Dubai, UAE- (21st October 2015): Top officials and experts discussed the new UAE Commercial Companies Law and its implications for the business in the country at a conference hosted by Dubai Economic Council and the Supreme Legislation Committee in the Emirate of Dubai in strategic partnership with Al Tamimi & Company.
The conference was held under the Patronage of HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Chairman of the Supreme Legislation Committee.
Decision-makers, including representatives from the Ministry of Economy, legal institutions, business leaders, and Al Tamimi & Company, the largest law firm in the Middle East, participated in the one day conference, which took place on Tuesday at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Dubai International Financial Centre.
A keynote speech was delivered on behalf of H.E Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, the UAE Minister of Economy, by H.E Mohammed Saleh Shalwah, Assistant Undersecretary for Economic Policy at the Ministry. He said: “The Law No. 2 of 2015 on commercial companies, issued by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, is in line with the UAE vision 2021 which stressed the importance of legal frameworks to provide an effective environment for businesses to grow and prosper. We are working many significant laws such as competition, foreign investment, and SMEs”. H.E Mohammed Saleh Shalwah added: “The new law is a result of concerted efforts involving various stakeholders. The law, which includes 378 articles divided into 12 chapters, addresses many developments related to regulation of commercial companies, especially corporate governance rules and the protection of shareholders and partners rights; corporate social responsibility, and the creation of holding companies”.
H.E. Hani Al Hamli, Secretary General of the Dubai Economic Council, expressed his thanks and gratitude to H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Chairman of the Supreme Legislation Committee for his patronage and support.
Al Hamli said: “We learnt from experiences of different civilizations that sustainable economic development can be built on three pillar; the regulatory and legal framework, the scientific and technological progress, and the economic resources, especially human capital”. He stressed on the importance of the regulatory and legal framework as it is a guarantee to provide a suitable environment to stimulate investment and business as well as its role in the maintenance of the rights of all parties in economic activity”.
He added: “The wise leadership of the UAE took a proactive approach in updating the regulatory and legal framework to keep pace with changes in the global economy. Over recent years, the UAE economy has witnessed huge transformations to become a diversified economy. Updating the Commercial Companies Law was a necessity due to its comprehensiveness and role in the establishment of the regulatory infrastructure for enterprises of different legal forms, in addition to other aspects covered by the law”.
H.E Hani Al Hamli presented Dubai Economic Council’s experience in reviewing the draft of the law, and paid tribute to the great efforts made by the Ministry of Economy in the formulation and development of the draft law.
He said: “It is a ground-breaking law due to the significant changes introduced to keep pace with developments in the business environment and international best practices”.
H.E. Ahmad bin Meshar Al Muhairi, the Secretary General of the Supreme Legislation Committee, extended greetings of HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Chairman of the Supreme Legislation Committee to the participants. Bin Meshar said: “The new UAE Commercial Companies Law tackled a number of important issues such governance, the relationship between creditors and debtors, and the protection of shareholders’ equity”.
A Memorandum of Understanding between Dubai Economic Council and Supreme Legislation Committee in the Emirate of Dubai was signed to enhance cooperation between the two entities in many areas of common interest, particularly the legislative process and to improve and raise the quality and efficiency of legislation and building a legal system compatible with the future aspirations of Dubai.
Essam Al Tamimi, Senior Partner of Al Tamimi & Company said: “The UAE has established itself as global hub for business by providing a suitable environment and the new law is a necessary step to further strengthen the business sector in the country”. “We believe the new law will have positive impacts on the business sector. One of the new significant developments is the introduction of best practices in corporate governance to ensure sustainable businesses”. He urged family businesses to benefit from the new law to develop their structure.
The veteran lawyer pointed out that “the UAE government is working on many significant laws such as labour law, bankruptcy, investment, and the central bank law, a matter which reflects that the UAE is keen on keeping pace with global changes and is taking a proactive approach towards developing legislations to reaffirm its leading position as business-friendly jurisdiction”.
Al Tamimi added: “The independence of the judicial system in the UAE is a vital factor in providing suitable environment for businesses to flourish”.
Al Tamimi also expressed his thanks to Dubai Economic Council and the Supreme Legislation Committee in the Emirate of Dubai for organising this important conference to shed lights on this important law, and to Ministry of Economy and panellists for their valuable, insightful contributions.
Backbone of development
The first panel, titled “The new law, what is in it?” discussed the main changes to the law, who will be most affected, and the impacts on business sector. It was moderated by Saleh Saeed Lootah, Executive Director of S.S. Lootah.
The panellists agreed that the new law is a backbone to the development of business sector in the UAE and that it addressed vital areas such as the introduction of single shareholder companies and corporate governance.
They also confirmed that the new law is a positive step in paving the way for new investments. Panellists included Samer Qudah, Partner and Regional Head of Corporate Structuring of Al Tamimi & Company, Akram Abu Elhuda, General Counsel and Company Secretary of Al Habtoor Group, Tarek Hajjiri, Director Legal Policy at Dubai Economic Council, and Khaled Sifri, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Investment Bank.
IPOs and JSCs
Ahmed Ibrahim, Partner & Head of Equity Capital Markets, Al Tamimi & Company, Khalifa Ahmed Rabba, VP- Market Operations Head & Deputy Head of Operations Division Market Operations at Dubai Financial Market, Karim Schoeib, CEO, Investment Banking at SHUUA Capital, and Jacques Visser, Chief Legal Officer of DIFC Authority participated on in the second session on the implications of the new law on the IPO market and joint stock companies (JSCs). The session was moderated by Majed Khalifa Al Mesmari, Executive Director, Head of Investment Banking – UAE, JPMorgan Chase.
The main areas panellists focused on were the expected positive impacts on initial public offerings (IPO’s), and how it addressed the requirements of international banks for local IPO’s. The panellists discussed the necessity to change investors’ mentality towards IPOs and how the improvement of corporate governance will help in developing the market as it assures investors that companies adhere to best practices in the field.
SME and M&A
Panellists in the third session have examined the impacts of the new law on SME and its role in economic growth and sustainability and how the law enhances this sector’s contribution to UAE’s economy. Panellists also discussed the new system for development of merger and acquisitions (M&A) and business opportunities.
There was a consensus that the process of M&A is clearer in the new law, which paves the way to more activities in this market. They also agreed that the new law has provided SMEs with necessary requirement to play a greater role in the economy.
The session was moderated by Dr. Abdulrazak Al Faris, Deputy Secretary General for Economic Affairs at Dubai Economic Council. Panelists included Izabella Szadkowska, Partner, Corporate Commercial Department, Al Tamimi & Company, Anthony O’Sullivan, Partner, EY, Alexandar Mathew Williams, Director, Business Development, Department of Economic Development- Dubai, and Fadi Hammadeh, General Counsel, Group Legal & Compliance, Al-Futtaim Group.
