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Rony Eid

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Rony has extensive corporate and commercial experience in the Middle East with 14 years in the UAE.
He is experienced in corporate and commercial transactions, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, distribution and commercial agency arrangements, corporate reorganizations, foreign direct investment, regulatory matters and local laws. Rony also advises on market entry and structuring of companies in the UAE including within the free zones.
Having been seconded to the in-house team of one of Dubai's leading pharmaceutical companies, Rony has a practical and commercial approach to advising clients and understanding their needs.

On 30 December 2023, the Dubai Executive Council issued Decision No. 124 of 2023 to regulate the usage of single-use products in the Emirate of Dubai (“Decision”), in support of the previous Dubai Executive Council Decision No. 52 of 2022, issued on 13 August 2022, which mandated the reduction in the utilization of single-use bags in the Emirate of Dubai.

To future-proof its regulatory system, the UAE cabinet has established the Emirates Drug Corporation (EDC) in September 2023. As a new independent regulator, the EDC will replace the Ministry of Health and Prevention for the regulation of pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

Besides medicines and medical devices the EDC will also be responsible for cosmetics, dietary supplements, GMOs, fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural conditioners and plant growth regulators. The EDC will also take over some competences from the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment in relation to these products.

Over the last few months, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have made a few legislative changes in relation to the Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) regulations as well as the associated administrative penalties, with the issuance of:

  1. Cabinet Resolution No. 109 of 2023 on the Regulation of the Real Beneficiary Procedures (the “New Resolution”), which came into effect on 16 November 2023 and superseded Cabinet Resolution No. 58 of 2020. The New Resolution applies to all corporate entities incorporated in the UAE mainland and in the non-financial free zones;
  2. Cabinet Decision No. 132 of 2023 relating to the administrative fines for violations of the New Resolution, which was issued on 15 December 2023 and superseded Cabinet Decision No. 53 of 2021.

The UAE has introduced a number of new welcome legislative changes to mark the UAE’s 50th anniversary, with the aim of solidifying the country’s position as a global trade and commercial hub. Among these changes is the issuance of Federal Law by Decree No. 32 of 2021 on Commercial Companies (“New Law”), which has now come into force last 2 January 2022.

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.

The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) Authority has recently issued new rules and regulations (the New Regulations) to aid the process of incorporation of companies and doing business in the DMCC more generally. The New Regulations have come to effect as of 2 January 2020. With the New Regulations, the…

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…