A glossary of Surinamese business terms

Official documents are in Dutch, meetings are often in English, and some terms are Surinamese. These are the ones that come up most.

Companies and registration

KKF (Kamer van Koophandel en Fabrieken). The Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Registers every company and branch.
Handelsregister. The commercial register kept by the KKF. An extract (uittreksel) from it is the standard proof that a company exists and who runs it.
KvK-nummer. Your registration number in the Handelsregister.
NV (Naamloze Vennootschap). A limited liability company, the usual form for a foreign investor's Surinamese entity.
Filiaal. A branch office of a foreign company.
Statuten. Articles of association, drafted in Dutch by a notary.
Notaris. A civil-law notary, required for incorporation and most corporate documents.
Handelsvergunning. The business licence for regulated activities, issued by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

SRD. The Surinamese dollar.
Belastingdienst. The tax authority.
Fiscaal identificatienummer (FIN). Your tax number, needed on invoices.
Valutacommissie. The Foreign Exchange Commission, which approves certain foreign-currency transactions and structures.
BTW. Value added tax, introduced in 2023.
Loonbelasting. Wage tax withheld from salaries.

Staatsolie. The national oil company and regulator of the offshore sector.
PSC (production sharing contract). The contract under which an international oil company explores and produces in a Surinamese block.
Block 58, Block 52. The offshore blocks operated by TotalEnergies and Petronas respectively.
GranMorgu. The first offshore development, in Block 58, with first oil planned for 2028.
FPSO. Floating production, storage and offloading vessel; how GranMorgu will produce.
Local content. The hiring, training and purchasing a company commits to in Suriname. A local content plan is what operators ask a supplier for.
SEOGS. The Suriname Energy, Oil and Gas Summit, held in Paramaribo each June.
Supplier Registration Portal (SRP). Staatsolie's sector-wide directory of suppliers.

MAS. The Maritime Authority Suriname.
NIMOS. The National Institute for Environment and Development, the environmental authority.
EZOTI. The Ministry of Economic Affairs, Entrepreneurship and Technological Innovation.
SITA. The Suriname Investment and Trade Agency.
VSB. The Suriname Trade and Industry Association, the main business association.
Districtscommissaris. The district commissioner, the local government head for each district.

Sranan Tongo. The most widely spoken language, alongside official Dutch and business English.
Paramaribo. The capital and the commercial centre, home to about two-thirds of the population.

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