Sponsored briefing: Legal developments in Qatar: what the UK legal community should know

K&L Gates on the progress, development and sophistication rising in the Qatar authorized market place

Introduction

More than the 10 years in which our place of work has been running in Doha, we have witnessed considerable progress, growth and sophistication rising in the Qatar authorized market. Qatar’s method is to modernise its authorized investment framework producing entry to the sector a lot easier for investors, ensuring successful business enterprise operations, allowing for capital to observe companies in the market, and lastly guaranteeing a secure exit by investors from the market if they would like to divest or repatriate cash¹. To this stop Qatar has been issuing legislation and producing reforms which started out in 2015 when the new Professional Corporations Regulation was enacted, followed by the establishment of the legal and regulatory routine of the Qatar Free of charge Zones in 2017 to 2018. Building on from that, Qatar comfortable its international expense constraints, increased company transparency, released sweeping reforms to the judicial procedure, and most topically, launched what is colloquially recognised as the ‘World Cup Framework Law’. This posting delivers the reader with a bird’s-eye watch of these latest lawful developments in Qatar.

Qatar Law No. 10/2021 about the actions for hosting FIFA Planet Cup Qatar 2022

With the world’s concentrate on the FIFA 2022 Entire world Cup 2022 Qatar, scheduled to just take location from 21 November 2022 to 18 December 2022, the ‘World Cup Framework Law’ takes centre stage in the legislative matrix. This law includes particular expectations and ensures agreed upon in the internet hosting agreement with FIFA, and the representations and undertakings issued by Qatar to FIFA on 22 February 2010, in relation to the a number of important industrial issues.²

A person of the aims of this legislation is to aid undertaking small business in preparation for and during the Globe Cup for FIFA, its contractors and suppliers together with environment up 100% overseas-owned corporations.

Qatar Law No. 1/2019 New Foreign Investment decision Legislation

Just one of the most major variations in this context has been the enactment of a new International Expense Legislation No. 1/2019. This law has established a legal surroundings with the goal to draw in and enable foreign investment decision, and safeguard investors’ legal rights. It has been enacted to stimulate company options and enable reach Qatar Vision 2030’s aims of a diversified economic climate. 1 of the crucial details in this distinct legislation is the suitable of international investors to personal 100% of a company’s funds. This represents a radical shift from the prior company regime, in which a Qatari national (or Qatari corporation) experienced to be a majority shareholder (leading to what was colloquially recognised as the 51/49 ownership structure). Overseas investors have also been granted the proper to commit in virtually all economic sectors matter to getting the pertinent approvals from knowledgeable authorities.³

The legislation offers additional investment incentives and assures, which includes the ideal to allocate the important (onshore)⁴ land for investors, both by renting or underneath a usufruct, the ideal to import products equally for their job operations or expansion. The legislation also exempts overseas investors from earnings tax and customs duties on their imports of equipment and equipment essential for their initiatives, and on raw resources and semi-created supplies which they require for creation, and which are not accessible in the neighborhood marketplaces.

This regulation will allow international investors to repatriate all their financial investment returns, the success of any liquidation of their investments, or which has arisen from a settlement in an expense dispute or any compensation gained by legislation. Last but not least, foreign investors have the correct to transfer their possession of an investment to any other international investors or other nationwide buyers.

Qatar Regulation No. 13/2019 on the institution of the Media Metropolis Qatar

According to report 3 of the law, Media City aims to manage and create media activity, and boost its posture as a hub to bring in intercontinental media, engineering companies, linked investigation and education establishments, and electronic media. It also aims to assist and promote media and digital technological innovation initiatives, and to attain the economic and qualified integration with several Condition projects, and to provide an interactive surroundings through the licensed businesses working in Media City. On 3 February 2021 it was noted that Media City has signed a strategic partnership with Euronews, a single of the most renowned media networks in the entire world. The agreement is regarded an crucial milestone in Media City’s work to appeal to key media networks to Qatar.⁵

Qatar monetary markets authority’s new supplying and listing procedures

The Qatar economical marketplaces authority issued new Presenting and Listing Principles in 2021. These new rules implement to listing and providing in both of those the major and secondary marketplace on the Qatar Inventory Trade. The goal of the new procedures is to encourage new listing and giving alternatives, and predominantly to really encourage smaller and medium household enterprise to record on the secondary market to maximize their funds. Noticeably, the new policies enables – in addition to organizations established in the Qatar money centre – organizations incorporated in the Qatar cost-free zones to listing or supply their shares on the Qatar Stock Trade.

Law No.1 of 2020 on the Unified Financial Sign up Legislation

The Unified Financial Register Regulation compels the Ministry of Commerce and Marketplace (MoCI) to set up a unified financial registry (the Registry), with the purpose of encouraging transparency in economic and economical transactions (and developing a register of effective ownership). Formerly business information in Qatar was confidential, nonetheless underneath write-up 6, the MoCI is compelled to make specified standard facts of a explained listing of entities readily available to the community⁶. These entities selection from included organizations, to sole enterprises, trusts, non-gain organisations and freelance gurus. In buy to workout their correct of accessibility, customers of the community will be ready to make an application to MoCI to obtain an extract of the Registry or a certification of unique details, or a certificate of absence in the scenario of non-registration.

Mediation Regulation (Law No. 20 of 2021) and Business Court docket Regulation (Regulation 21 of 2021)

Mediation has not historically been generally used as a form of dispute resolution in Qatar. Functions typically dismissed it for dread of major time and value remaining invested, and a settlement agreement becoming achieved, but then not subsequently honoured, with no current statutory framework in Qatar to enforce it.

On 7 Oct 2020 Qatar ratified the Singapore Convention on mediation. On 18 Oct 2021 Qatar enacted the Mediation Regulation⁷ which outlines, among the other items, the strategies and techniques of mediation, disorders to be met by the mediator, provisions for stay of proceedings, and settlement agreement procedures. On the very same working day in 2021 Qatar enacted the Trade Courtroom Regulation⁸ which set up the Investment and Professional Courtroom (also recognised as the Trade Courtroom). The Mediation Law permits get-togethers to the settlement of an intercontinental dispute by mediation to enforce the settlement in the exact same method that worldwide arbitral awards are recognised and enforceable less than the New York Conference on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral awards. The establishment of a new Business Court, together with arbitration and financial investment mediation institutions, signifies one further purpose for countrywide and overseas buyers to carry on investments in Qatar’s speedy-increasing overall economy.

Conclusion

These new legislation have launched many favourable alterations to the small business and authorized landscape, whilst quite a few of the implementation mechanics of these new legislation are even now currently being tested in follow. From our experience we feel there is more place to boost the choice of setting up 100% international-owned providers in accordance with the provisions of the new International Investment Legislation, or below the umbrella of the Qatar Cost-free Zones, Qatar Science and Technological innovation Park, and quickly Media City. The Qatar Economic Centre has ongoing to produce and prolong the scope of its actions to attract more investments and small business, even though the Qatar Science and Know-how Park continues to catch the attention of study and enhancement enterprise. In tandem with the changes to the business enterprise landscape, Qatar is consistently functioning on bringing about reforms to the judicial program. This was apparent when the Arbitration Legislation was issued in 2017, and extra recently with the issuing of the Mediation Legislation and the Industrial Court docket Law. We view the Mediation Regulation, and Commercial Courtroom Legislation as welcome additions to the Qatar authorized landscape. These laws ought to be easily used by practitioners functioning in the Center East so that mediation can become an automatic, reflexive portion of the dispute resolution toolkit.

By Matthew R.M Walker (husband or wife) and Niel Coertse (senior associate) for K&L Gates, Doha

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1. https://www.lexismiddleeast.com/journal/LexisMiddleEastLawAlert/2020_September_10/?V=pdf
2. Treatments relevant to entry and exit permits, passports, and vacation, work permits, tax exemption, protection and security, financial institution and international trade functions, safety and exploitation of commercial legal rights, communications and details technological innovation, lawful problems and compensation, and accommodation
3. Certain financial sectors are not open to international investors, this kind of as banking, insurance policies organizations and commercial companies. International investors are prohibited to individual additional than 49% of public shareholding providers in Qatar, however, it is achievable to exceed this cap, by obtaining specific acceptance from the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers are entitled to increase new areas wherever international traders are prohibited
4. This is land which is not inside a freezone
5. https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/03/02/2021/Media-Town-Qatar-indicators-strategic-partnership-with-Euronews
6. Outlined as becoming information which allows for the identification of the entity stated higher than and which specifies the legal structure, principal qualities and goal for institution of these types of an entity
7. Law No. 20 of 2021 Promulgating the Law of Mediation in Settlement of Civil and Professional Disputes
8. Regulation 21 of 2021 Promulgating the Regulation on the Establishment of the Financial investment and Professional Court docket

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