(; abbreviated as N.V. or NV or (SA) in the French Community of Belgium) is a type of public company defined by business law in the Netherlands, Belgium, Indonesia (where it is known as , abbreviated PT and allows for private companies), and Suriname. The company is owned by shareholders, and the company's shares are not registered to certain owners, so that they may be traded on the public stock market.

The phrase literally means "nameless partnership" or "anonymous venture" and comes from the fact that the partners (the shareholders) are not directly known. This is in contrast to the term for a private limited company, which is called (an "exclusive" or "closed partnership", one in which stock is not for sale on open markets).

Each is a legal entity in the Netherlands, Belgium, Aruba, Curaçao, Suriname, Sint Maarten and Indonesia. A minimum of €45,000 (€61,500) paid in capital is required to establish a Dutch (Belgian) nv. Establishing a Dutch nv is only possible by a notarial act by a Dutch civil law notary.

See also

AB (publ) (Publikt Aktiebolag) – the corresponding concept in Sweden and Finland AG (Aktiengesellschaft) – the corresponding concept in Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland A/S (Aktieselskab) – the corresponding concept in Denmark AS (Aksjeselskap) – the corresponding concept in Norway Inc (Incorporated) – the corresponding concept in US KK (Kabushiki kaisha) – the corresponding concept in Japan Ltd (Limited) - The corresponding concept in Commonwealth countries such as India and other countries which is for public companies just Ltd or private companies with Pvt Ltd or Pte Ltd in Singapore. Oyj (Julkinen Osakeyhtiö) – the corresponding concept in Finland Plc (Public Limited Company) - the corresponding concept in the UK and Ireland S.A. - the corresponding concept in Latin America, Portugal, France, Spain, and other Romanic countries, also in Poland and the Walloon region of Belgium SE (Societas Europaea) – additional legal structure of a company available in the European Union S.p.A. (Società per Azioni) - the corresponding concept in San Marino and Italy List of legal entity types by country

Notes

References