Revamp of the UAE Federal Companies Law: 100% Foreign Ownership and Enhancements to Ease of Doing Business

In what represents a major legislative move, the UAE has taken another step towards attracting foreign direct investments and enhancing the ease of doing business.

The newly issued Decree Law amends 51 articles of the Commercial Companies Law of 2015 (CCL) and introduces three new articles. Our alert memo includes a table summarizing the key changes.

The amendments include the abolition of the rule requiring 51% of the capital of companies established “onshore” in the UAE (i.e., outside of the UAE’s free zones) to be held by UAE nationals. The new amendments also cover other important aspects relating to the management, financing and control of UAE companies, which are aimed at increasing flexibility and improving corporate governance. This is the most substantial change to the UAE companies law regime since 2015.

Please click here to read the full alert memorandum.