The UAE government confirmed that it would allow investors and entrepreneurs full ownership of onshore companies starting from June 1.
The UAE Ministry of Economy announced that the amended Commercial Companies Law will come into effect on June 1st, 2021 which allows foreign investors and entrepreneurs to establish and fully own onshore companies.
In November 2020, the UAE announced the landmark reform to the commercial company ownership laws by removing the requirement for onshore companies to have a major Emirati shareholder.
The changed law also abolished a provision mandating that a UAE national or UAE-owned company was required as an agent and that a company’s board needed to be made up of a majority of UAE nationals and chaired by an Emirati.
“The amended Commercial Companies Law aims at boosting the country’s competitive edge and is a part of UAE government efforts to facilitate doing business,” Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, said.
Mr. Bin Touq said the law changes will strengthen the UAE’s appeal as a destination for both foreign investors and entrepreneurs and it will further boost the flow of investment to some key economic sectors.
The changes are part of a series of measures introduced to make the UAE a more investment-friendly destination, which has also included the offer of 10-year visas for investors and citizenship for talented individuals.
Last month, the UAE’s Ministry of Economy also said it was working on newlegislation to include 10 new sectors to the Commercial Companies Law, which allows 100 percent foreign ownership of onshore companies in the country.
Despite the pandemic disruptions over the global economy, the UAE performed well by attracting $19.88 billion foreign direct investment (FDI) to the country last year marking an increment of 44.2 percent, according to a report by the Ministry of Economy which was published last week.
