03/01/2021
Bank customers urged to update documents on record
Applicants may visit the Embassy during office hours, with no appointment needed, and request for a passport validity extension which will also be released on the same day.
Legal, Tax, Regulation & Compliance
02/28/2021
UAE to train anti-money laundering professionals under new programmes
Under the programme, 140 professionals in federal and local authorities will be trained
02/26/2021
UAE Central Bank imposes Dh600,000 penalty on individual linked to exchange house
Individual banned from any future functions at licensed financial institutions
02/26/2021
Israel: Characterization of recharges for provision of stock-based compensation clarified
In the circular, the ITA identifies the conditions under which a payment will be characterized as a repayment rather than as a dividend (or a reduction in equity).
02/26/2021
UAE focuses on consumer protection with new laws
The law requires all businesses to provide an aftercare service and repair or replace a product if a defect occurs.
02/26/2021
The changing role of in-house legal in the Middle East
Recognising how the role has changed and what can be done to ease the strain on in-house legal staff will be vital for businesses, to ensure that the team can continue to perform successfully for the whole company.
02/26/2021
UAE Executive Office to combat money laundering, terrorism funding
Specialised court in Abu Dhabi to look into money laundering, terror financing cases
02/26/2021
UAE Central Bank imposes Dh600,000 penalty on individual linked to exchange house
Individual banned from any future functions at licensed financial institutions
02/25/2021
Oman SME registrations surge 14.4% in 12 months
The number of SMEs registered in the Governorate of Al-Wusta stood at 652 and the Governorate of Musandam 185, which was the lowest among governorates registered in January 2021.
02/24/2021
Banks to inject EGP 117bn into MSMEs until 2022 end: CBE
Banks in Egypt required to increase financing to MSMEs to 25% of credit facilities portfolio
02/24/2021
Egypt’s Banque du Caire eyes slimmed-down IPO post-Covid
Banque du Caire was on the cusp of completing a $500 million listing in London and Cairo last year when Covid hit.
02/23/2021
Saudi Arabia’s financial regulatory authority refers five suspects to Public Prosecution
The statement said it had detected similar suspicious practices between Jan. 20 and Oct. 1 last year
02/23/2021
QCB planning to launch regulatory sandbox for entities to test fintech solutions
The QCB has taken on a role of the “orchestrator” of Qatar’s fintech strategy, in addition to acting as the central regulatory authority of its fintech ecosystem, a QFC-Refinitiv report said.
02/23/2021
Kuwait requests ability to withdraw from sovereign wealth fund
Kuwait's cabinet has submitted draft legislation to parliament that would allow government to withdraw up to $16.53bln from sovereign wealth fund annually
02/23/2021
Fintech Co-operation between the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates
The MoU will certainly set the stage for future joint experimentation of digital innovation between CBUAE and the HKMA.”
02/23/2021
COVID-19 and regulatory uncertainty spur greater tax risk for organizations in 2021 and beyond, EY survey finds
Survey respondents say they anticipate a far more diverse tax risk environment spanning everything from scrutiny of routine business activity, to major, billion-dollar settlements in court.
02/21/2021
Saudi Central Bank launches instant payment system Sarie
New IPS allows customers to send and receive low-value local remittances 24 hours a day
02/19/2021
Abu Dhabi unveils investor visa
It will be made available to ‘top talent’ globally for up to 10 years
02/19/2021
Barclays expects High Court judgment on Amanda Staveley case imminently
Staveley is asking for £819mln in damages through a civil lawsuit over the bank’s emergency cash call during the 2008 financial crisis
02/18/2021
Global payments platform Adyen selects DIFC for its regional headquarters
The Centre’s comprehensive financial ecosystem continues to attract global payments and technology players to the region in order to scale via accessing MEASA markets.