Earlier last week, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), issued a decree introducing a number of fundamental changes to the UAE Commercial Companies Law (CCL Amendment) and to the UAE’s approach towards foreign direct investment (FDI) in general. The CCL Amendment adopted a new general rule of, in principle, allowing foreign investors to fully own certain types of companies in the mainland of the UAE.

The current UAE Commercial Companies Law No. 2 of 2015 (as amended) (CCL) was issued in 2015 and was a long awaited development. The CCL, however, maintained many of the foreign investment restrictions of its predecessor.

In 2018, the Decree Law No. 19 of 2018 regulating Foreign Direct Investment (FDI Law) was issued with an aim to relax the investment restrictions and facilitate the establishment of companies with up to 100% foreign capital in certain strategic sectors. This was a welcome change and a milestone in the development of the UAE foreign investment rules.

In brief On 25 May 2020, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, has announced the gradual reopening of business activities in Dubai and removal of all movement restrictions between 6:00 am and 11:00 pm, as of…

In September 2018, the UAE issued the Foreign Direct Investment Law (FDI Law) to open up the UAE mainland market to foreign investors in certain sectors of the economy. This was followed by the announcement on July 2019 of the relaxation of foreign ownership restrictions for 122 business activities, specifically in the…

As the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread across the globe, businesses are facing weakened financial markets, disruption to workplace operations, and economic uncertainty. We have seen unprecedented measures taken by the UAE to prevent the spread of the disease including mandatory work from home instructions and business shut…

DOWNLOAD PUBLICATION For over three decades, Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla has helped businesses optimize opportunities and mitigate risks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and wider Middle East. The 2019 edition of the Doing Business in the UAE is your simple but comprehensive guide to understanding the current investment…

On 2 July 2019 the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Cabinet announced the relaxation of foreign ownership restrictions for 122 business activities specifically in the manufacturing, agricultural and services categories. This follows the issuance of the new Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Law in September 2018 to open up the UAE mainland…