Over the past decade, Saudi Arabia has taken steps to stimulate the country’s economy through privatization. The government’s vision is embodied in the form of “Vision 2030”, which conceptualizes an economically and financially sustainable kingdom with transparent, business-friendly regulations and less reliance on the public sector. Saudi Arabia passed the Privatization Law earlier this year, […]

The Manpower Committee of the House of Representatives has finished discussing the Labor bill. The new Labor bill submitted by the government to the House of Representatives contains several new provisions that grant additional protections to workers. First, the proposed Labor Law stipulates three conditions for accepting the resignation of an employee in the private […]

Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the emir of Dubai, has released a new Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Law in a move that will affect dispute resolution mechanisms in the financial free zone. The new law’s antecedent, the 2004 DIFC Law, heralded the DIFC’s creation. One aspect of the law that has not changed […]

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the vice president of the United Arab Emirates and the prime minister of Dubai, issued a law establishing the Dubai Digital Authority. He declared that the new authority has the function of digitizing life in Dubai and not just digitizing Dubai government services. The law provided that the authority […]

Even as Saudi Arabia’s neighbor, the UAE is liberalizing its investment regime to attract more foreign direct investment, the Kingdom is determined to protect its local businesses from the encroachment of foreign companies. In August 2020, KSA issued the new Anti-Concealment Law, which increased the penalties on foreigners practicing unauthorized economic activities limited to Saudi […]

UAE’s new Commercial Companies Law entered into force on June 1st. The Companies Law lifts many of the ownership restrictions that previously applied to foreign investors in onshore companies. Before the issuance of the new Companies Law provisions, foreigners were completely prohibited from investing in certain critical sectors. The new law is an amended version […]