Newsletter Archives - Page 21 of 209 - LexisNexis Middle East

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Oman: Tightens Labour Market Regulations to Prioritise Omanisation

25/07/202425/07/2024
by Hannah Gutang

Al-Roya, 24 July 2024: Oman has unveiled a comprehensive set of stringent labor market regulations aimed at boosting Omanisation in the private sector.

The Labour Ministry has issued a statement outlining several measures to be implemented.

Firstly, all government entities and state-owned companies will be prohibited from contracting with private sector establishments that fail to comply with the prescribed Omanisation percentages.

Additionally, private sector establishments must obtain an electronic certificate from the Ministry of Labour, confirming their compliance to labour standards and Omanisation requirements.

Furthermore, the Ministry has added more than 30 new professions to the list of jobs restricted for non-Omanis.

All private sector establishments will be mandated to employ at least one Omani citizen in suitable professions and jobs, subject to forthcoming guidelines from the Ministry.

A financial package has also been approved to support the Ministry’s initiatives aimed at increasing Omanisation rates.

The Labour Ministry will review work permit fees, with incentives for compliant establishments and doubled fees for non-compliant ones.

Moreover, intensified inspection campaigns will be conducted to ensure private sector compliance with labour market regulations.

The Ministry will provide further details on these decisions before their implementation in September 2024 and has urged all stakeholders to cooperate in the national interest.

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Kuwait: New Measures to Protect Women’s Rights and Family Welfare Announced

25/07/202425/07/2024
by Hannah Gutang

Arab Times, 24 July 2024: The Acting Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs has announced that the Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Ministry, through its Iftaa Department, has legally approved a significant new proposal.

The proposal, which requires a woman’s consent through fingerprinting before completing her marriage contract, has been endorsed and is now awaiting implementation by the Justice Ministry.

The Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Ministry has confirmed the approval, and details on the mechanism for its enactment will be released by the Ministry.

The Acting Secretary-General has highlighted that this measure is in response to international demands from organisations on women’s affairs.

She has explained that the council is also working on a gender balance guide aimed at increasing women’s representation in leadership roles and decision-making positions.

Additionally, a family protection guide is being developed to detail the health, psychological, social, housing, and legal services available to victims of violence, ensuring these resources are easily accessible.

The council has formed a national team to improve the country’s international rankings on women’s indicators.

This includes training courses with relevant authorities and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) to prepare a national strategy on women, security, and peace.

Coordination with the Foreign Affairs Ministry is ongoing to update the family strategy, develop a specific women’s strategy, and unify data on domestic violence.

The council is also reviewing existing laws and legislation related to women, children, and families, with a view to proposing necessary amendments.

In addition to these initiatives, the Acting Secretary-General has announced plans to raise awareness about the impact of violence through seminars and discussion groups in collaboration with relevant authorities.

A volunteer team, tentatively named “Friends of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs,” is being proposed to improve community volunteer efforts.

The council is preparing a calendar of international women’s days to boost activities during these periods and is establishing a mechanism to develop women’s skills, particularly in cooperative and municipal work.

A hotline for reporting domestic violence and a separate line for family consultations have been set up.

A policy guide for the Centre for the Protection of Abused Women is also in progress to ensure the confidential and systematic handling of cases.

Two protection centres have already been opened in different governorates, with plans for a third centre underway.

The Acting Secretary-General reaffirmed the council’s commitment to its mandates under Kuwait Decree No. 401/2006 and the 2019 organisational structure.

The council is dedicated to upholding local laws and international conventions that protect family integrity, focusing on strengthening family ties, preserving unity, and improving social security and stability.

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Bahrain: Embraces ‘Open Banking’ Service Requirements

25/07/202425/07/2024
by Hannah Gutang

The Daily Tribune, 19 July 2024: Starting 1 September 2024, all licensed financial and banking institutions must comply to “open banking” regulations, as announced by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).

These regulations include obtaining customer consent and authentication, licensee disclosures, and reporting on the performance of application programming interfaces (APIs) by service providers.

A recent circular issued by Governor of the CBB, has outlined these requirements, obligating banks to provide information to payment service providers regarding legal entities after securing their consent.

The circular has also introduced amendments to extend open banking services to legal entities such as institutions and companies.

The amendments affect the General Requirements Module in the CBB’s Guidebook, Volumes 1 and 2, as well as the Open Banking Module in Volume 5, incorporating legal entities within the scope of open banking services.

Customer account data requirements The circular specified that information and payment service providers must detail customer account data requirements for any use cases related to account information.

It has also introduced changes to the Reporting Requirements Module and the Public Disclosure Requirements Module within Volumes 1 and 2, concerning the disclosure of API performance by account service providers.

Guidance on business models for information and payment service providers will be included in the open banking module of the CBB’s Guidebook, Volume 5.

‘Integrated cash flow’ The circular also stipulated that Licensed banks must collaborate with Benefit Company to implement the “integrated cash flow” model for obtaining initial customer consent and authentication during the onboarding process.

Information and payment service providers are to agree with banks on standard API specifications and service standards, aligned with security guidelines under Bahrain’s Open Banking framework.

These amendments follow consultations initiated by the CBB in March and October 2023, with an action plan from all licensed financial and banking institutions due by 30 June 2023.

Open banking is anticipated to stimulate Bahraini financial technology companies to develop new financial products and services, such as budgeting applications, personal loan offers, and investment platforms, leveraging open banking data.

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Ajman: Eimir Decree on Statistics Centre Issued

25/07/202425/07/2024
by Hannah Gutang

Al-Watan, 23 July 2024: The Ruler of Ajman has issued a decree amending the previous decree regarding the Ajman Statistics Centre.

The new decree, Ajman Emiri Decree No. 7/2024, replaces the title “Executive Director” with “General Director” in the previous Ajman Emiri Decree No. 8/2022 and any other relevant legislation.

Furthermore, Article 6 of Ajman Emiri Decree No. 8/2022 has been replaced with the following: “The centre will have a general director appointed by a decree issued by the ruler, and a sufficient number of technical and administrative employees, all of whose job affairs will be managed and organised in accordance with applicable human resources legislation in the emirate’s government.”

The decree also abolishes any conflicting provisions in other legislation and will be effective from the date of its issuance and published in the Official Gazette.

Additionally, the Ruler has issued Ajman Emiri Resolution No. 10/2024, appointing the General Director of the Ajman Statistics Centre.

This resolution will also be effective from the date of its issuance and published in the Official Gazette.

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Abu Dhabi: Service for Land Exchange Launched

25/07/202425/07/2024
by Hannah Gutang

The Abu Dhabi Housing Authority has launched the residential land exchange service among citizens, in response to their desires to achieve social cohesion.

The service allows them to exchange the residential land previously granted to them with another land with other citizens or from the residential lands available to the Authority.

Eligible citizens can benefit from this service under specific regulations and conditions.

The land to be replaced must be residential, undivided, free of construction work except for fencing, and have no construction obstacles apart from the lack of infrastructure services.

The Director General has stated that the residential land exchange service launch is part of the Authority’s efforts to develop its residential services portfolio, aiming to meet citizens’ housing needs.

For the full story, click here.

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QICDRC Special Edition Newsletter: SIFOCC 5th Full Meeting

24/07/202425/10/2024
by Tanya Jain

Welcome to the QICDRC Special Edition Newsletter, dedicated to the Fifth Full Meeting of the Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts (SIFoCC). This edition highlights significant speeches and reflections from esteemed legal professionals, providing insights into the evolving landscape of international judicial dialogue.

In this Edition:

KEYNOTE SPEECH

The Spirit of the Judicial Task and the Importance of International Judicial Dialogue By The Honourable James Allsop AC, Former Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia.

REFLECTIONS ON THE FIFTH FULL MEETING

By Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, Chairman of SIFoCC’s Steering Group and President, Qatar International Court (QIC)

REFLECTIONS ON THE FIFTH FULL MEETING

By Justice Dr. Muna Al-Marzouqi, Judge, QICDRC, and Associate Vice President for Academic Planning & Quality Assurance at Qatar University

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SIFoCC_2024_FifthFullMeeting_Supplement_ePDF

UAE: New Law to Promote Fair Competition and Monopolistic Practices

18/07/202418/07/2024
by Hannah Gutang

Khaleej Times, 11 July 2024: The UAE has introduced a new law prohibiting companies from offering or applying very low prices for production, transfer and marketing with a monopolistic approach to drive other companies out of competition.

The new law defines competition as the act of conducting economic activities based on market mechanisms, but not such mechanisms that harmed trade, development and consumer interests.

It is aimed at ensuring fair competition and prohibiting monopolistic approaches for all companies, as well as protecting consumers’ rights in the country and also regulates mergers and acquisitions in the local market.

The ministry has monitored and communicated with local authorities for inspections to ensure fair competitive practices in the country and the authority could also act in case of receiving a complaint.

This was announced during a media briefing while revealing details of Federal Decree-Law No. 36/2023 on competition regulation, which promoted and protected competition, combated monopolistic practices, and countered harmful economic concentration of consumers in the UAE.

The fines and penalties for the companies are under review and will be released once the Cabinet approves them.

The new law aims to combat monopolistic practices by ensuring a stimulating environment for enterprises, contributing to improving effectiveness, competitiveness and protecting consumer interests.

This new law also aims to promote the market economy and economic activities in line with the principle of economic freedom, and ensure that economic concentration is monitored.

Its provisions speak to all conditions that may undermine, limit, prevent or restrict competition.

Ensuring consumer protection from anti-competitive practices in the context of operationalisation of new market mechanisms, as well as the promotion of economic efficiency, marketing and research and development, are also key goals.

The new law clarifies that economic concentration refers to the dominance of a small number of firms within a particular industry.

It defines economic concentration as any act resulting in the complete or partial transfer (merger or acquisition) of ownership, usufruct rights, property rights, equity, shares or obligations from one establishment to another.

This empowers the acquiring establishment or group of establishments to directly or indirectly control the acquired establishment or group of establishments.

The law takes into consideration the annual sales value of the enterprises concerned and not only the total share of such enterprises involved in the economic concentration process.

Two conditions must be satisfied to successfully complete the process of economic concentration.

The first condition indicates that the total value of annual sales of such establishments in the relevant market, for the last fiscal year, must exceed the amount determined by the Cabinet, upon the minister’s proposal.

The second condition states that the total share of such establishments must exceed the percentage of the total transactions in the relevant market during the last fiscal year, as determined by the Cabinet.

Federal Decree-Law No. 36/2023 establishes the regulations for submitting the application for economic concentration, the documents to be attached, and its examination mechanisms.

The ministry has stated that companies can submit their views on the Application for Economic Concentration project and also provide any data or information that would help study the request, in line with global best practices in the field of competition.

The ministry has also elaborated that efforts are currently underway to develop a more agile and sustainable competitive system, including the launch of more pioneering legislation, initiatives, and programmes to make the UAE a global hub for the new economy within the next decade.

The law assigns new responsibilities to the Competition Regulation Committee as well, such as proposing the general policy for protecting competition and scrutinising issues related to the application of the provisions of this law and making recommendations.

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Sharjah: Decree Reorganising Business Women Council Issued

18/07/202425/07/2024
by Hannah Gutang

Albayan, 12 July 2024: The Ruler of Sharjah has issued a decree regarding the reorganisation of the Sharjah Businesswomen Council.

According to the decree, the Council has a legal personality and full capacity to carry out the necessary legal actions to achieve its goals and exercise its powers.

It has financial, administrative and technical independence, and it is considered one of the institutions affiliated with the President.

The decree states that the name of the Council will be adopted in English as “Sharjah Business Women Council” and known for short as “SBWC”.

The Council’s headquarters and main office will be in the city of Sharjah, and it is permissible, by a decision of the President, to establish branches and offices in the rest of the cities and regions of the emirate.

The decree states that the Council aims to strengthen the position of the Sharjah Business Women Council locally and globally.

It will do this by providing a sustainable and enabling environment for businesswomen and entrepreneurs, changing the trends and general culture of women towards different business sectors, encouraging the principle of competitiveness among businesswomen, and working to encourage women to practice economic work and overcome the difficulties they face.

According to the decree, in order to achieve its objectives, the Council shall draw up public policy and develop strategic plans.

It will strengthen strategic partnerships with women decision-makers and institutions that have similar goals, both locally and globally.

The Council will also coordinate with relevant government agencies and encourage investment activities. Additionally, it will work to enhance women’s skills and capabilities in the field of entrepreneurship.

The Council is also tasked with proposing plans and designing programmes to support women’s status and participation in various economic sectors.

It will establish investment portfolios with financial institutions.

The Council will provide business development opportunities through consultations, trade missions, conferences and exhibitions.

It can conclude contracts, agreements, memorandums of understanding and partnerships after approval by the President.

The Council will grant facilities and benefits to its female members in cooperation and coordination with government agencies and competent authorities.

It will also carry out any other tasks assigned by the President.

For the full story, click here.

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Saudi Arabia: Central Bank Launches Government Banking Services Platform

18/07/202418/07/2024
by Hannah Gutang

Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, 14 July 2024: The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has launched the government banking services platform (Naqd), which allows government agencies to easily access their accounts with the Central Bank and carry out financial operations on a secure digital platform.

According to SAMA, this step comes within the framework of the Central Bank’s strategy to provide banking services to government agencies and support digital development.

It will contribute to the digitisation of government agencies’ financial operations services offered for their accounts with the Saudi Central Bank, under a unified and secure digital platform.

It will also facilitate round-the-clock access to their account information and account management, in addition to immediate follow-up of the operations carried out to and from government agencies’ accounts.

The platform aims to provide electronic banking services that support government financial transactions.

It is designed to improve the user experience, improve efficiency and productivity in financial transactions by using the latest technology, and contribute to reducing the time required for implementing government banking procedures.

For the full story, click here.

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Qatar: New Regulations for Buying Shares Issued

18/07/202418/07/2024
by Hannah Gutang

Mubasher, 14 July 2024: The Qatar Financial Markets Authority has issued new regulations for the company’s purchase of its shares for the purpose of selling.

These new regulations come within the framework of the Authority’s efforts to develop the Qatari capital market and improve investor confidence, while the Authority affirms its commitment to protecting investors’ rights and ensuring a fair and transparent investment environment.

The provisions of the new regulations specified by the Authority include notifying the Authority and the Market of the Board of Directors’ decision to purchase a percentage of the company’s shares immediately upon its issuance.

The application shall be submitted to the Authority on the approved form within two days from the date of issuance of the Board of Directors’ decision approving the purchase process.

The application is for either purchasing a percentage not exceeding 10% of the fully paid issued shares or purchasing a percentage exceeding the ownership ceiling specified in the company’s articles of association.

The required documents from the Authority must be attached to complete the procedure.

The regulations also include, among other things, that the Authority shall issue its decision on the application within fifteen days from the date of submitting the application that fulfils the conditions and requirements.

The lapse of this period without issuance of a decision by the Authority shall be considered an implicit rejection of the application.

The company shall notify the market of the authority’s approval immediately upon its issuance, provided that the market announces the approval according to its procedures.

For the full story, click here.

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