Osakeyhtiö, literally a "stock company

Joint stock company

A joint-stock company is a type of corporation or partnership involving two or more individuals that own shares of stock in the company...

", is the Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 equivalent of a 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...

 (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...

 or LLC

Limited liability company

A limited liability company is a flexible form of enterprise that blends elements of partnership and corporate structures. It is a legal form of company that provides limited liability to its owners in the vast majority of United States jurisdictions...

) or Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung

Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung

Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung is a type of legal entityvery common in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and other Central European countries...

 (GmbH). It is abbreviated to Oy oː yː and is used either before or after the company's name, sometimes with the addition of the Finland-Swedish

Finland-Swedish

Finland Swedish is a general term for the closely related cluster of dialects of Swedish spoken in Finland by Swedish-speaking Finns as their mother tongue...

 equivalent Ab (aktiebolag

Aktiebolag

Aktiebolag is the Swedish term for "limited company" or "corporation". When used in company names, it is abbreviated "AB" or "Ab"...

). (In Swedish proper

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...

, the abbreviation is written AB.)

Although some, especially larger, Finnish companies now use English as their corporate language (with Nokia

Nokia

Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...

 being the most notable example), most Finnish companies use only Oy in the company name. If a company uses both Finnish and Swedish, then the order of the Finnish and Swedish abbreviations defines the main language of the company:

Oy Suomi Ab or Suomi Oy Ab would have Finnish

Finnish language

Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...

 as its main language whereas Ab Finland Oy or Finland Ab Oy would have Swedish

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...

.

Other languages used by the company do not influence this order. Corporations with English names or with English as their corporate language usually have "Ltd," "Plc," or nothing after the name.

Julkinen osakeyhtiö

Julkinen osakeyhtiö (pl. Julkiset osakeyhtiöt) means "public stock company" and is abbreviated to Oyj . A julkinen osakeyhtiö can be listed on the Helsingin Pörssi (Helsinki Stock Exchange)

Helsinki Stock Exchange

The Helsinki Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in Helsinki, Finland. Since 3 September 2003 it has been part of OMX, referred to as OMX Helsinki . Since NASDAQ's acquisition of OMX in February 2008, the official name of the Helsinki exchange has been NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.- History :The...

. The term's Finland-Swedish equivalent is Abp (publikt aktiebolag); in Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, "AB (publ)". An Oyj may be called a public limited company

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....

 or public company

Public company

This is not the same as a Government-owned corporation.A public company or publicly traded company is a limited liability company that offers its securities for sale to the general public, typically through a stock exchange, or through market makers operating in over the counter markets...

in English and may use the abbreviation PLC in the company name, for example.