Aktiebolag
Encyclopedia
Aktiebolag is the Swedish
term for "limited company
" or "corporation
". When used in company names, it is abbreviated "AB" or "Ab" (roughly equivalent to the abbreviations Ltd
and PLC
). The governmental authority responsible for registration of limited companies in Sweden is called Bolagsverket (the Swedish Companies Registration Office).
In Sweden, the abbreviation is written in capital letters ("AB"), but in Finland it is written with a capital "A" and a small "b" ("Ab"). Some old companies still use an old way of writing the abbreviation, which is "A/B".
All aktiebolag are divided into two categories: private limited companies and public limited companies.
A public limited company (publikt aktiebolag) is legally denoted as "AB (publ.)" in Sweden or "Abp" in Finland. A Swedish public limited company must have a minimum share capital of 500,000 Swedish kronor and its shares can be offered to the general public on the stock market
. The suffix
"(publ.)" is sometimes omitted in texts of an informal nature, but according to the Swedish Companies Registration Office, "the name of a public limited company must be mentioned with the term (publ.) after the business name in the articles of association and elsewhere", unless it is clearly understood from the company’s business name that the company is a public limited company.
For a private limited company in Sweden (privat aktiebolag), the minimum share capital is 50,000 Swedish kronor. The company name of a private limited company may not contain the word 'publikt' (public) and the name of a public limited company may not contain the word 'privat' (private).
The main Swedish statutes regulating limited companies are The Companies Act (Aktiebolagslagen (ABL) 2005:551) and The Limited Companies Ordinance (Aktiebolagsförordningen 2005:559). The law provisions in ABL stipulate that parent companies and subsidiaries are separate legal persons and legal entities.
For more extensive information on rules of aktiebolag in Finland, see the article on osakeyhtiö
(which is the corresponding term in the Finnish language).
The abbreviation AB is seen in company names such as IFS AB, Lavasoft AB, MySQL AB
, Scania AB
and Saab
(Svenska Aeroplan AB).
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
term for "limited company
Limited company
A limited company is a company in which the liability of the members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. And the former of these, a limited company limited by shares, may be...
" or "corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
". When used in company names, it is abbreviated "AB" or "Ab" (roughly equivalent to the abbreviations Ltd
Private company limited by shares
A private company limited by shares, usually called a private limited company , is a type of company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, Scotland, that of certain Commonwealth countries and the Republic of Ireland...
and PLC
Public limited company
A public limited company is a limited liability company that sells shares to the public in United Kingdom company law, in the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth jurisdictions....
). The governmental authority responsible for registration of limited companies in Sweden is called Bolagsverket (the Swedish Companies Registration Office).
In Sweden, the abbreviation is written in capital letters ("AB"), but in Finland it is written with a capital "A" and a small "b" ("Ab"). Some old companies still use an old way of writing the abbreviation, which is "A/B".
All aktiebolag are divided into two categories: private limited companies and public limited companies.
A public limited company (publikt aktiebolag) is legally denoted as "AB (publ.)" in Sweden or "Abp" in Finland. A Swedish public limited company must have a minimum share capital of 500,000 Swedish kronor and its shares can be offered to the general public on the stock market
Stock market
A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...
. The suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
"(publ.)" is sometimes omitted in texts of an informal nature, but according to the Swedish Companies Registration Office, "the name of a public limited company must be mentioned with the term (publ.) after the business name in the articles of association and elsewhere", unless it is clearly understood from the company’s business name that the company is a public limited company.
For a private limited company in Sweden (privat aktiebolag), the minimum share capital is 50,000 Swedish kronor. The company name of a private limited company may not contain the word 'publikt' (public) and the name of a public limited company may not contain the word 'privat' (private).
The main Swedish statutes regulating limited companies are The Companies Act (Aktiebolagslagen (ABL) 2005:551) and The Limited Companies Ordinance (Aktiebolagsförordningen 2005:559). The law provisions in ABL stipulate that parent companies and subsidiaries are separate legal persons and legal entities.
For more extensive information on rules of aktiebolag in Finland, see the article on osakeyhtiö
Osakeyhtiö
Osakeyhtiö, literally a "stock company", is the Finnish equivalent of a limited company or Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung . It is abbreviated to Oy and is used either before or after the company's name, sometimes with the addition of the Finland-Swedish equivalent Ab...
(which is the corresponding term in the Finnish language).
The abbreviation AB is seen in company names such as IFS AB, Lavasoft AB, MySQL AB
MySQL AB
MySQL AB was a software company. MySQL AB is the creator of MySQL, a relational database management system, as well as related products such as MySQL Cluster...
, Scania AB
Scania AB
Scania Aktiebolag , commonly referred to as Scania AB or just Scania, is a major Swedish automotive industry manufacturer of commercial vehicles - specifically heavy trucks and buses...
and Saab
Saab
Saab AB is a Swedish aerospace and defence company, founded in 1937. From 1947 to 1990 it was the parent company of automobile manufacturer Saab Automobile, and between 1968 and 1995 the company was in a merger with commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania, known as Saab-Scania.-History:"Svenska...
(Svenska Aeroplan AB).