Argentine Companies Law

In the majority of the countries of South America, there exist three basic forms of organizations: “Sociedad Anónima” (S.A) [Corporation]; the “Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada (S.R.L.) [Limited Liability Company], basically a company where the liability of the shareholder is limited; and the Argentine Branch of a foreign company.

Other forms of commercial organization that exist under the Argentine Companies’ Law include: Sociedades colectivas [General Partnership](in which the shareholders are jointly liable in a limited way); Sociedades en comandita [Limited partnership] (in which active shareholders can be compared to the General Partnership shareholders and the limited Partnership shareholders compared to those of a Limited Liability Company). Sociedades de capital e industria [Capital and Industry Company] (in which the “capitalist” partner can be compared to the one of a General Partnership and the rest of the partners invest their services); Sociedades en comandita por acciones [Partnership limited by Shares] (similar to Limited partnership but the “limited” part of the capital is represented by shares); Sociedades controladas por el Estado [State controlled Companies] (similar to Corporations but with specific regulations because the National State is the main owner.)

Generally, the foreign companies that operate in Argentina organize under the forms of Corporations or Branches.