The New UAE Commercial Companies Law: A Comparative View
Type
E-journal
Date
20 Apr 2016
Jurisdiction
United Arab Emirates
Taxonomy
General Company Law & Business Entities
Copyright
LexisNexis
Relevant company
Al Tamimi & Company
Analysis
The new draft Companies Law (“New Law”) as approved by the Federal National Council introduces some incremental reforms to the existing Companies Law (“Existing Law”), but mostly maintains the fundamental framework and features of the old provisions.
Whilst the New Law introduces some new concepts and approaches, most of the essential features of the Existing Law are maintained. Despite media speculation, the New Law applies the same conservative approach in relation to foreign ownership restrictions under the Existing Law, so foreign investors are limited to 49%. Also, the New Law does not allow sell-downs in IPO deals.