Head-to-head
Mauritius Authorised Company (Mauritius): forms in 5–7 days from USD 1,900; privacy — filed but not public; strongest for Africa & India corridors. Treaty access and a respected regulator for africa-facing structures.
Nevis LLC (St Kitts & Nevis): forms in 1–3 days from USD 1,100; privacy — no public register; strongest for asset protection trusts. Arguably the strongest asset-protection llc statute anywhere.
Cost & speed verdict
On raw formation economics the comparison is USD 1,900 against USD 1,100; renewals track similarly. On speed, Mauritius Authorised Company completes in 5–7 working days versus 1–3 for Nevis LLC — in both cases your certified KYC pack is the real clock.
Banking & acceptance verdict
Counterparty and bank acceptance often decides this contest. Mauritius Authorised Company is the natural pick where the mandate is Africa & India corridors; Nevis LLC wins where the file leans toward asset protection trusts. GoldenKey maintains a live acceptance map across UAE, Singapore and EMI compliance desks for both registries.
Our recommendation
Choose Mauritius Authorised Company when Africa & India corridors describes your plan; choose Nevis LLC when asset protection trusts does. When neither fits cleanly, a UAE free-zone license or an ADGM SPV frequently beats both — we will tell you honestly in a free consultation.