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TITLE 10 – PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 10 MIRC Ch.5 ________________________________________________________________________________________________
375
CHAPTER 5.
FOREIGN INVESTMENT BUSINESS LICENSE
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section
§501. Short title.
§502. Interpretation.
§503. License required.
§503A. Registrar of Foreign Investment.
§504. Duties and powers of the Cabinet.
§504A. Reserved List.
§505. Application.
§506. Procedure for granting foreign investment business
licenses.
Section
§507. Register.
§508. Modification, suspension, or revocation.
§508A. Civil Penalty.
§509. Loss of benefit of statute of limitations.
§510. Regulations.
§511. Prohibited Acts.
§512. Transitional Provisions.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
An Act to encourage and regulate foreign investment in the Republic so as to promote the
economic development of the Republic by transferring the powers and functions of the Foreign
Investment Advisory Board to the Cabinet.
Commencement: October 3, 1990
Source: P.L. 1990-99
P.L. 1993-37
P.L. 2000-5
P.L. 2005-30
§501. Short title.
This Chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Foreign Investment Business License
Act of 1990.
[P.L. 1990-99, §1.] §502. Interpretation.
For purposes of this Chapter, unless it is otherwise provided or the context requires a
different meaning:
(a) “Minister” means the Minister for Finance;
(b) “non-citizen” means:
(i) any person who is not a citizen of the Republic; or
(ii) any corporation, joint venture, partnership, association, or other legal
entity in which a person or persons who are not citizens of the Republic own an
equity interest.
(c) “Registrar” means the Registrar of Foreign Investment designated under Section
503A of this Act;
(ii) any corporation, joint venture, partnership, association, or other legal
entity in which a person or persons who are not citizens of the Republic own an
equity interest.
[P.L 1990-99, §2 Paragraphs and clauses were renumbered for consistency with the
format and style of the Code.][Modified by P.L. 2000-5, §2.][amended by P.L. 2005-30]

10 MIRC Ch .5 CHAPTER 5 – FOREIGN INVESTMENT BUSINESS LICENSE ________________________________________________________________________________________________
376 §503. License required.
Except as provided for in this Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder:
(a) no non-citizen shall be permitted to do business in the Republic without first obtaining
a foreign investment business license under this Act; and
(b) no non-citizen shall be permitted to acquire an interest in any business previously owned
entirely by citizens of the Republic until the business obtains a foreign investment business license
under this Act.
(c) a license shall be in the form set out in the schedule 1 to this Act; and
(d) the issuance of a license does not, in any way, provide implicitly or explicitly, any sort
of guarantee by the Government with respect to the investment, nor does the license provide any
privileges to the foreign investor other than allowing the license holder to be treated equally with
resident investors, subject to the laws of the Republic.
[P.L. 1990-99, §3.][ Modified by P.L. 2000-5§2(2).] §503A. Registrar of Foreign Investment.
The Secretary of Finance is hereby designated as the Registrar for Foreign Investment.
[P.L.
2000-5 §2(3), re-numbered as section “503A”][amended by P.L. 2005-30 designating the Sec-Fin]

§504. Duties and powers of the Registrar.
For the purposes of this Act, the Registrar shall have the following duties and
powers:
(1) to receive applications for and issue foreign investment business licenses under
the provisions of this Act;
(2) to insure compliance with this Act, the regulations promulgated and licenses
issued under this Act. In this connection, the Registrar may investigate any alleged or
suspected violation of this Act, the regulations or the licenses and, in cooperation with the
Office of the Attorney-General, enforce the provisions of this Act, the regulations and the
licenses. In hearings or investigations permitted or required under this Act or the regulations
made thereunder, the Registrar may administer oaths and subpoena witnesses, records, books
and documents.
(3) to provide advice to the Government on policy matters related to foreign
investment either at the request of the Cabinet or as an initiative to the Minister.”
[P.L. 1990-
99, §4.][modified by P.L. 2000-5 §2(4).] §504A. Reserved List.
(1) A Reserved List consisting of economic sectors, sub-sectors or activities in which
investment is reserved solely for citizen investors shall be maintained and publicly displayed by the
Registrar.
(2) The economic sectors, sub-sectors or activities included on the Reserved List shall be
approved by the Cabinet on the advice of the sectoral Ministries. The Reserved List, as approved
by the Cabinet, together with detailed reasons for inclusion of said sectors or activities, shall be
published in the Government Gazette and once in any newspaper published in the Republic.
[P.L.
2000-5 §2(5), re-numbered as “504A”]

TITLE 10 – PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 10 MIRC Ch.5 ________________________________________________________________________________________________
377 §505. Application.
(1) Every non-citizen required to obtain a foreign investment business license under this
Chapter shall submit an application to the Registrar.
(2) The application for a foreign investment business license shall contain the following
information:
(a) the name of the applicant’s business;
(b) the applicant’s principal place of business in the Republic and its authorized
representative for purposes of the application;
(c) the purpose, scope, and objectives of the business activities to be conducted by
the applicant;
(d) the proposed form of the business organization, including the ownership and
management structure;
(e) the names, addresses, and citizenship of the initial owners and managers;
(f) proposals for ownership and management by citizens of the Republic;
(g) proposals to give employment preferences to citizens of the Republic and to train
citizens of the Republic for positions in management and at other levels;
(h) anticipated capital contributions, revenue and expenditure for the first three (3)
years of operation: and
(i) any other information the Cabinet deems necessary or appropriate.
[P.L. 1990-99,
§5, amended by P.L 1993-37, §1. Modified by P.L. 2000-5 §5(6).] §506. Procedure for granting foreign investment business licenses.
(1) The Registrar shall review all applications and require and collect any further
information.
(2) If it is unclear whether the application is for an investment in a sector included on the
Reserved List or not, then the Registrar shall clarify the position by seeking the written opinion of
the Secretaries of appropriate Ministries. If such opinion is conflicting, the Registrar shall obtain a
ruling from the Cabinet.
(3) When the investment sector has been determined, the Registrar shall.
(a) issue a foreign investment business license if the investment application
is for a sector or activity not included on the Reserved List; or
(b) advise the applicant that the application has been denied if the proposed foreign
investment is in sector included on the Reserved List.
[P.L. 1990-99, §6.][modified by P.L. 2000-5,
§2(7).] §507. Register.
(1) The Registrar shall maintain a register of foreign investment in the Republic in the form
set out in Schedule 3 to this Act, and such register shall be a public document.
(2) Any foreign investment business license holder shall advise the Registrar of any change
in circumstances that necessitates a change to the data contained in the register.”
[P.L. 1990-99, §7,
modified by P.L. 2000-5, §2(8).] §508. Modification, suspension, or revocation.
(1) A foreign investment business license granted under this Act shall at all times be subject
to modification, suspension, or revocation by the Registrar, in accordance with the Marshall Islands

10 MIRC Ch .5 CHAPTER 5 – FOREIGN INVESTMENT BUSINESS LICENSE ________________________________________________________________________________________________
378 Administrative Procedure Act 1979 (6 MIRC 1), if:
(a) the application of the grantee is found to have contained false or fraudulent
information;
(b) the grantee bribed or otherwise unlawfully influenced any government official
or member of the Cabinet to issue the license other than on the merits of the application;
(c) The grantee presented false or fraudulent information to the Registrar in support
of his applications;
(d) the grantee violates any of the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands;
(e) the grantee engages in business activities which are in violation of any condition
or term imposed in the license: and
(f) the grantee engages in business activities outside of the scope of the license.
(2) An existing foreign investment license cannot be revoked or canceled once the
investment has commenced, if the reason is that the investment activity it was issued for had been
added, subsequently, to the Reserved List.”
[P.L. 1990-99, §8. Paragraphs were renumbered to conform to the
format and style of the Code. Modified by P.L. 2000-5, §2(9).] §508A. Civil Penalty.
In addition to the provisions of section 508 and 511 of this Act, any person who violates a
provision of this Act shall be liable to a monetary penalty in an amount not exceeding ten thousand
dollars ($10,000)
[civil penalty inserted by P.L. 2005-30] §509. Loss of benefit of statute of limitations.
A non-citizen which does business in the Republic in violation of this Chapter shall not be
entitled to the benefit of the laws of the Republic limiting the time for commencement of civil
actions.
[P.L. 1990-99, §9.] §510. Regulations.
The Minister may promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary and appropriate
for the implementation of this Chapter, which rules and regulations shall have the force of law.
[P.L.
1990-99, §10.Modified by P.L. 2000-5, §2(10).] §511. Prohibited acts.
Any non-citizen, as defined in this Chapter, who does business without first obtaining a
business license, or who after obtaining a license does business not authorized by the license or
intentionally fails to comply with the conditions of the license, or who obtains a license by fraud or
misrepresentation, shall be guilty of an offense and shall upon conviction be liable to imprisonment
for not more than six (6) months or a fine not more than five thousand dollars (US $5.000), or both.
[P.L. 1990-99, §12. [Original §11 “Exemptions” repealed by P.L. 2000-5§2(11), this Section re-numbered as §511.] §512. Transitional provisions.
(1) Licenses and permits issued under the Foreign Investors Business Permit Act, 33 TTC,
Chapter 1, and under the Foreign Investment Advisory Board Act 1987, P.L. 1987-21, shall remain
in full force and effect in accordance with their terms, subject to modification, suspension, or
revocation pursuant to the Act under which they were granted.
(2) Criminal liability for violations of the Foreign Investment Advisory Board Act 1987, P.L.

TITLE 10 – PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 10 MIRC Ch.5 ________________________________________________________________________________________________
379 1987-21, shall not be extinguished by the repeal of that Act but shall continue subject to the
limitation of prosecution set forth in Section 108 of the Criminal Code (31 MIRC 1).
[P.L. 1990-99,
§14.][Original §11 “Exemptions” repealed by P.L. 2000-5§2(11), this Section re-numbered as §512.]

10 MIRC Ch .5 CHAPTER 5 – FOREIGN INVESTMENT BUSINESS LICENSE ________________________________________________________________________________________________
380
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