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Good morning from the GLE Editorial desk. This fortnight the Gulf competed openly for the same capital. Saudi Arabia set out how non-resident foreign companies may own property in the Kingdom, the UAE’s new companies framework started its one-year regularisation clock, Qatar moved on labour reform, Jordan reworked its investment and residency routes, and Tunisia put a new data protection bill on the table. For counsel advising inbound investors, the practical question is no longer whether a jurisdiction is open, but which one closes fastest.
Joel Gordon, Editorial · Global Law Experts
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Quick digest
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Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment has set requirements under the Investor Guide 2026 for non-resident foreign companies to own property in the Kingdom without conducting economic activity there.
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Every entity in scope of the UAE’s Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2025 must regularise by 1 January 2027, subject to extension by the Securities and Commodities Authority board.
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Jordan’s July 2026 Cabinet decision raises the listed-share residency route to JOD 1.5 million and opens full domestic incentives to foreign-registered companies with 50 per cent Jordanian equity or documented operational control.
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Jurisdictions covered
Saudi Arabia · United Arab Emirates · Qatar · Jordan · Lebanon · Tunisia · Morocco · Egypt
Lawyers featured in this edition
Faisal A. Linjawy · Dr. Mohammed Haitham A. Salman · Abdullah Bin Hamad AlAthbah · Ashraf El Motei · Cherel Pienaar
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What mattered this fortnight
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SAUDI ARABIA · FOREIGN INVESTMENT & PROPERTY |
The Ministry of Investment has unveiled requirements under the Investor Guide 2026 for non-resident foreign companies seeking to own property in the Kingdom without engaging in economic activity. Applicants must submit a commercial registration certificate issued in their home country.
Why it matters for counsel: This sits inside a broader liberalisation. The new Companies Law rationalises the available company types, modernises directors’ duties and liabilities, and widens the grounds on which foreign investors may participate, including 100 per cent non-Saudi ownership across a growing list of sectors, subject to sectoral licensing and Ministry of Investment rules. Saudi Arabia has separately opened the Tadawul main market more widely to foreign investors. The line being drawn is between holding property as a passive asset and conducting economic activity, and it determines whether a foreign parent needs a licensed Saudi entity at all.
Read the full analysis →
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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES · CORPORATE |
Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2025 introduces multiple share classes for limited liability companies, statutory drag-along and tag-along rights, a private placement pathway for private joint stock companies, and a corporate re-domiciliation framework. Entities in scope must regularise within one year of 1 January 2026.
Why it matters for counsel: Each element removes a workaround investors previously engineered around. Multiple share classes for an LLC mean preference economics no longer force a conversion or an offshore holding layer. Statutory drag and tag mean minority protection and exit dragging no longer rest solely on shareholder agreements of uncertain enforceability. Re-domiciliation means an existing foreign company can migrate rather than restructure. The deadline is the operative fact: existing structures need reviewing now, and the SCA board’s power to extend is discretionary, not assumed.
Read the full analysis →
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QATAR · EMPLOYMENT & INVESTMENT |
Qatar has moved to overhaul its labour laws as part of wider economic reforms aimed at attracting foreign investment, in direct competition with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, both of which have run their own liberalisation programmes through 2025 and 2026.
Why it matters for counsel: The competitive context is the story. Saudi Arabia has widened full foreign ownership and opened property to non-resident foreign companies; the UAE has introduced share classes, statutory drag and tag and re-domiciliation with a hard regularisation deadline. Qatar’s labour reform is its entry in the same contest for regional headquarters, capital and skilled staff. For employers running Gulf operations, the comparison that matters is mobility, sponsorship and end-of-service terms across all three, not any single jurisdiction in isolation.
Read the full analysis →
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JORDAN · INVESTMENT & RESIDENCY |
A July 2026 Cabinet decision raises the listed-share residency route to JOD 1.5 million, widens residence through property, and opens a separate route for investment in Amra City. A 2026 draft regulation would limit supplemental information requests to a single round and let sector-regulator review run in parallel with JEIC review.
Why it matters for counsel: The structural shift is that companies registered outside Jordan can now secure full domestic investment incentives, fast-tracked licensing and preferred regulatory treatment, provided Jordanian nationals hold at least 50 per cent equity or maintain documented operational control. That is a different proposition from requiring local incorporation, and it changes how a regional group should structure its Jordanian exposure. The single-round and parallel-processing reforms address the complaint investors actually make, which is elapsed time rather than headline rates.
Read the full analysis →
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TUNISIA · DATA PROTECTION |
Tunisia has introduced a 123-article data protection bill to replace its existing framework, which dates from 2004 and predates the modern architecture of consent, lawful bases, cross-border transfer conditions and supervisory enforcement.
Why it matters for counsel: North African data protection is converging on the European model at different speeds, and Tunisia has been the outlier among its neighbours. Egypt’s Executive Regulations to Law 151 of 2020 are moving toward full enforcement, with its Personal Data Protection Centre publishing guidance on consent, lawful bases and privacy notices, while Morocco advances its AI governance work. For groups running North African operations from a single compliance programme, the assumption that one framework covers the region is becoming untenable.
Read the full analysis →
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SAUDI ARABIA · CAPITAL MARKETS
Saudi Arabia Widens Tadawul Main Market Access for Foreign Investors
The Kingdom has opened its main market more widely to foreign investors, extending the same direction of travel seen in its corporate and property reforms toward broader foreign participation.
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UAE · CLIMATE & REPORTING
UAE Greenhouse Gas Reporting Obligations Now Bind Every Entity
Federal Decree-Law No. 11 of 2024 requires greenhouse gas measurement and reporting across entities, with full compliance due 30 May 2026 and penalties from AED 50,000 to AED 2 million, doubling on repeat breach.
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LEBANON · BANKING
Lebanon’s Financial Gap Law Sets the Terms for Depositor Recovery
Approved on 27 December 2025, the law regulates a gap of roughly USD 80 to 83 billion between recorded deposits and available bank assets, and sets out how depositors may recover part of their funds. Implementation is the live question.
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JORDAN · INVESTMENT PROCESS
Jordan Moves to Single-Round Information Requests and Parallel Review
The 2026 draft regulation would limit supplemental information requests to one round and introduce parallel processing, so sector-regulator review can run at the same time as Jordan Investment Commission review rather than after it.
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EGYPT · DATA PROTECTION
Egypt’s Data Protection Centre Publishes Guidance as Enforcement Approaches
The Personal Data Protection Centre has issued guidance covering data subject consent, lawful bases of processing and privacy notices, as the grace period under the Executive Regulations to Law 151 of 2020 closes.
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MOROCCO · TECHNOLOGY
Morocco Advances Its Artificial Intelligence Governance Work
Morocco continues to develop its AI governance framework, positioning itself alongside regional peers building rules for automated decision-making ahead of binding obligations.
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Member spotlight
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Faisal A. Linjawy
Law Firm of Hassan Mahassni · Saudi Arabia · Corporate
On Partner leading the corporate team at one of the oldest established law firms in Saudi Arabia, named a Leading Individual for corporate law in the Kingdom by Legal 500. Advises foreign multinationals on joint ventures, restructuring, IPOs and the incorporation of foreign entities operating in Saudi Arabia., on a GLE Q&A.
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Dr. Mohammed Haitham A. Salman
Middle East Alliance Legal Consultancy · United Arab Emirates · Corporate
On Managing Partner with over fifteen years in business law, previously legal advisor at the Abu Dhabi Economic Development Department and Chair of the Law Program at Abu Dhabi University. Holds a PhD in International Business Law from the University of Portsmouth and is a Fellow of the International Bar Association., on a GLE Q&A.
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Abdullah Bin Hamad AlAthbah
Abdullah AlAthbah & Associates · Qatar · Corporate and Arbitration
On Managing Partner advising on corporate governance, shareholder and joint venture disputes, banking and investor protection. Secured an acquittal for a non-Qatari investor at the Court of Cassation, and defended a claim of QR 16 million before the Investment and Trade Court., on a GLE Q&A.
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Ashraf El Motei
Motei & Associates · United Arab Emirates · Dispute Resolution
On Founder and Managing Partner with over 35 years of legal licensure, who began his career as a Public Prosecutor in Cairo in 1990. Represented a party in a Dubai Court of Appeal decision annulling a DIAC arbitral award for an arbitrator’s breach of due process., on a GLE Q&A.
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Cherel Pienaar
Knightsbridge Group · United Arab Emirates · Corporate Services and Property
On Advises entrepreneurs, multinationals and family offices on establishing and managing entities across ADGM, DIFC and the UAE free zones, and structures real estate investments through corporate vehicles and holding companies across Dubai and Abu Dhabi., on a GLE Q&A.
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What we’re tracking next
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The UAE regularisation deadline falls on 1 January 2027, with any extension resting on a discretionary decision of the Securities and Commodities Authority board. |
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Egypt’s Executive Regulations to Law 151 of 2020 reach full enforcement, closing the grace period for controllers and processors. |
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Jordan’s 2026 draft investment regulation, with its single-round information requests and parallel review, moves toward adoption. |
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Open calls for commentary
Two questions for the next Middle East edition. First, on the UAE regularisation deadline: what are you actually finding when you review existing LLC structures against Decree-Law 20, and how long is the remediation taking? Second, on the Gulf competition for regional headquarters: which jurisdiction are your clients choosing this year, and what tipped it? Reply to this email with two or three sentences and your take runs attributed by name and firm.
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Contributors this fortnight
Faisal A. Linjawy, Law Firm of Hassan Mahassni, Saudi Arabia
Dr. Mohammed Haitham A. Salman, Middle East Alliance Legal Consultancy, United Arab Emirates
Abdullah Bin Hamad AlAthbah, Abdullah AlAthbah & Associates, Qatar
Ashraf El Motei, Motei & Associates, United Arab Emirates
Cherel Pienaar, Knightsbridge Group, United Arab Emirates
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