Past iadvisory Questions and Answers: Middle East

Over the years, our members have benefitted from having their overseas expansion related questions answered by our iadvisors. Visit the iadvisory portal for some of these examples on the Middle East.

Can we set up a 100% foreign entity owned by our company in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia-Riyadh?

By way of a preliminary response, in accordance with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) Foreign Investment Law, a foreign investor may generally be able to establish a wholly owned entity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. However there are two exceptions to that rule, and are as follows:

1. There are certain activities where non Saudis are not allowed to have any ownership element. These activities are included in a "Negative List", which is updated every year.

2. There are other activities where non Saudis are allowed to own a specific percentage of ownership. These activities are included in the KSA's commitments to the WTO.

I am looking to set up a Limited Liability Company (LLC) office in Dubai. I would like to find out if it can be 100% foreign owned?

It can be a 100% owned LLC but you would need to have a local Arab sponsor. Fees would range from 30000 Dirhams (S$11,3591) per annum depending on status of the Arab individual.

What is the regulatory landscape for healthcare products (in particular TCM) in the Dubai market? Which organisation handles health product registration, how is a 'health tea' classified and what is the cost and length of time needed to register such products?

This is a grey area; generally herbal health products are not regulated. There are however important exceptions. If regulated, there are usually at least two organizations that we need to deal with.

The easiest way is to find a distributor in Dubai and let that distributor handle all the regulatory requirements- there are nuances which may be baffling for outsiders.

Additional iadvisory content on Middle East:
Case Study of Web Professional House’s entry into Middle East

1. 1 Dirham = S$0.38

All answers are provided to the best knowledge of the iadvisors at the point of answering, and are solely represented by the iadvisors, not IE Singapore.

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