Middle East Focus June 2021
- Pandemic: End of Service Benefit (EOSB) planning is key
- UAE opens up to 100% foreign ownership of companies
- Helping overseas companies to succeed in Saudi
- Dubai and Abu Dhabi drop down list of world’s most expensive cities
- Saudi Arabia lifts travel ban for 11 countries
- Dubai sees start-up boom on back of residence initiatives
- UAE signs Double Tax Agreement with Israel
- UAE to implement UBO Regulations from 1 July
- Digitisation is accelerating Saudi’s corporate foreign investment growth
- Dubai Airport: Terminal 1 reopens after over a year
- Investment flows into Asia defy COVID-19, grow by 4%
Pandemic: End of Service Benefit (EOSB) planning is key
The UAE has rightly been praised for its efforts in combatting the local spread of Covid 19. Businesses have benefitted from the country’s pragmatic approach, which has put safety first while also ensuring that the wheels of commerce have continued to turn.
UAE opens up to 100% foreign ownership of companies
As of 1 June, foreigners opening a company in the United Arab Emirates are no longer required to have an Emirati shareholder or agent under significant amendments to the UAE Commercial Companies Law (CCL) that were first announced last November.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi drop down list of world’s most expensive cities
Dubai dropped 19 places, from 23rd most expensive city to 42nd, in Mercer’s 2021 Cost of Living City Ranking, while Abu Dhabi also dropped 17 places from 39th to 56th. The 2021 ranking, which includes 209 cities across five continents, measures the comparative costs of more than 200 goods and services in each location.
Saudi Arabia lifts travel ban for 11 countries
The Saudi Ministry of Health announced that travellers from 11 countries, including the US and UK, who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be permitted travel to Saudi Arabia from 30 May, provided quarantine procedures are followed upon arrival.
Dubai sees start-up boom on back of residence initiatives
Dubai is expected to attract up to 250 more start-ups this year, more than over the last three years, as the Covid pandemic has seen a surge of fledgling companies setting up in the Emirate, according to Mohammed Alblooshi, sector head fintech and innovation at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
UAE signs Double Tax Agreement with Israel
The UAE signed a Double Tax Agreement (DTA) with Israel on 31 May, which is intended to incentivise business development between the countries following their decision to ‘normalise’ relations last year. The treaty must be ratified by both countries and is expected to enter into force on 1 January 2022.
UAE to implement UBO Regulations from 1 July
The UAE Ministry of Economy has authorised licensing authorities across the country and in the non-financial free zones to begin implementing administrative penalties and fines against any companies that fail to submit ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) information. The implementation of penalties for non-compliance will start as of 1 July 2021.
Digitisation is accelerating Saudi’s corporate foreign investment growth
Government services that used to take months to complete now take weeks, although challenges remain for those looking to set-up shop in the Kingdom.
Dubai Airport: Terminal 1 reopens after over a year
Dubai International Airport (DXB) reopened Terminal 1 and Concourse D on 24 June, some 15 months after it was closed on 25 March 2020 as part of the Dubai’s strategy to control the spread of Covid-19. Operations resumed with the arrival of flynas flight XY201 from the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.
Investment flows into Asia defy COVID-19, grow by 4%
Developing Asia was the only region that recorded growth in foreign investment in 2020, accounting for more than half of global inward and outward flows, according to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2021 published on 21 June. Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to developing countries in Asia increased by 4% to USD535 billion in 2020, reflecting resilience amid global FDI contraction.
