Headquarters Company

A company organised in a foreign country, usually a tax haven, which exclusively services its affiliate companies through administering or managing activities. It does not sell or buy products and does not involve itself in financing activities as may be practiced by offshore holding companies.

A headquarters company is a fixed installation belonging to an international company or an foreign enterprise having its registered office in a specific foreign country selected because its laws permit it to act for the sole benefit of one or more companies in a group for the purpose of performing management control, coordination or servicing functions, usually in a specified geographical area. In some countries (e.g. France) the headquarters company may be either an incorporated company of the host country or a branch of an international company. In other countries (e.g. the Philippines) there is no taxation on income and expenses are not used as any base of computation.