Newsletter Archives - Page 15 of 243 - LexisNexis Middle East

Saudi Arabia: CMA Approves Regulation on Close-Out Netting and Collateral Arrangements

10/07/202510/07/2025
by Hannah Gutang

Argaam, 3 July 2025: The Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA)’s board has approved new regulations on close-out netting and associated collateral arrangements, in order to streamline netting agreements and financial collateral dealings where a capital market institution is a participant.

The regulation’s primary purpose is to enhance financial system stability and protect investors by ensuring qualified financial contracts involving capital market institutions remain binding in the event of a default by either party. The regulations have been designed to secure all parties’ rights, under a netting agreement’s terms, providing a robust framework for addressing defaults.

It includes procedural guidelines for default situations in netting agreements and other specified scenarios when one involved party is a capital market entity. The framework concentrated on regulating these agreements and collateral arrangements tied to qualified financial contracts under CMA’s jurisdiction, ensuring their enforceability even amidst changes to initial contract conditions.

The regulations included several provisions, defining key terms, outlining financial collateral arrangements, specifying the scope, and identifying the entities affected.

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Qatar: Cabinet Approves New Laws on Areas Including Lawyers

10/07/202510/07/2025
by Hannah Gutang

Qatar Tribune, 3 July 2025: At a recent Cabinet meeting, several draft laws have been approved, including amendments to the Lawyers’ Law (Qatar Law No. 23/2006).

These amendments are designed to modernise the legal profession, ensuring alignment with international standards and improving practice quality, thereby legal practitioners across the nation.

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Oman: IBAN required for Domestic Bank Transfers

10/07/202510/07/2025
by Hannah Gutang

Khaleej Times, 2 July 2025: With effect from 1 July 2025, Oman will require the use of the International Bank Account Number (IBAN) for all domestic financial transactions.

Financial institutions have notified their users of the change and advised them to update their beneficiary details by including the IBAN to prevent payment failures. Beneficiaries in Oman will have to be re-registered using the IBAN to align with the new banking regulations.

The IBAN system is essential for seamless cross-border payment transactions, functions as an international standard for identifying bank accounts worldwide, helping mitigate delays and errors in monetary transfers. The implementation of IBAN for domestic use in Oman aligns with practices in other jurisdictions in Europe, the Middle East, and parts of the Caribbean.

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Kuwait: Systematic Risk Assessments for Money Laundering in Financial Institutions

10/07/202510/07/2025
by Hannah Gutang

Al Rai Media, 7 July 2025: The Kuwaiti regulatory authorities, represented by the Central Bank of Kuwait, the Capital Markets Authority, and the Insurance Regulatory Unit, have developed guidelines for assessing business risks.

Issued as a directive, it requires all supervised financial and banking institutions to systematically evaluate risks related to money laundering, terrorist financing, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction based on their activities, customer base, monitoring services, and geographic exposure.

The guideline is divided into eight key sections, obliging institutions to periodically assess business risks and initiate immediate reviews in response to significant developments. The aim is to empower institutions to make informed decisions regarding risk acceptance and adopt proactive measures to prevent financial crimes.

Affected parties, primarily financial and banking institutions, must regularly follow a systematic risk assessment process. This includes the evaluation of inherent business risks, categorising them into various levels such as high, medium-high, or medium-low, and developing strategies for resource allocation and risk mitigation which are aligned with guidelines from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The guideline suggests effective customer due diligence measures, record retention practices to meet regulatory obligations, and internal risk management controls. Institutions must set policies on client acceptance, conduct risk evaluations, operate compliance frameworks, independently test controls, monitor transactions, and deploy stringent staff training programs.

Key risk categories identified include structural risks arising from ownership and governance complexity, customer risks related to client types and transaction patterns, product and service transaction risks, service delivery channel risks, geographical risks, and technology-related risks.

For the full story, click here.

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Dubai: New First-Time Property Buyer Incentives Unveiled

10/07/202510/07/2025
by Hannah Gutang

Gulf Today, 2 July 2025: Dubai Land Department (DLD) has launched a “First Property Ownership” programme, targeting UAE citizens and residents to facilitate property ownership.

The legal framework of the programme introduces substantial incentives for first-time property buyers. It extends credit facilities up to 18 years and allows the registration fee of 4% with the DLD to be paid in instalments. Real estate developers involved in the scheme are offering significant price reductions, lowering property costs by up to 10% below the market rate for both ready and off-plan properties.

Eligibility criteria are that applicants must be UAE residents aged 18 or older, who do not own any freehold residential property in Dubai, and wish to purchase properties valued at up to Dhs5 million. The programme applies a one-time eligibility and waives rental restrictions for long-term investments.

The programme enforces legal obligations by integrating exemptions and facilitating financial processes within established legal requirements. It prioritises access to new project units, offers preferential rates, and provides interest-free registration fee payment options through credit cards and competitive financing offers with reduced interest and fees.

Applications are subject to review, and eligible participants are added to the beneficiary list, which will be accessible to developers, providing legal assurance and clarity for all those involved.

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Bahrain: Issues Asset Recovery and Confiscation Implementation Guide

10/07/202510/07/2025
by Hannah Gutang

Akhbar Al Khaleej, 8 July 2025: Bahrain Decision No. 47/2025 has been issued, releasing a guidance manual on asset recovery requests and the execution of confiscation orders.

This manual provides comprehensive procedural frameworks for retrieving assets and proceeds from crimes, accommodating both national requests and those from abroad. It includes mechanisms for executing confiscation orders from national courts and foreign judicial bodies, clarifying the roles of the involved institutions and bodies in Bahrain. It ensures conformity with relevant national laws and international conventions, particularly the UN Conventions against Corruption and Transnational Organised Crime, meeting the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The guide aims to standardise legal and procedural mechanisms for asset recovery and confiscation requests, enhance transparency and effective management of confiscated funds, and ensure respect for the rights of bona fide parties while reinforcing judicial cooperation based on bilateral and multilateral agreements.

For the full story, click here.

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UAE: FTA Issues New Excise Tax Framework for Natural Shortages in Designated Zones

03/07/202503/07/2025
by Hannah Gutang

Alvarez and marsal, 26 June 2025: The UAE Federal Tax Authority (FTA) issued Decision No. 6/2025, effective from 1 July 2025, introducing a structured framework for the reporting and management of natural shortages of excise goods within Designated Zones, in line with international tax standards.

FTA has established a detailed framework for managing the natural shortages of excise goods—those occurring due to uncontrollable factors during production, transportation, or storage. The regulation will require businesses to seek pre-approval from the FTA for any natural shortages within a permissible threshold. This threshold must be corroborated by an FTA-approved Independent Competent Entity (ICE), which will conduct assessments of production processes and storage facilities and issue a report that will be valid for up to a year, confirming allowable shortages. When significant changes occur that might affect loss ratios, prompt notification to the ICE will be mandatory.

The new procedural requirements come with rigorous documentation and reporting duties, and businesses will need to maintain comprehensive audit-ready documentation, supported by ICE findings. This includes real-time traceability of excise goods and full compliance with potential FTA inspections. Non-compliance will lead to a risk of excise tax relief being denied and potential penalties.

This decision replaces previous natural shortage procedures, changing the approach from discretion by the FTA to a more systematic approach with obligatory third-party assessments and set deadlines. It will specifically target natural shortages, with other loss types like theft or operational errors remaining under separate guidelines, such as EXTP007.

Businesses affected by these changes should submit pre-approval requests to the FTA, ensure alignment with ICE standards, and update their internal processes accordingly. They should also revisit previous shortage claims to ensure compliance with the newly established criteria.

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Saudi Arabia: Royal Commission Sets Out Regulations on Penalties for Municipal Violations

03/07/202503/07/2025
by Hannah Gutang

The Saudi Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu has stated it intends to implement stringent penalties for a broad range of municipal infractions, outlined in the draft “Regulations of Fines and Penalties for Municipal Violations of the Royal Commission.”

The draft regulation requires violators to be responsible for fixing any damages and restoring associated properties to their original state, but they would be entitled to contest the imposed penalties with the relevant authority within a 60-day period following notification. Any decisions can also be further appealed to the Board of Grievances within the same 60-day timeframe.

Municipal violations are split into five categories: public health, slaughter and stray livestock, sales, building, and traffic violations, and each has specific fine ranges and criteria. Public health violations include fees ranging from SR100 to SR20,000 for offences such as improper waste handling and unsafe food production. Slaughter and stray livestock violations carry fines from SR100 to SR5,000. Sales violations, involving unlicensed operations and failure to adhere to sales protocols, and have penalties up to SR10,000. Building violations, such as unauthorised constructions, face fines up to SR30,000. Finally, traffic violations, such as unauthorised roadworks, would incur penalties from SR200 to SR30,000.

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Kuwait: Executive Regulations for Multinational Entity Tax

03/07/202503/07/2025
by Hannah Gutang

Mubasher, 29 June 2025: The Kuwaiti Ministry of Finance has issued Kuwait Ministerial Decree No. 55/2025 on the implementing of Kuwait Decree-Law No. 157/2024, on the tax of Multinational Entities (MNEs).

This covers the introduction of a Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax (DMTT), and aligns with OECD requirements under the Global Minimum Tax Pillar Two project. The new regulations clarify the provisions of the law, outlining procedures and mechanisms for implementation.

Preliminary estimates suggested the tax could generate annual revenues of approximately 250 million Kuwaiti dinars.

The Ministry plans to conduct several educational workshops to explain the details of the executive regulations, with dates to be announced in due course.

For the full story, click here.

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DIFC: Consultation on Variable Capital Company Regulations

03/07/202503/07/2025
by Hannah Gutang

Gulf Today, 25 June 2025: DIFC has launched a public consultation on the newly proposed Variable Capital Company (VCC) Regulations, designed to provide flexible investment structuring options within the DIFC.

The proposed regulations allow the establishment of VCCs as either standalone companies or umbrella structures with incorporated or segregated cells. This setup will offer adaptability on share capital and asset segregation without needing authorisation from DFSA, unless the entity is engaging in regulated financial activities.

The VCC framework is specifically tailored to facilitate proprietary investment activities, making it particularly suitable for family-owned enterprises, multi-asset holdings, and complex investment portfolios seeking efficient asset management and diverse structuring. Important features include flexible share capital equivalent to net asset value, allowing for efficient issuance and redemption of shares, and asset segregation to facilitate distinct investment strategies and risk profiles.

The adoption of these VCC Regulations is expected to provide legal clarity and structural advantages for potential investors within the DIFC, making it an attractive option for diverse asset management strategies.

Once finalised, the VCC Regulations will empower investors to benefit from economies of scale and centralised management, reinforcing DIFC’s reputation as a leading jurisdiction for financial services.

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