The Middle East Legal Framework

The development of sectors such as transport and energy is dependent on the use of modern technology, which is found mainly in the private sector. This is also dependent on the availability of guaranteed and continuous financing, which the public sector alone cannot sustain.

Following numerous global and regional socio-economic and political developments, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been going through a policy and legislative overhaul. Indeed, the past few months have seen the issuance of new legislation and amendments to Saudi Arabian regulations, including, most notably, the Companies Regulations and...

Operated and supported by modern administrative and regulatory regimes, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) also benefits from an English-language court modelled on the High Court in London, as well as a modern arbitration framework. For the first few years of its existence, the DIFC Courts’ jurisdiction was limited to disputes...

The past year was productive, as we witnessed the further development of the Kuwait capital markets. The promulgation of Resolution 72 of 2015 relating to the issuance of the Executive Bylaws of Law No. 7 of 2010, and of its amendments establishing the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and regulating securities activities in Kuwait (Executive...

The Qatari economy, together with all of the other GCC countries, has been affected by the recent economic changes, most notably the fall in oil prices coupled with volatility in the stock markets after China devalued its currency. Due to its vast natural gas reserves and emphasis on liquefied natural gas exports, Qatar is one of the best...

Financial institutions and other market participants use a number of mechanisms in their daily operations designed to reduce risk exposure, such as providing each other with security or collateral. In addition, participants may agree to include provision for close-out netting in the contracts they enter with each other.