Business
Portuguese-model company law with OHADA-style simplification and petroleum expectations
Company law follows the Portuguese model with the sociedade por quotas and sociedade anónima, registered through the Guiché Único. The Investment Code offers incentives, and the Joint Development Zone with Nigeria governs petroleum exploration in shared maritime areas.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — The Conservatória do Registo Comercial registers; the Tribunal de Primeira Instância hears commercial disputes.
- Deadline — Company registration through the Guiché Único de Empresa
- Deadline — Annual accounts filed with the commercial registry
Governing law
- Código das Sociedades ComerciaisLei 6/2005
- Código de InvestimentosLei 19/2016
- Nigeria–São Tomé and Príncipe Joint Development Zone Treaty2001
In practice
The Joint Development Zone with Nigeria is the distinctive feature of the country's commercial legal framework: petroleum rights in the shared area are administered by a joint authority under treaty rather than by São Toméan law alone, with revenue split 40:60 in Nigeria's favour.