, and deep-water ports).

The quality of international shipping is 3.46. It indicates a satisfactory performance - the services are reasonable and the prices are not too high and usually correspond exactly to the quality, although there is still room for improvement.

The competence of the logistics service provider is rated at 3.94. The providers are very competent – they always ensure high quality of shipments and traffic management, work quickly and reliably; Any errors that may occur are easily compensated.

Shipment tracking options are rated 3.97. This indicates good performance - the tracking systems provide detailed and up-to-date information on most shipment parameters, often cross national borders (both political and linguistic) and can be qualified as international tracking systems.

Tracking options are rated 4.18. This indicates good performance - shipments almost always arrive on schedule and often faster than expected.

In Canada, 100% of the population has access to electricity. Canada has 1467 airports nationwide. There are 8,743,000 internet hosts in Canada. The number of road motor vehicles per 1000 population in Canada is 113.

Road network
The total length of roads in Canada is 1,042,300 km (647,794 miles). Of these, 6,350 km (3,947 miles) of roads are classified as freeways, dual carriageways, or freeways.

Gas price
On average, a liter of gasoline costs $1.17 in Canada. A liter of diesel costs $0.81.

The total population of Kosovo is 1,808,583 people. People in Kosovo speak the Albanian, and Serbian languages. The median age is approximately 27.8 years. Life expectancy in Kosovo is 70.5. The female fertility rate in Kosovo is 2.3. Around 21% of the population of Kosovo are obese. To find out specifics of language, religion, age, gender distribution, and advancement of people in Kosovo see the sections below, as well as visit the section concerning the education in the country.

Population
In Kosovo, the population density is 166 people per square kilometer (432 per square mile). Because of this statistic, this country is considered to be densely populated. The total population of Kosovo is 1,808,583 people. Kosovo has approximately 128,808 foreign immigrants. Read below for statistics of Kosovo on median age and gender distribution at various ages.

Age
The median age is approximately 27.8 years. The median age for men is 27.4, while the median age for women is 28.2.

Gender
The data on gender distribution in a country display how the population is grouped into gender groups, and what is the internal structure of said groups. No such statistics can be provided for Kosovo.

Religion
The majority religion of Kosovo is Islam, the followers of which comprise 87% of all religious believers in the country. Islam (Arabic: الإسلام‎) is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion articulated by the Quran, a religious text considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of God (Allāh), and, for the vast majority of adherents, by the teachings and normative example (called the sunnah, Arabic سنة, composed of accounts called hadith, Arabic حديث) of Muhammad, considered by most of them to be the last prophet of God. An adherent of Islam is called a Muslim. Besides Islam, there are some followers of Islam in Kosovo.

General development
Kosovo is considered to be a developed nation. The developmental stage of a nation is determined by a number of factors including, but not limited to, economic prosperity, life expectancy, income equality, and quality of life. As a developed nation, Kosovo is able to provide its citizens with social services like public education, healthcare, and law enforcement. Citizens of developed nations enjoy a high standard of living and longer life expectancies than citizens of developing nations. In Kosovo, 77 in every 100 people use internet. In Kosovo, 30% of the population lives below the poverty line. The percentage of citizens living below the poverty line in Kosovo is fairly high, but is not reason for complete concern with regard to investments. Potential financial backers should look at other economic markers, including GDP, urbanization rate, and strength of currency, before making any decisions regarding investments.

The development of telecommunications and economic globalization have made it possible for interested investors to set up companies all over the world. With proper research, financial investment and legal backing, business ventures can be safely incorporated in almost any country in the world. Building an international business used to be a complicated entrepreneurial venture, but today it is commonplace with the help of experienced legal and business advisors.

The advantages of founding a company abroad are as numerous as they are obvious. Many countries offer specific locational advantages, ranging from natural resources and well-established infrastructure to beneficial laws and regulations that encourage growth in a particular industry. Likewise, it can be difficult to start a business or an acquisition in your own country due to adverse situations: political or regulatory environment, lack of resources and more. In this situation, it makes sense to consider an overseas option that offers greater opportunities for growth, development, and success.

Company registration in Namibia
When setting up a business in Namibia, an interested investor must conduct due diligence on legal procedures, international regulations and sufficient investment for success. It is crucial to understand cultural, social and political factors that influence starting and growing one's business. Failure to do so may result in unintended consequences. Poorly researched and toneless international launches often end in disaster as time, money and energy is wasted due to poor planning.

Legal Documents
Every country in the world presents its own intricate challenges when it comes to starting, developing and maintaining a business. Owners, financiers and investors must make these commitments with the support of a knowledgeable and experienced legal team. Only someone with in-depth knowledge of local and international corporate law will be able to set up an overseas business while avoiding the pitfalls that plague many new businesses.

Additionally, smart business people can consider ways to invest in foreign companies without actually starting their own businesses. In these situations, it is still beneficial for the investor to partner with a knowledgeable global economics and litigation advisor. International investments create a truly diverse portfolio that offers growth opportunities that were unthinkable decades ago.

Potential investors, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs should consider the existing infrastructure in Namibia when planning to start a new business. While extensive infrastructure and systems can help make the process of starting a business a smooth one, it could also represent market saturation and reduced growth potential. On the other hand, a lack of infrastructure is often a major obstacle to growth; However, the lack of infrastructure points to a clear market opening for a creative and efficient new business.

Bank account opening in Namibia
In connection with the formation of a company, it is necessary to open one or more bank accounts in Namibia. Confidus Solutions offers the ability to open a bank account in over twenty jurisdictions, making it easy for you to avoid challenging language barriers or bureaucratic hassles.

Virtual office in Namibia
As a registered address is a necessity for international business, Confidus Solutions enables foreign investors to set up a virtual office in Namibia. This address allows international entrepreneurs to accept mail, arrange for shipping and set up a registered bank account in their country of business.

Tax regulations
If you are researching starting a business in Namibia, consult a lawyer or consultant with extensive experience in the area you are considering. This advisor can help you with everything from laws and tax structures to local helpers. You need to consider every aspect from the local office to your highest organizational structure; Make sure you recruit the best possible mentors as you embark on this exciting but challenging process.